We seem to have arrived in town at the same time as the Hanga Roa Cock-a-doodling tournament and our apartment's cockerel seems to be one of the main contenders. We're staying in a cavernous and spacious hexagonal building on stilts and made out of wood. It's constructed out of wood and very well finished. Apart from the main room there is a bathroom and a small kitchenette area. Beneath the cabana is a lava cave. The balcony area looks north east towards two sma...

Whilst Joan showered Kevin went in search of bread and cheese for breakfast. The internet in the flat was very slow and we couldn't upload photos. We had tried to contact the owner to see if we could leave our cases till the afternoon but she did not respond. After breakfast we went for a walk up to the funicular railway station. Barrio Bellavista is the Boho area of Santiago with lots of restaurants, bars and clubs. Then we walked down from Plaza Balcemeda to t...

As daylight came we started to fly over the Andes and could see a snow topped volcano. Soon after the descent in to Santiago began. We caught a cab to our apartment in Bellavista, just off Pio Nono and near the funicular railway up to San Cristobal. All went well until the cleaner turned up and thought we were the previous night's guests. After some debate, we spoke with the owner on the phone and the confusion was cleared up. We had booked a table at El Heurto, ...

The weather was cooler today so we decided to make a trip up to the ruin of a hotel, near Cerro Sosneado. We weren't sure what to expect as it was rumoured the road there was in a poor condition, but we watched a couple of videos on YouTube of others driving the route and thought we would try it. Heading out of town, we filled up at the Esso petrol station. As usual, though it said credit cards were accepted when we tried they only accepted cash. If you say you...

We said farewell to the milodon on the roundabout at the entrance to Puerto Natales and headed back south. The road was quiet, so quiet we had time to notice the very fancy bus shelters and flag trees. We passed a large herd of cows being driven alongside the road. On the way up, we saw this unusual rock ill at odds with the vast, rolling plains. As we passed it again we noticed there was an interpretation board. It turned out to be a volcanic plug, one of five i...