Santiago

On International Women's day, we wondered around the surprisingly relaxed city of Santiago with Thomas, caught up with Ee Lee over Pastel de Choclo, admired the view from Cerro San Cristobal until eventually, Alex left us.

Valparaíso

 

 

Valparaíso was different from what I expected; a lot greyer and a lot more industrial looking, but its artistic side was still appealing. We must have sang "vamos a la playa" for the whole day while laughing at random jokes like "Schmid-t", while enjoying ascensor rides, boat ride, trips to Neruda's house, and seafood at the market.

Antofagasta and Viña del Mar

 

Wizzing past Antofagasta where the bus almost left without us, the city centre of Viña del Mar was a new experience with the unusually red sun. The "po"s at the end of the sentences, the accent, the bread with eggs as breakfast, going around in micros, the Chilean wine shopping, the tortilla party, the 1am asado party- all thanks to the very kind family of Luis.

San Pedro de Atacama

The El Tatio geysers were not too impressive (and perhaps not worth the 3.30am wake up and the -10 degrees celcius cold) comparing to what we have back home, but in San Pedro de Atacama, the walk across Valle de la Muerte (Death Valley), the sunset at the Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley), and the view of the volcanoes still blew us away. On the way there we also started our completo/empanada/churrasco munch time, which lasted right until after Argentina.

Arica

The difference between the two countries was impossible to miss as soon as you cross the border; while appreciating the better infrastructure and lamenting on the much higher prices and the absence of almuerzos, we enjoyed the views and the music at the beach in Arica- for once.