How safe is Santiago de Chile?

I ask this question not because I felt threatened, I ask this question because all Santiaguitos who approached me in the Chilean capital advised me to put away my camera because they were afraid I might get mugged. Looking around, everyone seemed to be carrying their bags at the front with one hand firmly attached to it. So, I assume, pick-pocketing and muggings must be quite a frequent occurrence. But if a photographer is too scared to use his/her camera, then they might as well just pack it in. So, the camera stayed out in the open and nothing happened to it. Luckily.

As we were in Santiago just before Christmas, here are two images. One from the cathedral and the other one was taken on top of one of there hills where these is a nunnery.





Walking into town, I found the Barrio of Bellavista. A kind of "Bohemian" quarter with lots of bars and almost every other house was covered in fabulous graffiti. Actually, calling them graffiti doesn't do it justice. They are great street-art displays.

Then in Chile. WHAT!!!???

After visiting the salt flats in Uyuni, the largest and highest salt flats in the world, we set off to Laguna Colorada in the deep south-west of Bolivia. You haven't missed the blog about Uyuni or Laguna Colorada yet, I still need to write them. Please be patient.

I do like Bolivia, don't get me wrong, but as someone brought up in Europe, there is one essential thing missing: paved roads. Almost all the way down from La Paz to Uyuni and then on to Laguna Colorada, there were NO bloody roads. Dirt tracks, some tracks left by other drivers and we did actually need a guide to direct us to the Laguna. I had a seat at the very back of the truck and it did my back in a bit. Although Renee, our tour leader, let us use the roof-top seats for a while so we could enjoy the stunning scenery a little more, I'm a city kid at heart and it took me half a bottle of shampoo to get the dirt out of my hair.

But why am I talking about Bolivia when the title of the blog is Chile? Well, what a bleeding nightmare that was. After negotiating the Bolivian border without any problems, we hit the "tarmacked" road (cheers throughout the truck) leading through "what we thought it to be and trucks used to get away with it" a 60-kilometre stretch of so called no-man's land to Paso Jama, the Argentinian border. Well, suffice it to say, we didn't get away with it. When the Argentinians saw that our passports had a Bolivian exit stamp, they refused to let us in because, officially, we had come through Chile. So we had to get back on the truck, turn it around, drive some three hours to San Pedro de Atacama where we were searched top to bottom and finally let in. After a quick dinner, we pitched our tents at midnight at the back of some hostel and left quite early in the morning for the road we had started to call our home. Around lunchtime we finally hit the Argentinian border again and now, in possession of a valid Chilean entry and exit stamp, they let us in without any problems.

Lots of stunning images on the way - especially the clouds.

Almost Gone

I'm bound to forget something but right now I can't think what it will be. Passport? Money? Camera? Or maybe something more subtle. Compass? Plasters? Travel Cushion? Keep your fingers crossed that my forthcoming three-month trip to South America (Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina and Brazil) will be as great as my last one in 2003. From Thursday I will be criss-crossing South America on a Dragoman tour and I hope to show you lots of wonderful places and interesting people.

Now sing along everyone:

I'm leaving on a jet plane
I don't know when I'll be back again
Oh, babe, I hate to go ...