¡Hola todo el mundo! ¿Qué tal?

The photo above is of Santiago apparently, but I'd love to know where it was taken. Santiago, Chile, is a big, pale grey beat of a city with not a huge amount to offer in terms of tourist interest. Arriving in the taxi was good fun though, seeing the Andes mountains surrounding the city with the driver answering my questions ever so prouldy, saying "Son la cordillera de los Andes." I instantly met a great bunch of people at the Chilli Hostel, as well as a guy I'd met on the flight over from Auckland. Sightseeing included getting the funicular railway to the top of Cerro San Cristóbal, with a big white Virgin Mary statue at the top, along with a great view of the band of brownish-grey smog sitting over the city and obscuring the mountains a bit; visiting the pleasant public space of the Plaza de Armas, with lots of shady seats and palm trees, with interesting architecture all around; and climbing the grand staircase up Cerro Santa Lucia for a nice view and some shady green space - very welcome on a day of 28 degrees! Also had a barbecue at the hostel that continued into a wicked night out at club 'Subterraneo' where all the hostel got to know each other and have a boogie. Aussie Pete and I made it back to the hostel at 6:30am and had to wake the sleeping night guy! Really enjoyed Santiago because of all the people I met and shared time with - so much more interesting people than in NZ (on the whole!).

From there a took a quick bus ride to Valparaíso and nudged my way into a taxi with Americans Kaity and Christiana, who were heading for the same hostel as me. We had a cool room like a studio flat, with my bed on a sort of shelf above their one! Went out for a very meaty dinner with hip hop street party audible outside, and a waiter who had only two questions for the Englishman: Is Braveheart real? Was Jack the Ripper real? I mean, I just wanted dinner...Anyway, over a fantastic fruity breakfast the next day the big communal table helped us all make lots of friends and I went for a wander with Brits Julia and Lizzie. I could write a whole blog on that one wonder but to be relatively brief, we got talking to a man in his garden who invited us in to have honey coffee (involving his own bees), conversation, a show-round his house and a rather full-on talk about Jesus and praying. We were relieved when he finally released us but enjoyed the experience! The residential streets on the hill at Valaparaíso are unbelievably pictureque. All different colours and different states of (dis)repair, with lots of truly artistic graffiti on them and various walls too. It was satisfying enough just to wander around and take a few photos. There was also an 'open air museum' (El Museo de la ciel abierto) that made a feature of much less engaging art! Had a little ride on the tiny, rickety funicular they call 'ascensiones' and had a nice evening talking around the table at the hostel. The following day I went with Kaity and Christiana to La Sebastiana, one of poet/political figure Pablo Nerdua's houses that overlooked the city in a great way and felt a bit like a ship, climbing to the top floor with big windows looking out to sea. I had my first Chilean bus rides and walked through the unimpressive, dirty and busy town centre back to the hostel, where there was more conversation and a good dinner around the corner.

The next day I got a bus to Mendoza, Argentina in the morning, for a 10-hour journey. I became part of the 'Communidad Internacional' on the bus, with two guys from Argentina, one from Switzerland, one from Taiwan and three from the US. We passed the time with some fun conversation and enjoying views of the Andes. We had to climb right up into the jagged, dry mountains to cross the border and it really was an amazing journey. Got a flash of a view of Aconcagua, second highest peak in the world and eventually of some Argentinian plains which were beautiful too. Arrived in Mendoza in the dark and our Argentinian gang thankfully made sure us tourists all got to our hostels OK. Mendoza in the daylight was lovely city, with wide, tree-lined streets and cobbles in places. Nice to wander along the streets. I met up with the tourists the next day and went on a bike and winery tour courtesy of lovely Mr Hugo. I was up front on a tandem with Matt, who'd managed never to learn how to ride a bike before. So an interesting few hours with a lot of riding, a bit of wine and shots of absinthe at the end to finish off. A good fun day ended with dinner together. The next day I struck out on my own, to go to the Parque San Martín, which is pretty much as big as the central part of Mendoza, ie. HUGE. It is also not like a British park, with only a few dry grassy areas, lots of roads, trees and dust. I got very lost on a hot day and took some advice to go to the Cerro de la Gloria for some good views (are you getting that 'cerro' is Spanish for hill yet?) I decided to cut a few corners, explorer style and stupidly slid my way up some loose slopes and fought with a spiky plant towards the top, but it was worth it in the end. There was a large sculpture and great views of the surrounding desert-like landscape, partly obscured by whipped-up dust. I had a little sit by the lake that had taken me about 4 hours to find, had a pancho (huge hotdog covered in all sorts of disgusting things) and just about managed to get to the bus station in time for my Buenos Aires bus. This was a 14-hour drive, on which I didn't sleep much but spoke a bit to some Argentinian guys next to me. My favourite bit was when the whole bus played bingo!

Arrived, shattered, yesterday and didn't do much. Had a wander to the main pedestrian street, Aveinda Florida, but really wasn't inspired by much. The hostel has a guitar and that inspired me a bit more! But today has been much better. I'm staying in the tango-central 'San Telmo' part of the city, with cobbledy streets and fantastic antiques and crafts markets on a Sunday, that stretch for a couple of miles down one street. A lot of it is actually simply the junk someone has spent their whole life collecting but it was bustling with people, street tango shows and all sorts of musicians that it was wonderful just to wander around. I got a nice bit of art to stick on the wall too. Walked into el centro and went to the Cada Rosada, which I think is the equivalent of Downing Street or something - where the government action actually happens. It's a beautiful pink building with a gorgeously light and spacious interior. It was also where the Pérons were busy, and I went out onto the famous balcony from which beloved Evita made her rousing speeches. Also went to see the obelisk on apparently the world's widest street, with about 24 lanes, and the Palacio del Congreso, a great old building.

The language is a lot of fun here, but tires me out a lot! I've been able to speak to a lot more people than I thought and I'm learning every day. Fingers crossed I can speak pretty well by the end of two months! It really has made it possible to have more fun and engage with locals a bit more, so things in South America are a lot of fun. It's back to more basic accommodation but more interesting people, different sights and a far more cultural experience, so I'm happy. No idea where I'll be when I next write but I'm hoping to see Iguazú Falls soon and then go on to Bolivia and Peru.

As ever I hope you're all well and enjoying the beginnings of summer...and a new government! Love to all

Dave

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