Some 2 and a half months previously, we left the green, tree lined expanses of southern Argentina. From that point on we the air had become drier and drier, and the deserts more and more inhospitable and unsupportive of life. On the 11 hour journey from the extremes of Atacama to the agricultural region of the Elqui Valley we finally started noticing little green patches of... could it be... GRASS! TREES!! FIELDS!!! It's odd to think that we'd become so accustomed to the harsh continental climates of South America that it was a shock to see something so unremarkable.
We set up our base in a charming hostel in La Serena; a coastal town at the mouth of the Elqui Valley. It was... fine. Unremarkable. Clean, friendly but forgettable. So much so that we forgot to take ant pictures of it!
No matter - the next day we took a local bus an hour or so up the valley to the village of Vincula. Our main reason for this visit was to go the the excellent Mamalluca Observatory - a superb publicly funded facility - for some star gazing.
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As the only two English speakers on the tour that evening we were treated to our very own guide! We spent around an hour gazing through the facilities largest telescope and some incredible sights, such as Saturn with it's rings clearly visible in the eyepiece. Other than this there wasn't much to do or see in Vincula, other than the spectacular skies and awesome (if rather random) entomology museum!
From there we made our final journey south to the capital, Santiago. Given that they make the odd bottle of wine around here, I thought it wise to plan ahead and had arranged a couple of rather choice vineyard trips.
Sarah: I needed a break from buses (as well as another vineyard tour) so I chilled out in our lovely hostel. It was one of the nicest (and cleanest!) we had stayed in so I was keen to make the most of it!
Matt: So then, I headed down to vineyard number one - the awesome Los Vascos in the remote Colchagua valley. One 3 hour bus ride and a taxi later, I was warmly welcomed at the estate and treated to a fantastic tour of the vineyards. With the snow capped Andes overlooking the valley it was a truly magnificent sight (except some bald chap got in the way of a great picture...)
It was a fantastic trip and the wines were so tasty that I felt obliged to by some to drink back at the hostel!
The next day we had our final - and perhaps most amazing - vineyard visit, this time to Matetic in the rolling hills of San Antonio. We were picked up from the hostel by the charismatic José and driven to the family owned estate, where head winemaker Julio gave us a hands on tour or the vineyards and winery.
We awoke on day two to some very familiar London-esque weather! However, in true British tradition we spent the day dodging the rain drops to explore Santiago and it's fantastic central market.
Matt: That evening Mark Booty, the manager of the amazing Landay Barcelo hostel - our final home for the last 5 days in South America and one of the best hostels we stayed in - asked the ominous question, "Have you tried a Terramoto cocktail yet? It's THE cocktail of Santiago?" Well, its translates as 'Earthquake' and Mark refused to tell us what was in one, suffice to say that there was one bar in particular that made the best in town. As I was to find out, that's a bit like receiving the best kick in the nuts! Sarah made the wisest decision of her life and decided to leave me and Felix - one of Landay's other residents - to find out how 'good/bad' a Terramoto could be.... It's appearance should've been a clue...
At 5am the next morning I got back home (sans Felix!) after a night in Chile's cheesiest nightclub, hit the sack for 1 hour before getting up to go....
SKIING!!!
We'd been so looking forward to hitting the slopes on the Andes, so Matt's 'state' was less than impressive for Sarah! Nonetheless, having been measured up for our skis and taken a 3 hours journey to El Colorado ski resort. At around 3,500 metres it was pretty hard work, but the conditions was absolutely incredible and, given that it was a weekday, the slopes were all but empty!
The next day we prepared for another early start, but we were in for a seriously protracted morning... The van broke down - it took 2 hours to find a replacement - that broke down too - there was an accident on the road up (no-one hurt!) - the snow chains snapped... It was one of those 'South American' days.
Finally, we made it up to Valle Nevado and set about carving up the slopes once again.
It was another amazing day up on the high Andean slopes, and we figured that the journey home could only be better that the journey up..? Well, we got in the van, and it broke down.... Back home at 12pm! More Terramotos, anyone?
With just one day left, we decided to spend a day relaxing and soaking up some of the culture in this historical city....
So then, 4 months in and around 20,000km traveled... South America: done! What an amazing continent it is, filled with the most stunning landscapes: tropical islands with white sand beaches; giant glaciers in the freezing south; dance and music in the big cities; peace and quiet in the jungles and deserts; wealth and poverty; happiness and sadness; wonderful people from ever corner of the globe...
What an experience it was, and one we couldn't recommend highly enough. Time to jump on LAN Airways and head west to New Zealand.
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