Flying over the Andes Mountains to arrive in Santiago was magical – the mountains were huge.! My first night in Santiago included an earthquake which shook the bunk beds enough to wake me up and consider having to do something but it soon wore off and I went back to sleep.
One of the girls from the hostel, Tamara, and I joined the free walking tour around Santiago. This was pretty cool with a good bunch of people and we walked through the numerous foodie markets and ended up on the train to the General Cemetery.
This cemetery was just as impressive as the Recoleta Cemetery (in Buenos Aires). It was very grand and we wandered around a while before ending the tour in a bar for a tasting of the Terra Mota – conveniently called the ‘earthquake’ drink as we woke up to an earthquake that morning.
We decided to walk back to the market for lunch of some local dishes and then wander the streets of the Bella Vista area which was pretty arty and colourful. Finishing the day off with a yummy wine tasting at a wine bar that offered over 300 local wines.!
A few of us met up one morning and decided to walk up Cerro San Cristobal to the statue of the Virgin Mary for awesome views of the city – only about 35 minute walk up from the hostel. We hung there for a while admiring the views before finding a café for a yummy brekky.
We organised a day trip from Santiago to visit the Cajón del Maipo and Embalse el Yeso which was pretty cool to drive through the Andes Mountains.
Embalse el Yeso was stunning with the crystal blue water and we were able to chill here a while and enjoy some local cheeses. Longish drive back to Santiago where I met up with my next travel buddy from home, Josh.
We spent the morning at Mall Sports stocking up my winter wardrobe spending a ridiculous amount but I was now kitted out.
We grabbed an afternoon bus to Valpariso and a taxi to our airbnb before wandering around the colourful town. Also, a very hilly town, so we aimed to go downhill and explore the central area finding an awesome little local restaurant for a huuuuuge burger to share. This was after walking past a bizarre street dance performance.
Had to walk off the burger for a bit then jumped in a taxi back to our airbnb for a chilled evening.
We wandered down to the markets where we stocked up on fresh food for the next couple of days and feasted on yummy homemade meals stocking ourselves up with fresh veggies.
A wander around the city up and down the hills and through the alleys filled with street art – it was very pretty and just kept going forever and ever.
The streets were impressive and the views looking back over the hills were something else – the locals would have to be pretty fit to walk up and down those hills every day!
We stumbled upon a Spanish play and spent one evening testing our little Spanish watching a play involving two women which was pretty entertaining.
Our next stop was to Santo Domingo to meet up with one of Josh’s friends, Jose. Jose picked us up from the bus station and took us to his uncle’s incredible house on the beach – we were pretty spoilt!
Cruisy day walking along the coast, watching an incredible sunset over the water and cooking dinner for everyone before the family managed to get us pretty drunk with local alcohol and a very entertaining evening.
After a slow morning with sore heads, Jose drove us to San Antonio to pick up some local fish, which we cooked up before needing a nap after such a food coma.
Jose then took us to a big park where we spent the afternoon walking around a huge lake with no one else in sight – this was an awesome place and it was great to be outdoors in the fresh air.
That night Jose’s uncle, Pepe, cooked us a Spanish meal of mushroom and chorizo – it was incredible and extremely tasty.
For the drive back to Santiago, Jose took us too Pomaire where all the local pottery was made. Cool little town to explore before continuing on to his mum’s house in Santiago for some lunch and then to another house where we stayed the night before he dropped us off at the airport for our flight to Iquique – Jose such a superstar!!
Arriving in Iquique in the morning we checked into the Backpacker’s Hostel and went for a wander along the coast – this was a cool little town with a stunning backdrop of huge sand dunes in the background and it was finally warm again!!
We found the local markets and once again, stocked up on fresh local food to cook up over the next couple of days, and played some table tennis at the hostel. I liked this town.
Early morning for a mini workout on the beach followed by a delicious brekky to start the day then we caught the local bus out to Humberstone – an old mining town only 45 minutes away.
We spent the entire day here exploring the old buildings and taking some funny photos. It was huge and by the end of the day we were pooped.
Another morning and another workout followed by a delicious brekky and hiring a couple of bikes to cycle around the city for the day. We stopped off at the local fish market to try some local sea urchin called Uni and meet up with another of Josh’s friends, Carmen, who took us on a bike ride along the coast to south Iquique.
After enjoying a local barbeque at the hostel with a bunch of people we jumped on our overnight bus to Calama. From there we were very lucky to only wait ten minutes before a connecting bus to San Pedro de Atacama showed up to take us the rest of the way.
Arriving at sunrise and we walked to a hostel that was recommended to us. We were now in the desert, one of the driest deserts in the world.
We wandered around the town checking out a few tour agencies and grabbing some yummy food before an early night after an average overnight bus from Iquique.
We once again hired a couple of bikes and decided to ride to the Valley of the Moon as it was pretty close but this time we could definitely feel the effects of the higher altitude in San Pedro.
The landscape of the desert was stunning and the bumpy roads seemed never ending. Our first stop in the Valley was the caves for a wander and then back on the bikes for a steep climb but we were rewarded with a pretty cool view (volcano in the background and all!).
We eventually made it to the stop for the Mirador Apache so jumped off our bikes and hiked up – it was hot and the altitude was hitting us.
But once we were up, wow was it an impressive view!! We had valleys either side of us and the views went on forever..
We chilled here quite a while making some sandwiches for lunch and taking some cool pics.
Soon enough we made the call to turn around and head back on our bikes. Back was much easier, majority of it downhill so we sped through!!
Back in San Pedro and at our hostel we were absolutely pooped and chilled out before having to pick up supplies for our salt flat tour the following morning.
We finished off our last day in Chile with a yummy dinner in the main square of steak and pizza and some local beer and wine – delish..
