Journeyman Dan
 So here I am... When I woke up this morning I looked out of the cabin window to see the Andes under the rising sun over Argentina. Perfect way to start. Even better was that I managed to get on an earlier flight from Heathrow to Madrid. As I had time to kill, I went to the restaurant for a quick snack. There I started talking to a man (Chilean national + half-jewish) who was making the same pilgrimage as me(London - Santiago). A freelance photographer who has lived most of his life in London, he was on his way back to i) see his girlfriend an ii) photograph a 1200 year old mummy which has recently been found (in a preserved state) in Arica, near the Peruvian border. From what little Spanish I speak we managed to exchange email addresses and he said that I could contact him if I needed help (nice guy!). The flight from Madrid to Santiago is 13 hours+ and frankly feels like it!! Luckily it was overnight and they were showing ´Dreamgirls´as the in-flight film, so there was definitely no reason to try and stay awake. Off the plane and out of the airport was hassle-free. Next mission - get to the hostel. As I walked out of the airport a local man started to speak to me in English. (I believe what gave me away was the monstrous rucksack trying to topple me over - I feel like a tortoise or a hermit crab). Anyways, he wanted me to get a private minibus direct to the hostel for 10,000 pesos (10 pounds - there are no pound signs on the keyboard), but that sounded distinctly like, ´pick on the tourist and make him pay´ to me. Politely declined his offer and found the public bus. First obstacle - no-one spoke a hint of english. With lots of gesticulating and finger-counting, always works, sorted out my route for 2,000 pesos - result! As I made my way onto the bus, what should I hear but, "Daniel!". My Chilean friend (Luiz) had found me again. Met his lovely girlfriend, Carmen, and then they proceeded to tell me the directions to my hostel. Excellent stuff - however I promptly stepped off the bus and forgot most of it. Armed with the address I politely accosted a few locals and a couple of other backpackers to end up here. My room is very basic, but there are only 4 to a room so not bad on the whole. Met a pleasant enough Dutch guy (think his name is Rick, but I´ll check later) who´s been here 10 days, seen nothing and is obsessed with buying a motorbike (he wants to do the Che Guevara - Motorcycle Diaries - route). Fair play to him, but I´m going off now to experience some local custom and buy some suntan cream. It´s lot hotter than I was expecting - it´s meant to be autumn! Cheers, Dan
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Diary Photos
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Santiago from Cerro San Cristobal |
 Another angle from the highest point of Santiago |
 At The Top Of Cerro San Cristobal |
 Church In A Hill |
 Virgin Mary |
 The Virgin At The Top Of Cerro San Cristobal |
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