The national Anthem of Chile is the car horn.

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Dias Mio! My legs are tired.

Have spent all morning walking around Santiago. Will visit a few museums after this then its on to Bolivia.

Oh my god the dogs are crazy. I have some great photos and video footage of this one dog who guarded an intersection with his life, and I mean guarded it. He would sit in the middle of the road. Even with traffic bearing down on him, 3 lanes worth, he would not move. When the cars got close enough he would try and bite their tyres. Funny thing was he was very friendly to people.... he did this all day, in the ten minutes I watched he would have almost been hit 10 times.

Ok, saw lots and lots this morning. Have lots of photos to upload, but unfortuantly my camera broke today, so I will need to fix it. Lame.

Today is the same as yesterday. Overcast, brown, smoggy and polluted. For all that though Santiago has a lot of charm and cool things going for it. Visited a few tourist sites. The one below (photo from Google) is on the tallest hill in downtown Santiago. 850 metres. It rises over everything and there is this statue of the virgin mary on top. Kind like a mini Christ Crisiti over Rio. The view from the top was, well, smoggy. The andes start not 3 kms from there, but you couldn´t even see them.

After wondering around all morning I though I better try my hand at ordering a meal for lunch. I found a corner cafe type place that was packed with students and ordered an Empanada and a beer... I think. When the beer arrived it was a 1 litre bottle. hahahahaha, I couldn´t be rude so I drank it all and feeling quite tipsy tried to fnd my way back to my hostel, a very long way away by now.

The car horns.. The all surounding sound in Santiago is the car horn. ITs everywhere and constant. DRivers use it for no reason at all. I think that all chileans are born with a car horn tick and that if they could they would use the car horn even when they where not in a car.

Man, so many people. They are everywhere. All day, they dont subside. From 8 till very late there are just so many people about. Where do they all go, what do they all do... I found a great example of Santiago employment today. Went to the Baños (toilet), you have to pay 200 pesos. So first of all you pass a ticket window. Pay your 200 pesos to a lady, she gives you a ticket and you then take that ticket to the turnstlye guy. He checks it and lets you through. Inside the toilet are cleaners which clean nonstop just that toilet. They keep it spotless. ITs loco. Santiago is a very developed City, very European, but there are so many people and such a divide between wealth that so many people are doing the weirdest and simplest things to scratch a living.

Peace. Hasta luego.

Forgive me for the weird symbols and speeling that may appear through out. A lot of the keys on this board are not in the usual place.

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Photos

Smoggy View from San Christobal
Taken from about a third of the way up. You can just make out the lower range of the Andes. Behind them the moutains are huge.

Yes it is!
Yes they did. This building is designed like a Cell phone.

View from the top
View from the top of 850m San Christobal. It would be amazing if it wasn´t for the fog.

San Christobal
The Picture I shot of the Staute.

A church
This church is near the summit of San Christobal. Its a pretty nice church because of its simplicity and location.

The Streets
Typical amount of people on the streets at any one time. As you can see its a bit crazy. This is when my camera starts playing up and doesn´t focus properly.

Comments

[Dad]

Adventures
Mate....sounds like you are having a blast. Great that we can share the moments with ya. look forward to the next installment.

[El Desviado]

Dirty Dog.
I want you to go back to the intersection and check to see if the dog is allright....... Sounds like heaps of fun. But wandering around by yourself in strange city's is pretty different eh? I had to do that in BangCock ;) (Yes I know thats not how you spell it), And was always a bit weary. Man I wish i was there with ya. I should have gone with you really. Would have been an awesome experiance. Unfortunately New job and all....... they probably wouldnt have been stoked if I took close to two months off..... so I will have to settle f one. Anyway keep the blogs coming. And damn good effort so far i have to say, youhave only been gone a few days and allready 3 pages!!! Adiós mi amigo, me espero que usted sea pozo y traigo detrás presento.

[Jorge]

horny people in santiago
wow, if you think people in santiago like to toot their horn and have crazy drivers, wait until you leave chile. by anyone's standards, chilean drivers are the most sane and law-abiding in all of latin america (drivers must be comatose in new zealand by the sound of it). if you go to argentina, you take your life into your hands when crossing the street. if you go to peru or bolivia, you'll hear far more carhorns. i can't wait to hear your impressions of the la paz drivers. they have like 3 streetlights in the whole country. paying at toilets is more common than you think. i remember doing it in europe too, at a toilet in the netherlands and that was at a mcdonald's! ALWAYS CARRY YOUR OWN TOILETPAPER. a good rule of thumb anywhere in latin america. the smog and spraypaint are the worst parts about santiago, but i think the dogs are pretty cool. their among the happiest and friendliest dogs i've ever seen. plus they're generally in pretty good health, which says a lot about the country. in bolivia, i saw a lot of dogs wearing sweaters, which was cute. when you get to bolivia, ask what they think about chile and chileans. they hate us! i hope you enjoy the rest of your time in chile. if you get a chance. try to visit valparaiso. it's a unique city with a great bohemian atmosphere. cheers!