To Chile and Argentina!

11:52am Friday 1st August 2008

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After a mammouth and dreary flight we arrived in Santiago, feeling very confused and disorientated as we relived the 5th June because of the time change. My head was mush and I felt so exhausted that I simply fell into bed that night.

The next morning we forced ourselves out of bed and had a little look around the city. We went to the historical area. The buildings look quie Roman mixed with a Hispanic feel and then are surrounded by sky scrapers which looks quite unusual. The streets are so busy and oozing with people that you practically have to shoulder barge your way through.

We only had two days there so we went up the furnicular which gave a fantastic view of the city. We did not realise how big it was.

We moved on across the border through the Andean mountians to Mendoza in Argentina, which is a very nice town with broad, leafy streets and a cool cafe scene. Just the place to chill out.

We spent s Sunday afternoon lounging in the park where a lot of Argentinian families seem to go to. It was refreshing to see every one out and about and not stuck inside wathcing re runs of Eastenders.

When we walked back into town there were football fans marching along the street cheering as Forest Plate had just won. There was a bit of trouble as some of the fans had not stuck to the main square to celebrate, as they were supposed to, and had trashed a restaurant. We kept out of the way of all the fuss!

We had a fantastic day out while we were there as we hired bikes and went cycling in the country side. I felt very continental as I pedalled along the tree lined roads and admired the lovely scenery. We went to a nice little place which sold chocolate and delicious liquers. The dulche de leche and banana one was my favourite. It was so creamy.

We also cycled to a family run winery called "Familia Di Tommasso Amabile" where we sampled three types of wine. We are trying to improve our wine knowledge as we are fed up of just going for the one on offer! We then cycled to an olive oil company where we were told how the olive oil was made and sampled it. It was all very pleasant and a nice change from our usual activities.

That night we caught a bus to Cordoba in the centre of Argentina. We tried to go to a tourist information office while we were there but we some how ended up going to the governmental Department of Agriculture. We were actually there for about 20 minutes before any one realised that we wanted TOURIST information and not their strategical plan for the next 5 years.

We went on a bus tour of the city which was a strange mix of old colonial buildings and new sky scrapers.

That night disaster struck as I had food poisoning and was ill for the whole night and until 2 the next afternoon. All I wantewd was my mum but instead I was stuck in a hostel room feeling very sorry for myself. I slept if off and the next day I managed to get on a horse and go for a little jaunt in the countryside. My horse was very placid and could barely put one foot in front of the other which suited me fine!

That evening we were off again and caught a bus to Buenos Aires where we stayed in a really cool HI hostel in the centre. We went on a small tour of the city and learnt all about Argentina's turbulent past. As recently as 2001 the people rioted, as they were unhappy with the unemployment rate as only 1 in 4 had a job. We went to Plaza de Mayo where all the excitement happens and people gather. The presidential palace is in the square. Evita gave her famous speech defending Peron from the balcony here. The tour guide told us that no one likes the current female president but it was the best choice out of a bad selection.

We went to the grave yard where Evita is buried called Cementatio de la Recoleta. It is a very strange place as it is like a town of graves which are huge shrines. Some are as big as a small church. There are lofty statues and huge chapels, all for just one family.

In contrast we went to La Boca which is a colourful area where the houses are painted bright colours. We also tried our hand at the Tango. It was good fun. We went to a professional Tango show which was fantastic. The dancing was so passionate. There were a lot of leg kicks and feet dragging. It was a great show and we left feeling energised.

We stayed in Buenos Aires three nights and then we caught a flight on up to Peru!