South America

We land in Santiago, tired and miserable from a mammoth flight from Auckland which was delayed by almost 4 hours. Nonetheless, we are here and we make our way to our home for the next few days the Ventana Sur Hostel. Coming in to land at Santiago the first thing you notice, beside the thick cloud of smog, are the amazing Andes that surround the city. Driving from the airport to the hostel is a bit of a flashback from India, they drive like lunatics here too, but we finally arrive in one piece and are glad to find that the hostel is really nice and comfortable.

Whilst Santiago is a beautiful city we didn´t have much time here and we were so run down from the previous 3 and a half months of non-stop travelling that we used this short break to just relax. We did the usual exploring of the city of course which is sprawling and metropolitan but with an amazing backdrop of snow-capped Andes. You are reminded of their constant presence as you peek in between the buildings and see snowy peaks in the distance. I liked the city, I found it relaxed and well-catered for travellers. The markets are great and the churros are delicious! Above all there´s just no hassle. You take it as easy as you like...

For us though, this hostel proved to be the highlight of Chile. We just love it here. Ivan, you are an absolute star and you are running what must be the best accomodation in all of Chile. Everyone here feels at home and like a big family. We have made so many friends here just in the space of a few days. On our penultimate day at the hostel Ivan threw a barbecue where I had the best steak ever and the red wine flowed like water. We had planned to do some wine tasting but we decide that the bottle a night probably equates to the same thing, Chile has the best and cheapest red wine I´ve ever had! So this blog entry is just a big thank you really to Ivan and the staff at Ventana Sur for making us feel like we never wanted to leave Santiago. To the residents:- Graham, I hope you make it to India mate. Anthony, best of luck with the teaching and your new life in South America. Patricio, you´re the man, thanks for the Salsa lessons! Ivan (from spain) thanks for all the advice on travel through Peru and Bolivia. Alvaro, keep on singing those Arctic Monkey songs!

We love you guys, we´ll be back Ventana Sur and you have a home in the UK, but for now, we´re off to Ecuador. Next stop Quito and the Galapagos Islands...