Just not cricket, bye bye miss South American pie

We knew a three hour wait at customs crossing the border to Argentina was coming. That we could handle. But when your bus has finally made it to the front of the queue at 3am and your bus breaks down. That is just not cricket. High atop the Andie's, it's cold, it's dark, and the two bit shack that doubled as a cafe were manned by grumpy old men. Let's just say instead of arriving at six, our bus strolled in at Santiago at eleven am missing Beth's jumper and sunglasses.

As the capital of the strongest economy on the Continent, Santiago boasts all the trimmings of western life, but all the architectural beauty of it's colonial past, superb food and wine, and although often clouded by smog, the Andi's and the coast. I doubt any Australian would experience any culture shock here.

Winding down we visited the usual suspects of tourist destinations, markets, art galleries, museums, and the shopping districts by foot, bus, and the ever reliable and extensive subway.

Random Chilean notes
* High standard of living
* Steak and wine in the centre and north
* Patagonian lamb in the south
* Fish all olver
* Extensive national parks with exceptional beauty in the South
* Sensational empanadas mirroring that of Chile
* Obvious scars of a difficult political past
* A pleasant and mostly safe city

Random South American notes
* All stores are overstaffed but service is generally slow
* Siesta - Anywhere from one hour to five hours a day
* A love of the world game
* Love of pizza with little signs of McDonald's or Hungary Jacks especially up North
* Driving - Dangerous, no indicators nor seat belts
* Excellent and cheap Internet, especially in Bolivia and Argentina
* Street vendors.... food, clothes, and various oddities
* The chariot of the people... the humble bus
* Everyone knows kangaroos, Sydney, and Melbourne and are always pleased to know you're Australian
* The Police and lots and lots of Bob Marley
* Lack of respect for Zebra crossings in the Andie's
* Pashing in public
* Although frowned upon, the odd male relieving themselves in the street
* Very, very, very inferior hot water systems
* Croissants for Breakfast
* Dinner starts at around 8 in the Andie's and anytime between 9 and 12 in the Southern cone

Dodgiest experiences
* 12 hour trip to the jungle, Cliff hugging buses, rally driving taxi, and motorised canoe
* Beth ordering fish heads
* The Blue House hostel in Punta Arenas
* Slobodan Milosovic in El Chalten trying to charge us double for our room, then asking where we're from as to add us to the disallowed list of citizens allowed to stay
* Hostels in Amsterdam
* Iberian airways
* Worlds most dangerous road
* During a break white water rafting, jumping from the cliffs into the shallow water

South America, sure it's a bit rougher than the normal route, but with amazing and changing natural bueaty, friendly and culturally diverse populations, and the gastronomical delights, get here anyway you can.

Next stop, a Tahititian beach