Waiting for our wheels.

The van is not quite what I expected

While everyone at home is experiencing cold freezing conditions we have arrived in South America to hot summer days and nights. Santiago is Chile’s capital city and although it has some high rise, it seems a less frantic city than most we have visited perhaps because it seems there is less traffic in the city and many streets are one way. The city is surrounded by hills and behind you can see the Andes.
We spent three days exploring the city, enjoying a very interesting and entertaining walking tour, climbing up Cerro Santa Lucia to the fort at the top and Cerro San Cristobal where a large statue of the virgin Mary looks over the city whilst making the most of internet access and laundry facilities before we get our Wicked camper van!!
On Thursday we got our van to start our road trip!! It was a little eventful as Pablo decided to pick us up from the underground carpark near our accommodation and forgot that with a roof rack on the van was taller than 2 metres high! At least it was him who hit the ceiling and not us!!! However once our luggage and we were loaded up he just about had enough headroom to clear the ceiling!!!
Matt bravely drove us to the supermarket to stock up on supplies and then we started our trip ( well we went around the block a couple of times searching for our route!) to Laguna Verde, a beach about 2 hours north is Santiago. We have been so spoilt by Belize’s beautiful beaches, that the beach here seemed quite dirty and very busy, so after a quick paddle we piled back into Dotty, our camper van and went off to find somewhere to camp for the night. We decided on a spot at a view point above Laguna Verde with the cliffs and sea below. We cooked our pasta and by which time it was 9.30 and getting dark so we made the bed up and clambered in.
After a night of sharing the van with wiggily Will we woke up squashed to the sides and had breakfast with our view before venturing off to Valparrisso. This higgledy piggledy colourful town stretches from the steep hills and winds down to the busy port. We explored parts of the town by wandering up colourful streets where buildings and walls and steps are painted and decorated with pictures, murals and lovely colours. There are colourful wooden churches with spires and turrets. We ascended and descended using the old funiculars which Will and Ellie found very exciting as they were so steep.
I am writing this while munching my tea in the van and waiting to cross over the steep mountainous border to Argentina. We can see the snowy Andes towering above us, and here in the foothills it is very hot with a dry, dusty terrain where tall spiky cacti grow. We are hoping Dotty will cope with the steep wiggily climb through the mountains, and that tomorrow we will have a walk to a lake where we can see the highest mountain in South America.