Happy new year everyone!

Hope everyone had a good time. It was a bit strange to be away from home for the festive period but Chile and Argentina were good fun none the less. The blog is being written a few hundred yards away from Copacabana Beach in Rio. We´re a mile behind on the blog as we´ve been having such a good time so I´ll be focusing primarily on Chile and Argentina, except to say that Rio is awesome!!

So Kate finished last time about the Salt Flat tour in Bolivia which was every bit as good as she described. As well as being a great trip it also acted as a gateway to San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. We crossed the border (where actual security checks took place. In every other crossing not once have our bags been checked!!) and headed for the desert town. It was a cool place to spend some time and another example of a place that has grown beyond all expectation due to a massive influx of tourism. While it is sometimes nice to spend time in what feels almost like a purpose built tourist attraction, after 4 days on the tourist trail we were ready for some South American authenticity and so we booked our bus journey to Santiago (24hrs…not cool!) for the following day. We enjoyed a night under the stars of San Pedro and had a good few beers and some good food (Bolivia nearly killed me with its poor cuisine… this trip has turned me into a steak snob!)

We arrived in Santiago with an open mind but aware that people had told us it was a bit boring. ´´Its just a city like any other, only not as good´´ was a typical comment from fellow wanderers. It turns out that Santiago is just another city like any other but it's actually a great place to spend some time. The centre has character and a bit of class that had been lacking in previous countries. The Parliament buildings were cool (always a big plus point) and they have a huge flag outside that is a quarter the size of a football field. We stayed at a place called La Chimbre in Bellavista and it turns out Bellavista is the main place to eat and drink in the city. We enjoyed trying every bar and ate some great meals and even started drinking the local wine! Also, we found the best sandwich restaurant in the history of the world!! Words can't really do it justice but Kate insisted we went back three times, which is something of a role reversal in terms of eating!! We did a walking tour of the city and saw the parliament, the stock exchange and the mobile phone HQ that is in the shape of a very 90´s mobile phone! It was quite interesting to see just how much damage was caused by the earthquake they had a few years ago…most building have cracks in them and our guide informed us that all new building must have proper earthquake resisting properties before they are approved. We were also informed by our guide that to buy an ordinary book (like a Stephen King, John Grisham or, if you prefer books that only use three syllable words, Andy McNab) then you will pay about $30US. Apparently under Pinochet publishing was censored heavily and despite his regime having fallen more than a decade ago, the new government have still not reversed their taxation position on literature. We went out the night of the tour with two girls we met on the tour (Christina and Ruth) and they were excellent company.

As much as we enjoyed Santiago it was quite a significant moment in the trip. Not only had we turned the corner in terms of visiting the more developed nations on the continent but we had also turned a financial corner. Where we were able to live like kings in the first four countries we were beginning to get the impression that things were going to have to change as the cost of everything in the last four countries is so much more. That said at the time of writing we have been away for three months and seven days…we still have not cooked a single thing!

We headed to the Chilean coast on the 23rd in time for Christmas. It was on this two hour ride that our bus broke down. According to everyone who we´ve ever met this was inevitable at some point. But within ten minutes a new bus was at the side of the road to pick us up! This would never have happened in Bolivia and serves as a good example of just how much more advanced in terms of infrastructure Chile is than any of the previous countries. On arrival in Vina del Mar we got a taxi to our guesthouse which was lovely. It had a swimming pool and good access to the beach. The room was spacious and we actually met some nice americans (unbelievable though that may sound!). We had some good sandwiches for Christmas lunch and a takeaway pizza for tea. We spent the evening doing the quiz that Luke sent us (I don´t want to talk about who won) and basically got drunk on beer, wine and rum. It was a million miles from home but a day on the beach for Christmas isn't too bad!! Boxing Day was very different from home where I´d have been in the pub from 12 with Snapper, Ian and Flash. We just chilled out by the pool and enjoyed the sun.

