Atacama to Paine Day 1

We set off from Heathrow on an Iberia flight, bound for Madrid. This was a short hop of only 2 hours or so, but being Iberia you had to buy any food or drink - 2.50 Euros for a coke! Needless to say we made sure we had eaten at Heathrow and so didn't need to avail ourselves of Iberia's meagre and expensive offerings.

We arrived to 32 degree heat and met our local guide Emiliano and our fellow travellers, including George who had arrived shortly before us. We made our way into the city to our hotel and after a brief turn around had a meeting about the forthcoming tour, which sounded really great and very full.

Afterwards we went for a stroll into town for a look around a local fish market where we had lunch in one of many busteling restuarants. Full of food and beer we made our way around central Santiago to visit some of its sights, including the central square and cathedral and other local sights where the locals were enjoying their Sunday in the brilliant sunshine.



There were lots of families enjoying the day and watching the street performers, one dressed as Spiderman! We made our way to the top of an old castle sight for splendid views of the city with the Andes Mountains in the back. It was a great way to finish our first day, enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of the city.