CHILE: PART I- Mayhem!! (Santiago and Valparaiso)

As soon as the foisty two day bus crosses the border into Chile a sequence of curious events begins; firsty I am back on my own and developing mild insanity after 27 hours of not talking to anyone except my trusty finger puppet Banjamin. Also, the countries length makes it like a pantomime of different characters chaging shape, colour and costume as you travel. As it therefore seems impossible to describe the whole show in one long stint, I have split the Chilean adventure into its three main parts: Mayhem, Magic and Mystery- Crikey, it was just as spectacular as the name suggests!

We begin shuttling through the parched roads of the northern desert, which slowly give way to the angular grey mountains of the middle-north where Santiago (the capital) is nestled between smog-covered peaks.

MAYHEM!! : Santiago and Valparaiso

(early December)

My time around Santiago was less like a sequence of events and more like a coiled slinky setting off down a flight of wonky stairs. The city itself is much like the petrifyingly beautiful ladies that live there; proud, intimidating and extremely fashionable. Billboards, shopping plazas, neon lights and frantic traffic are mingled with polite statues and fountains in the many parks (I can tell I have been reading my Rouge Guide a bit too much as I am starting to write about places in the same tone...yikes!). It´s very hot and I burnt the insides of my knees on the first day, ouch! On the first night I am introduced to Pisco Sours (very strong, never have more than one) and taken out partying with the crazy hostel owner.

In the morning I wake up confused and dishevelled but excited to be reuinted with my lovely Canadian friend Alex! After our morning choco cerial (which is the highlight of the hostel) we decide to hitch a ride to the famous seaside town of Valparaiso, but are offered a lift at the last minute by the very same hostel worker that had led me astray the previous night. The drive is all sunglasses and hot tarmac; everyone here seems to drive above the speed limit (if there even is one!)We are taken to the hostel of our escorts friend who greets us with glazed eyes and a suspicious smokey smell floating around him. The hostel is very perculiar: all the beds are unmade from god knows when and there dont appear to be any guests... We are told we can stay there for free if we provide wine for the party that eve, so we agree being a big skint but have a feeling we wont be able to do much sleeping anyway.

We head into the tumble- down streets of the town where colourful cubes of houses are scattered about the hillsides like thrown dice. Door-ways and alcoves are covered with quirky graffiti as though draped in costume jewellery, and street performers in stripey tights play for money at the traffic lights. We are given a quick tour in the car, getting lost down the helta-skelta streets in a confusion of reversing and three point turns.

We visit the house of the famous Chilean poet Pablo Neruda which contains a beautiful hotch potch of curious posessions such as a private bar decorated in extravagant gold, a fun house mirror and a stuffed penguin.

Our arrival back at the hostel is greeted with cream liquor, Absinth (burning sugar and all) and a wide eyed girl with a nervous twitch who is handing out little packets to the hostel owner..hmm. The night passes through to 7am in a colourful haze, and we watch the sunrise over the sea from the dusty hilltop.