The 27th we travelled three miles down the road to a place called Renaça which is very similar to Vina. The reason for our visit was to see an O´Byrne family friend. Years ago Laura (Kate´s sister) went on a gap year and stayed in Mendoza with the Cuervo family. We were invited to visit them on their family holiday. We could not have been made more welcome and despite my poor Spanish (it turns out my new ´European´ language isn't really up to the job!) they were excellent company and the day spent with them was one of the highlights of the trip so far. We ate lunch, played on the beach and then went back for dinner. All in all an excellent day!!

The 28th December was a funny day. We went to Valparaiso which is 10mins away from Vina by train and we were excited at the prospect of seeing what had been described to us as ´bohemian´, ´rustically beautiful´ and ´culturally breathtaking´. I already had my doubts as people who use the word bohemian always look like they´re allergic to soap and always object to paying more than $3 for a meal. Not only that but people who say ´´oh I loved it, very rustic, almost bohemian´´ are really saying ´´oh I loved it, but then, I would…for I am cultured. You probably wont like it.´´

Well my friends, I didn't like it.

If you enjoy tatty buildings in serious need of a lick of paint, or narrow, graffiti covered alleyways complete with shady looking characters then by all means go to Valpo. If you enjoy power cables sprawling along the side of the road and a view of industrial shipyards and what appear to be scrap metal yards over the coast then go to Valpo. I just didn't get it. South America is full of simply amazing sights and highlights, I really don't see why people insist on being positive about such a place when the continent has literally hundreds of great places to see. In conclusion, it´s not bohemian, it may be rustic, but it´s definitely not for us. Ok, rant over.

Our next stop was Mendoza, Argentina for new year. A fairly easy crossing and a spectacular drive up and through the mountains took us to one of the ´Wine Capitals of the World´. For anyone who knows red wine (Mum) Mendoza is the home of Malbec. To be honest I still can´t really tell the difference between good wine and bad wine but both Kate and I have given it our best shot! New Year was a good night with a huge BBQ, far too much wine then finished off with far too much rum and coke. The evening's festivities ensured that New Years Day was a complete write-off!! Infact New years day was the day we decided we NEED air-con. Mendoza was 40degrees and all we had was a fan blowing hot air at us. We moved a mile down the road to a better hotel and we´ve insisted on air-con ever since. Being a wine capital we went out of highly recommended wine tour. You take the bus to ´Wine Country´ and you rent a bike and visit all the vineyards and taste all the different wines. The truth is that you simply get drunk on a bike…its fairly awesome! While we did gain some knowledge of wine, as the evening went on that knowledge left us along with our sense of balance! We did the tour through a man called Mr Hugo and he and his family ply you with wine! It really was great but we had to leave fairly early as we had a night bus to Cordoba…needless to say we slept VERY well!!

Cordoba is a university town but unfortunately all the students were off on holiday so the town was a bit dead. It was a nice place with a good square and good buildings but a little heartless. One highlight was that Kate managed to find a Chinese restaurant which meant a break in my at least one steak a day regime. As I´m sure you all know Argentina is renowned around the world for its steak and we´ve had some great meals but I have to say, Colombia is still winning in the culinary stakes (I love it when a pun comes together!)

By the 8th January we were bound for Iguazu Falls. Words can't really do the amazing waterfalls justice so I implore you to look at the photos. Between the actually spectacle and the crashing sounds it´s something that we´ll never forget. We decided to do the boat trip and get up close to the falls and despite rather a hefty price, it was definitely worth it. On the promotional literature for the boat tour it says ´´you may get wet´´. This, it turns out, is slightly misleading…you get drenched!!! But as we got off the boat wet through it felt like a once in a lifetime experience. As it was nearly 40degrees it took very little time for me to dry, though Kate was regretting the choice of denim shorts!!

I´ll leave it there, I realize it's been a bit long winded but we´re way behind and this is without question my fault! Once again I implore you to look at the Igauzu pictures, they look like we´ve photoshopped rainbows into them…we haven't, it really is as amazing as the photos make out!

Hope everyone is well back home. It's actually cloudy today…we have no idea what to do with the day!!

Joe and Kate.