06/02/08

This evening we arrived in Santiago.

Not too much to say other than the Hostel is nice and there is a bar/resturant downstairs that we headed straight to for dinner.

07/02/08

Today we headed out and about to explore some of Santiago. I had no real expectations of Santiago but it didn´t somehow live up to my ¨non existant¨expectations...Odd but true.

To be fare though we did only manage to cover a third of the city from Plaza Italia in the centre to Plaza Brasil to the west. Some of the sites we took in included the Presidential Palace, Cultural Centre, Cathedral of Santiago, Mercado Central (fish markets), and the Natioal museum of art. I will stop there to avoid any more unecessary pain.

We had read that fast food was pretty good in Chile so headed to a dinner for some grub. One hotdog and chips later, all i can say is fast food aint that great in Chile :) It is better than the Southern fried dodgy chicken you buy in London tho ;)

EVENING IN SANTIAGO

Now we had very good intentions this evening i.e. a game of pool or two at the hostel and then bed.

Well the pool was tendious to say the least given that Ian and i are average pool players and that the best pool que was on that had been snapped in half. Half way through the second game an English lass approached and proposed an evening outing to a nearby club. After taking a painful 45min to finish the first game of pool i said rather quickly Si Por Favor (yes please).

After rustling up a few more hostel locals we headed to a club called ... Blonde.

Lesson 1 - Buying drink tickets in Santiago is not the same as buying drink tickets in Rio! In Rio you buy 10 drink tickets and get ten tickets. In Santiago you ask for the same and get one ticket and your 10 drinks all at once. Quiet night looks like a distant memory.

Lesson 2 - If your a shyish kinda bloke like me then when it comes to the ladies you will love this place! From the moment we arrived the ladies started positioning themselves to approach us poor lads and withing a few minutes we were being chatted up. One proceeded to rub her breasts into my chest while saying ¨do you like my jubblies¨! Not something i expected to hear from a Chilean but i responded appropriately.

Eventually we all headed down to the dance floor and after a (very) little coaxing pursuaded Ian to take to the podium with a lovely Senorita (and he didn´t fall off!!).

I danced by myself until i was yet again accosted this time by a blonde Chilean lass. After going to another club we then went on and stopped outside a cafe that had the steel roller door down. She knocked on the roller door and i and then a little metal door withing the roller door opened and we were let in to a cafe that was nearly full and with the music pumping. After that i left her and her friends to their food and attempted to find my way home. A somewhat bizzare but great night was had!

08/02/08

Write off due to getting back to hostel in the morning.

09/02/08

Today (8am) we head to Mendoza, our starting point for climbing Aconcagua. The bus journey is amazing as you travel well over 3000m to cross the Andes. It is quite something to know your over 3000m above sea level and yet you are still surrounded by giant mountains.

Customs at Puente del Inca was an experience. We took over 3 hours to clear customs which i guess is lucky considering the 10 and 12 o´clock departures from Santiago arrived while we were clearing customs.

We arrived in Mendoza around 6pm to torrential rain and flooding on the street. As we headed out for dinner you had to be wary as quite a few drivers seem to take delight in trying to soak you by aiming for the water.

Dinner - Argentinian Steak! Can´t say anymore really m m mmmm!

10/02/08

Had a lie in this morning and then went for a run which hurt a little. Day one of our Aconcagua tour begins tomorrow so am a little nervous but excited at the same time. I just want to strat it now so i can stop being nervous. Another steak should fix me up :)