Are my posts super boring?

Just wondering if its a tad boring to read all of the crap that I'm writing. Hope not but I'm not keeping a travel diary so this is pretty much my record (in saying that there are so many holes but what can ya do!)... Is there anything else that I should be including here to make it a tad more interesting? Let me know.

(Fri 20/05) HAPPY BIRTHDAY J xoxoxox Hope you got my txt. Love ya lots & I owe you a kick ass bday pressie.

Now... I'm in Santiago, Chile, & I really should be sight seeing but in all honestly I cant be bothered.

I think its just started to rain. Its the first rain that I've seen in a while actually, since I was first in Cusco I think. Interesting. Considering I didn't bring my rain coat not such a good thing... But such is life :)

I'm actually tired today, no reason. I was in bed by about 12pm last night & didn't get up till after 8am. I cant forget to mention that I had the best shower that I think I've ever had this morning. That's probably not true but the water was hot, I mean really HOT! & there was water pressure & everything, I thought I was in heaven, well for a little while anyway :)

This morning I walked around the city, changed money & went to a SUPERMARKET, yes a real supermarket (did I mention that when I was in Puno, or Cusco, that I started dreaming of supermarkets - they're pretty much non existent in Peru & Bolivia). I probably spent close to 45min just walking up & down the isles... Funny what makes me happy huh :) Santiago. Well from what I've seen its really nice & modern. I walked through the shops & to Plaza de Armas & to a few of the smaller squares & watched what seemed to be similar to the changing of the guards... Not 100% sure what it was but it was pretty cool.

I'm never going to get the money here. It has so many zeros on it. For example my accommodation costs $4500 per night ($10ish au). My brain just doesn't deal well with the zeros. I think I changed to much money, spose Ill just have to change it when I get to Brazil & lose out a little on the conversion.

The hostel that I'm staying in is pretty cool. La Casa Roja (the red house). Its a old mansion that's been converted. Its currently undergoing renovation but is pretty good in that it has chill out areas & a fantastic kitchen. Today I had a proper lunch, that I made! First time since I've been away. I had chicken & salad. I haven't been trusting the salads here so my intake of fresh veggies hasn't been that great. I had lettuce, cucumber & bean sprouts - YUM. Amazing how much I've missed that "green" taste.

Think I've had to many hours on the bus... Hence why my brain doesn't want to work. Think Ill go back to the hostel & zone out to watching TV.... But first Ill make a effort to update a little more.

Yesterday (Wed 19/5) Nick & I went for a huge walk to this park in Mendoza, it was really beautiful. Getting to Mendoza was the first real sign that its actually autumn. Everywhere has been cold but just to see the trees bare & that wonderful amber colour of the leaves was really cool. We walked around the park for a bit then took in a museum & had lunch, which I rushed out of, & left Nick alone, cause I had to catch my bus & was short on time. The bus trip took 7 hours. Its funny, all the other really long busses I've caught haven't showed movies but this one did, really good movies too, bummer was though that the scenery was so amazing crossing the Andes that you didn't need it, so I was torn between looking out the window & looking at the TV screen!

Met a few cool people on the bus. Victor, from Santiago, who I met just before I got on the bus. He's a tour guide here & speaks really good English & Hernan (don't know if I spelt that right...), form Argentina, who I met at customs. He didn't speak much English but I ended up going & sitting next to him & we made do. It always suprises me that when I have proper (complex - to me anyway) conversations how much easier the simple ones with the likes of taxi drivers are. Victor offered to take me sight seeing to the beach today (so did Hernan as well actually) but I decided to do the chill out thing. I'm actually really glad with that decision. Victor seemed a bit pissed off when we arrived at Santiago that Id gone & sat next to Hernan & made some excuse about been busy today anyway... Hernan & I grabbed some food at the bus station (which he paid for, I felt slack but he wouldn't take my money). When I caught the taxi to the hostel it was really cool, Hernan told the taxi driver where I needed to go. So arriving in Santiago was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Here's hoping that Rio will be just as easy tomorrow. I keep hearing scary things about Rio but I'm sure it'll be fine :)

Nick should arrive here this afternoon & he gets to Rio the day after me & I think Jen gets there around the same time so it'll be nice to meet up with them.

Not to sure what I've missed... Hope I've made sense....

Going to blob in front of the TV now... Looks like its raining really hard outside :( think I'm going to get wet.

Love to you all xoxox


Santiago - Chile, Thursday, 20th May 2004