Raine: The journey from Pucon to Concepcion took quite a long time despite travelling on the motorway. It was interesting to see how the landscape changed along the way and to see the different types of farming. There were small homesteads with a few animals and crops and then there were massive swathes of corn and huge houses with gated entrances. The hedgerows were adorned with our typical summer flowers …very beautiful. 

We eventually arrived in Concepcion at about 4 o’clock. It all looked pretty grim. Everything was shut up and it felt unloved. We arrived at the hostel and this also looked in need of some love! Still we went in and we were greeted by a guy who could speak some English and taught me a bit of street Spanish.. very useful?.. The rooms in this hostel are quite small but  spotlessly clean and the communal area is also quite small. I don’t know how many rooms there are …. After checking in we went for a walk around the town it was very empty the only people being around were beggars and drunks. Back at the hostel we started making plans for a day out of the town towards the coast. The first stop wasn’t interesting really it was the kind ofplace that families go at the end of the day when  to have a paddle in the sea, but then we moved onto a beautiful little fishing village. It was so pretty, although I did feel a bit that we were intruding as people were just working hard bringing in fish and seaweed and laying the seaweed out to dry. We found a lovely little restaurant and had some very cheesy empanadas and a cup of coffee. As we sat there, other tourists began streaming into town. We were very glad we made it there earlier and  were  on our way out!  Next we drove to a National Park which was closed, so we went back into town which is a bit livelier today and didn’t feel so desolate. We also managed to find a street restaurant,  serving some vegetarian food, which I enjoyed with a Pisco sour! 

A long journey again today - Concepcion to Santiago. We had a couple of stops along the way for a cup of coffee and later a picnic. Arrived at the apartment at about four and had a  shock when I realised it was on the 22nd floor. The views are incredible; you can see the mountains in the distance shrouded in a pinky, heat haze. Leonardo ( the landlord) met us at the apartment to explain everything. He  couldn’t speak any English. In fact, my Spanish is better than his English. That is a first!! 

Tomorrow we return the car and begin our city break. I’m really hoping for some good food.. it’s been scarce on this trip. 

The view from our Santiago apartment