Santiago...and it all comes to an end...for now

Arriving at 5am in Santiago, Chile, without a hostel booking, was an unwise decision. For 4 months, booking hostels has not been necessary...but at 6am, one finds that hostel receptions are not manned...and so it looked like 2 hours or more on a park-bench...after an encounter with some would-be-street-thieves (you scoundrels!) and then the hospitality of an office building foyer guard, I finally got myself into a hostel...and all returned to normal.

Santiago is a modern city...with little of the noticeable poverty of other large South American cities...and the sight of the Andes towering above it to the east is awesome (for you Tasmanians, it's a bit like Mt Wellington over Hobart...but on a far grander scale)...






Sculpture park in one of Chile's pleasant green areas...






Owing to being located in a valley of sorts, the city's pollution has great difficulty in escaping and, so, for much of my time in Santiago, a grey blanket hovered above the skyline...

A tour of local vineyards was most enjoyable for not only the lovely tasting wines, but also the brilliant sights...

Back to the city...

Suburban night skyline from the hostel terrace (incidentally, another highly recommended hostel... Happy House Hostel)...

And so, my world travel trip comes to an end...a flight across the Pacific, quick stop at the Auckland airport and then a final flight into a cloud covered Melbourne signalled a temporary hiatus in my global travels...