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Hello it´s Laura
Sorry that we havn´t updated the blog in a while but we have just been SO busy! We can´t believe that we are in South America and have passed our half way point of Australia. From what we have seen so far South America is really great.
Chile is the most expensive of the South American countries that we will be visitng but it seems pretty cheap compared with Tokyo and Sydney. We are also so glad to be somewhere so hot and sunny.
On our first day in Santiago it was a struggle to keep ourselves awake. We landed at what was 5.30am the next day in Australia but actually 12.30pm the day before in Chile. This coupled with the fact that we had stayed up so late on our last night in Syndey and got up so early for our flight meant that we were shattered.
We checked into our hostel, showered and set off on a walk. We stumbled upon a market selling lots of tatt and we stopped for a few caffine drinks in different cafes. Santiago is quite modern and to us it felt like we were in Spain. That evening we went to the closest restaurant to our hostel (right next door) and ended up having sushi and tapas (our way of easing off the Asian food and onto Latin American cuisine!)
The next day we met up with out tour group and had a guided walk around Santiago. That evening we had a group meeting, then a few of us went out for dinner where we were given a glass of free Chilean wine as an incentive to go there. Following this Lily and I with two others from the tour went on a bar crawl which was alot of fun.
The follwoing day was spent taking a bus ride to the city of La Serena. This city is located on the coast and we were spending two nights there. The first day we spent looking around and the second we spent on the beach. The part of the beach we were on wasn´t particularly beautiful but we were the only people on it so it was peaceful. On our walk back we saw a beached sealion which was exciting and a bit sad.
Our next destination was Antofagasta. We had an overnight bus ride to get there. We passed miles and miles of barron land until we reached it. Again we spent the day sightseeing. For lunch we ate with the locals in a cafe. It didn´t look too great and i wasn´t overly keen on the food but then i don´t know what i was expecting for 1,500 Chilean Pesos (about 2 pounds) for a 3 course meal! In the evening the whole group met up for dinner and drinks and we went to a great bar which sold towers of beer (yes, i do drink beer now!!)
The following day we set off on another bus ride to our final destination in Chile, San Pedro de Atacama. This is a fairly small town but has alot of character. It is very popular with tourists but also has a great local vibe. Our first day here started at 3.30am where we set off on a tour to see the geezers. It was absolutely freezing so early in the morning and at such a high altitude it was -10. It was great to see though. We also went to a hot spring where we stripped to our bikinis (still in freezing temperatures) and dived into the hot water which was lush. We also had our first taste of llama for lunch which was nice. That afternoon we had another organised tour of the national park (the valley of the moon). By this time the group was exhausted. The highlight was watching the sunset from the top of a sand dune.
The follwing day six members of the group got up early again to go horse riding. I was the only one never to have done it so i got a lovely tame horse called Berotta. It was so much fun. We rode for three hours, through the desert amongst other areas. Afterwards we had some lunch in the town and did a bit of shopping. Lily and i also helped our tour guide with shopping for our group bbq that afternoon. The bbq started at 4pm and the whole group chipped in for food and drinks and it was held at our hotel. Everyone was there apart from one member fo our group who had left his passport at the previous hotel and had to do a 11hour round trip on the buses to collect it or he wouldn´t be able to come to Bolivia with us the next day. The bbq was alot of fun and lasted all afternoon and evening.
The following day we headed accross the border to Bolivia for the desert and salt flat tour.
Lots of love Laura and Lily xx
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