Santiago

Sorry for not posting for so long but had a trying few days... things looking up now though!

Arrived Santiago and got transport to hotel... went for a wander only to have my camera stolen along with some cash, spent the rest of the day in the Police station but then joined the arriving Dragoman team for their farewell dinner from the last trip... most of the people were staying on so it was a good opportunity to meet our travel mates for the next 3 weeks. Had a stunning meal in Bellavista, and returned for an early night as we had been up since 4 am. Next day went to the British Consul as directed by Police... wasn´t sure why we had to go there but it was very close to the Nikon centre so we went. As expected when we got there the Consul had no idea why we were there either... they also explained why the Nikon centre wanted to charge me 500 GBP for the same camera I had bought in the UK for 309 GBP.... they have hideous import duty!!!

So back to the nasty old camera... though we have now met many new friends with nice cameras who will share their photos.

In the afternoon we went up Cerro San Crystabel... the local volcano/city park... 60 year old funnicular was a little worrying, but not nearly so as the cable car with doors that didn´t shut properly. Open air church at the top with life size nativity was stunning... as was the huge ice cream that we shared. Lovely afternoon followed by decidedly average meal in the evening as recommended by lonely planet... never again.