Chile

Hello people!

Apologies for the radio silence - you would think that New Zealand would have plentiful internet access but it turns out that free internet at every stop is a luxury that we left behind in South America...who'd have thought it?

We've been busy, and as I've been offline for a while I will make this succinct...Santiago is a lovely city, and travelling there from La Paz would make you swear you were on a different continent. From the second we left the airport we noticed the difference - gone were the plumes of black smoke behind every vehicle, the 2000 car horns per minute and the suicidal buses with 20 more people that is physicaly possible in them - instead, you are welcomed by well tarmaced roads being driven by seemingly sensible motorists! The differences didn't end there - Chile is much more expensive than Bolivia, and with 938 Pesos to the pound it's tricky to work out what you're spending! It feels far more like you're in Spain than South America, quite disorientating

As we only had two days, we spent a hectic time trying to see as much of the city as possible. The main square, the fish market, San Cristobel hill (up on a funicular railway, down on a cable car) and lots of walking! We even visited the stock exchange which wasn't quite the frenetic hive of activity one expects from a stock exchange....just one guy who I think may actually have passed away at his computer without anyone noticing and one chap jabbering on his mobile...that was it! All in all we concluded that Santiago is a pretty nice city and I think we will visit again.

After a manic few days, the time came to leave South America behind and head for NZ. It was actually quite pleasant arriving in a country where language is no longer a barrier - travelling with very bad Spanish in South America was pretty tiring after a while! We arrived in Auckland at stupid o'clock in the morning and sent a long day exploring the city before meeting up with Ursula for a few beverages (the Kiwi who used to live with me for those who don't know her!). Our second day saw us doing some more exploring of the suberbs - lots of trendy shops, markets and restaurants to be found. Day 3 was spent visiting places around the bay by boat - breakfast in a place called Devonport followed by some wine tasting on Waheke Island...this backpacking lark is tough, I tell you!

Day 4 saw us leaving Auckland behind in our new home - a campervan called Rabbit It's basically a toyota hi-ace with a teeny sink, cupboard and gas stove in the back as well as two bench seats and a table that convert into a bed. Our first stop in Rabbit was up north to a place called Paihia, which is the gateway town to both the far north and the Bay of Islands. On our route up there we passed one museum we decided to give a miss - Sheep world Even the sheep that had been dyed flourescent pink and sent to roam enticingly around the entrance couldn't convince us it was worth a visit!

And now I plan to leave you all on tenderhooks (well, maybe slightly less bored at work then you were before you logged on!) as my t'interweb pennies have run out and it's time for dinner!

Our next two stops are cities so we should be online again soon, until then I shall bid you Kia ora (that's Maori dontcha know, and has nothing to do with orange squash!) and sweet as Bro! Sue xxx