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Santiago just happened to be in mid-revolution when we arrived back following our trip to the hardware store to buy a plug adaptor (some pretty fancy Spanish was used to get this). The students in Chile take any opportunity to riot and protest, a few months ago they complained that the bus ticket prices were increased. On this occasion it was something to do with student fees. Clearly they don´t have a Tony Blair government to help smooth out the problems in the world. So we were happily walking back to the hostel when we were suddenly in the middle of a large pack of students, pushing our way through them we ended up in "no mans land" between the student protesters and the police in full riot gear. Water cannons blasting towards us and with tears running down our face from the gas which had just been thrown by the police. With James at the helm he guided Anne back to the safety of the hostel.

Rain, Drink, and Deep Powder

James and Anne Walkington
2006-08-08 17:04:34

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hostal at 6am with instructions that we were getting the bus at 10am the following morning.

Needless to say that didn´t happen and at 3pm we eventually set off further south. Should of had good views of three volcanoes but it was still raining and the cloud was down and there was no chance of seeing anything except the inside of the bus. We stayed in Valdivia and had a rather uneventful night of recovery (only a few beers).

Further south the following day we arrived in Puerto
Montt one of largest salmon farming areas in the world. Anne had a weird dish with lots of mussels and meat. James had salmon (was ok but nothing compared to wild Icelandic salmon - think he has been spoiled).

Drove to Puerto Varas to another lovely hostel - sharing a room with Hannah and Ben. Had a massive dinner cooked by our guide. Played cards and drank more! Unfortunately were kicked out of the hostel at midnight after making too much noise. Went to a lovely pub prior to returning at around 4am. Another early start and we started our long drive back up north. Again a rather uneventful day driving through the rain arriving at Salto del Laja - a large waterfall (similar height to Niagra but without the tourists). This was our last night on the road and we stayed in another nice wooden cabin which due to a raging storm felt as if the roof was ready to blow off. The waterfall at least was spectacular thanks to the 7 previous days of rain.

After a final stop at a winery for a tour and tasting we arrived back to a rainy Santiago and said thanks and bye to
our driver and guide. After a small meal and few farewell drinks to Hannah and Ben (going to New Zealand) we went to bed for recovery.

Our next plan was to catch a bus over to Mendoza in Argentina. Unfortuantely after all the rain the pass which goes upto 3000m over the Andes was blocked with snow. After much delibirating and reorganising our whole trip (involved a 3000km detour) they decided to open the pass the following morning. After further umming and ahing at the bus station we eventually managed to get on a bus to Mendoza and went over the stunning pass. Spent two freezing hours at the land border crossing and eventually made it to Mendoza around 10pm. A nice guy at the bus station invited us to his B&B which turned out to be nice and cheap. The annoying thing in Argentina is that people only go out for their evening meal after 10.30 at night. However after a big steak and a good bottle of vino tinto James was happy.

Neither of us could sleep well after having a great big meal sitting on your stomach at midnight. A few relaxing days in Mendoza was enough and we
headed back up into the Andes to Puente del Inca at 2700m only 20km from the Chile border. There was loads of snow and a gigantic sulphur bridge spanning some old hot springs. Our plan was to camp in the Aconcagua (the highest mountain in the world outside the Himalayas) national park but the police wouldn´t let us (next time I won´t ask). Although we did manage to do some nice walks in deep snow up the valley (ideally would have been better with snow shoes or skies).

We are now back in Mendoza which went mad yesterday after the 6-0 win over Serbia. From how they are acting you would think that they have just won the bloody thing. Will be a different matter when they come across England in the final - there will be only two smiles then in Argentina.

We are heading to Buenos Aires tonight on a first class bus which have seats which lie completely flat!