Santiago\Valparaiso, 21-22 March

Arrived in Santiago on Sunday and having met the rest of the group we headed into the city for a wander, all looking very much the ´tourist´part.. Earthquake damage is apparent with cracks in bridges (worryingly now held together with just small iron plates), buildings and piles of rubble at the side of roads. Very little historic architecture (due to previous earthquakes!) but a good introduction to Chile and we ended the day with a pisco sour and dinner in a revolving restaurant overlooking the city.



Our next stop, the port of Valparaiso, north west of Santiago with a short visit to a vineyard on the way (the Casablanca Valley)...ummm early morning wine tasting, an excellent start to the day - Chilean wine is scrummy!






Valparaiso is a large sprawling city, very colourful with houses painted in all colours and an abundance of elaborate grafitti!! Heading south today to start our Patagonia journey.