October 20th

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Leaving Santiago and flying to Lima. We were not really sorry to leave Santiago. Although we had a good time there we did not like the hotel we were in and in particular the district and would not choose to stay there when we return we hope to stay in the Bellavista area where we met many friendly people who could speak English. Santiago is probably the poorest place we have been to so far we're sure there is worse to come. The people work hard queuing at bus stops early in the morning and finishing late. They wear lots of dark colours unlike the Brazilians we have been with. They are certainly friendly enough but even though Steve could speak Spanish communication was a problem at times, also Steve developed a cold whilst we were there and that doesn't make you feel good. Checking in with LAN airways isn't good because our flights are difficult to find on there system, our guide in Chile helped us to get the ticket numbers but it seems they were not purchased directly through LAN airways so it means queuing and not being able to checking on line. Santiago airport is a great place to be and prompted us to do a report of all the airports we go to, so far it is the best we have been to. Just arrived in Lima and was met at the airport by John and driven to our hotel for our stay in Peru. We don't think we had enough time in Chile and there is so much to see that we didn't see, we will have to go there again. Just off to eat

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Photos

The Devil Picture
Castillio de Diablo

Entrance to the Winery
A cold morning

Comments

[AW]

Hello from...
Kath, Evelyn, Clive and Ann PS thanks for the birthday card.

[John L]

MP ?
Chile is OK, but we found every time we crossed the border into Argentina, the people were more friendly, conversation was easier and they were more willing to help. Just don't mention the Malvinas. LAN are hopeless and the staff at the Qantas office in Santiago are about as useful as a chocolate teapot. Assume you're on your way to Cusco and Machu Pichu ? Going via Nasca ? You haven't mentioned alcohol for a while - have you taken the pledge ?

[Pauline and Steve]

LAN v TAC
Dear John we think you should have tried Tac airline, we flew to Cusco first class and it was amazing. Now on our way to Machu pispoo oops Pichu have met more lovely people hoping to get up early on Thursday to see the sunrise, suffering a bit from altitude so laying off the hard stuff.