Santiago & Valparaiso

The reason we are lumping these two very different places together is because after non-stop hopping from one place to another we started to feel a little burnt out. In Santiago, we rented a modern apartment for a week and took to the time to just do nothing, catch up on sleep and relax.

Because of this, we didn't actually take many photos in Santiago! The only real touristy things we did was to visit the main square in town and some of the central parks which offered views of the city, albeit a little clouded by smog.

It was such a luxury to have a nice big bed, cable TV and fast internet for a change! The location was fantastic, only a short walk to everything we needed and the main part of town with cafes and restaurants.

Valparaiso is around 2 hours from Santiago and is the country's main port city. Although at first we felt like we were in the favelas, the charm of the city grew on us over time and we started to enjoy the fact that it is a little rough around the edges.

Being the cultural capital of Chile, the city is full of artsy cafes and street art. Almost every wall is covered in paintings and there are many quirky public spaces with interesting tiling and architecture.

We filled our days with visits to the outdoor art galleries, a trip to the nearby town of Vina Del Mar and plenty of time getting up to date with photo editing!!

So many funny lost in translation moments...