Adios South America (for now)

---

Well, here we are on our final night in South America, on our way out for a pisco sour and a huge steak. We can hardly believe the 7 weeks are nearly over, we´ve managed to pack so much into them.

We arrived here in Chile early on Sunday, and spent the day wandering around Santiago (and got a haircut!!), which is a beautiful, rather European, sophisticated city surrounded by snow-capped peaks. Yesterday we found our way to Valparaiso and Vina del Mar on the coast, 120 kms from the city. There is a series of 15 funicular lifts around the town, from which you can get wonderful views over the bay (and some good insights into the housing behind the scenes!). A modern metro system takes you around to Vina del Mar for the princely sum of 50 cents each - where you are suddenly confronted with a Spanish-style resort closely resembling Lloret de Mar or Benidorm! Nonetheless we had a delicious seafood lunch on the beach and walked it off along the prom!

We´ve just come back from a tour into the surrounding mountains which, although the scenery is very beautiful, was quite underwhelming; a good example of a tourist industry which has not yet come of age. We visited 3 different ski resorts and stood around waiting for the bus to pick us up again - we´re such pros now at finding our way around that we were tempted to make our own way back! As an example, we found our bilingual guide´s Spanish easier to understand than his English (and make no mistake, our Spanish is still pretty basic). Having said that, we met some interesting people on the tour, including a couple from Howick (!), young seaman from Brazil, and a young Franciscan friar.

In fact, throughout the 7 weeks we´ve met so many people who´ve left a lasting impression on us, of all ages and nationalities. They have made this this trip so memorable.

Nonetheless it´s time for us to come home now, and we´re really looking forward to seeing everyone again. Has the Spring arrived yet?

Thanks for following our adventures, and for all the words of interest and encouragement. We hope you´ve enjoyed reading them as much as we´ve enjoyed experiencing them.

Sorry no photos ...

Saludos,
Diane & Jean

---

Comments

[Detlef]

Hello Diane & Jean
Thank you very very much for the exciting blogs you have sent us from your adventures. We wish you a nice flight back to NZ. And yes ... spring has sprung! Cheers Gila and Detlef