Adios Santiago

It is hot here! Too hot and polluted.
We are ready to leave. Lounging by the pool, drinking cheap beer and listening to 90s classic rock has been fun and all, but we've already warn every article of clothing we own, and are ready to blend in with our fellow, equally stinky, trekkers.

So tonight (a las noches) we hop on a comfy overnight bus to Puerto Varas, just outside of Puerto Montt in the lake district. We are inching ourselves closer to Patagonia and have opted to spend most of our time in the near future in the Chilean side before trekking up Argentina in the later, less touristy months.

I know this might be lame, but here's my top 10 list of things I've discovered about Santiago...
1/pisco sour really is sour and sweet and leaves you with the worst hangovers. No more...
2/ Santiago is polluted! We climbed Cerro Santa Lucia at 628 m to get a better view of the Andes, but couldn't see past the smog
3/ The men are gorgeous! Especially the mestisos!
4/ the women dress like they're teenagers until they hit 60ish.
5/ the people are warm and patient with our pathetic spanish attempts
6/ no one speaks english! Trying to get our bus tickets was a really riot! Lots of confused faces
7/ beeer is wonderfully cheap and better than water (thanks for your advice mom!)
8/ there are lots of parks here and even more stray dogs *jon has taken on the mother teresa roll for all filthy animals
9. a good way to get to know any city is to spend time in the markets and try all of the amazing dishes even if you don't know what you're eating
10. It is more fun travelling with a friend (: Jon has saved my life more than once. Traffic here is brutal and drivers DON'T stop! It's funny watching locals run for their lives.

Muchos besos! Siempre, Emily