So we caught the overnight bus from Nazca last night. We were not expecting too much, but we were pretty surprised when we boarded the bus to find it was equipped with recliner seats - i’m not just talking about being able to recline the back of the seat, but a leg rest as well. It was pretty well equipped - not that is really any exchange for a real bed and pillow. While we did sleep, I was pretty restless but probably the best you could expect on a bus. ...

It’s been a few days since we have had a chance to grab a seat in front of a computer (probably a good thing), so I will try to fill you all in on what we have been up to in the last few days. We started our Intrepid tour of Peru on Friday. We all met in a small hotel in Miraflores (a suburb of Lima). There are 13 of us in the group, and we all get along really well. The group is a really well balanced mix of people and ages - mostly Australians, and some Poms. ...

We meet up with our tour group last night in Miraflores (just out of Lima) in the hotel we were staying in for the night. Our tour group is pretty good - a mix of both young and older people, but all lovely. We left Lima this afternoon and after a 3-4 hour bus ride we have arrived in Pisco - the city where the national drink gets its name from. ...

Today we jumped onto a tour bus (Mira Tours) that took us for a 3 hour tour through Lima city and to the San Fransisco church and catacombs. This was a pretty cool tour. We got to see or first real glimpses of Lima city and the catacombs at the San Francisco church were pretty cool. Getting back to the hostel tonight a lot of new people have checked in. In honor of their first night we have decided to have a few drinks to get to know each other. As we had a Pisco night the other night - and currently don’t have any expert Pisco Sour makers, or at least no one who could be bothered making it - we have decided to have a Rum & Coke night. ...

After the first good sleep we have had in the last week or so - I think the jet lag has finally left us - we got out and explored the local area a bit. first off we caught one of the local buses into a neighbouring area called Mirafloures. This is almost like a small city in itself, with markets and shopping centers and parks. ...

So we flew out of Santiago this morning (bright and early) into Lima, Peru. I probably should have mentioned it earlier, but was only reminded about the fantastic view from the airplane window as you approach Santiago - floating through the clouds between the various snow capped mountains. It was an awesome experience. However, coming into Lima today topped it. There was a lot of low clouds around Lima today and this made for a fantastic approach in the airplane, with the peaks of mountains breaking though into the clear air above the cloud. It was like a sea of white with little islands scattered around. ...

So today is our last day in Santiago. We started out by heading to the post office to send off a few post cards to family back home. Right next to the post office in the Plaza de Armas is a huge old church where we went to mass. From there we went onto the Marceto Centro (the central market) which is basically a cut down version of the Victoria Market in Melbourne. ...

So we have settled our selves in and found our feet here in Santiago. We have managed to explore most of what the city has to offer (we think). We have visited many of the beautiful old buildings (Churches, etc), as well as the various parks and gardens that are around the city. For us, the big let down of Santiago is the smog! Its bad. No doubt there is worse, but it blocks what is one of Santiago’s best assets - the mountains. Santiago is surrounded by mountains. On one side the Andes, and on the other the costal mountain range. But unfortunately, you can barely make them out through the smog, and there is no hope for a good photo :(. ...

I have managed to post some of our pictures from around the neighbourhood where we are staying. There are not too many up there yet, but I hope to be able to get more up soon. Its difficult due to the size of my image files, and not being able to resize them easily in internet cafe’s… oh well.

Hi all, After a reasonable, but long flight we touched down in Santiago yesterday afternoon (14th). After some sleep, we had our first dinner here, which consisted of a packet of Corn chips & a bottle of local red wine called ´Carmen´ - made the choice easy. After some more sleep last night we had a light breakfast where we are staying, and have headed out to try and get a feel for the place. Hope to do some tours during the week to see the sights, etc. ...