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The South American Odyssey
  • The Craze for Travelling
  • The Craze for Travelling

The South American Odyssey

A 147-day adventure by The Craze for Travelling Read more
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    Terraza Caupolican

    December 16, 2017 in Chile ⋅ 🌬 22 °C

    A bit above the Terraza Neptuno is the Terraza Caupolican. It is a big open space with a view to the city center. Santiago is a mix of tall, old communist buildings and very modern glass buildings all within the same place. There is an ornate gate at the top of the stairs opening into the terrace.Read more

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    Walk in the night

    December 16, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    After we came down from the Santa Lucia hill, we sat in the Cafe Opera for some tea and coffee and after that, we went around the city. The Christmas mood was in full swing. There were people everywhere doing their last minute Christmas shopping. Eventually, we said goodbye to Natalia around 10 pm and headed to hotel.
    The girls were to join us next day and we didn't have a place booked. Our hotel didn't have any rooms available and the others we found were either too expensive or didn't have a good rating.
    After reaching back, we had to search for another 2 hours before we found a place nearby but it was a bit more expensive than our budget. We anyways took it since we didn't have any alternate.    Read more

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    Melinda joins us

    December 17, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    The plan had been that Hristo would wake up early and take the public transport to the airport since Maria was reaching by 7:30 am. They both would stay at the airport and I would do the checkout and reach the airport by 11 pm since Melinda was reaching at 11:30 am.
    But when I came down to checkout at around 9 am, I heard Hristo's voice from the breakfast restaurant. He was still there since Maria's flight from Buenos Aires had been canceled and she would come in a different flight later.
    We both had our breakfast, checked out and went to the metro station nearby. We were let in without any tickets. We didn't know what was going on but of course didn't question it. Later we found out that it was election day for the president of Chile so all the public transport was free.
    We reached the airport to find it completely packed with people. Luckily Melinda found wifi when she landed and we were able to meet up. From there, we took the bus back to the city center. We walked over to pick our bags at the hotel, walked to the hotel where we had booked for that day, checked in and had lunch nearby.    Read more

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    Santiago City Tour

    December 17, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    At about 3 pm, Melinda and I went to join the free walking tour of the city while Hristo went to the airport again to pick Maria.
    The tour was quite good and lasted for almost 4 hours. We walked around in the afternoon heat with the guide stopping in the shadows to tell us about the history about the various buildings and monuments we saw.Read more

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    Going to the police stationAt the Swedish embassy2Indian food

    The theft

    December 18, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    It was on the way to the Hertz and Europcar that Hristo decided to stop over at one of the Peruvian restaurant to eat Ceviche. While he was eating, we sat down to give him company.
    We were inside the restaurant at a closed corner with only our table a table for 2 just next to us. After a while, 2 people came and sat on the table next to us. We continued with our talk. In the meantime, they asked for the menu and talked to the waitresses. After a while, they got up amd went away. A few seconds later one of the waitress ran out and asked us of one of us lost a bag. It took us a while to figure out what she was saying in Spanish. I realized my bag was missing. Hristo and I, immediately ran out but couldn't see anyone with the bag. We reached a crossroad. Hristo took one way while I ran the other. I heard someone calling from behind and pointing to the lane of the cars on the opposite side of the street. I looked at him and he continued shouting in Spanish. I thought he was pointing to the bag, hoping that whoever took it threw it knowing that we were out very quickly. By the time I figured the guy was pointing to a car where he had seen the 2 guys enter with my bag, the light turned green and the cars drove off. 😐
    In the meantime, the waitress at the restaurant had called the police. I immediately blocked all my cards that I had in the bag. They came within minutes and took our statements and those of the waitresses. After that, we were taken to the police station to get a proof of case registration and were asked to pick up the report from a separate police station in 4 days.
    After that, we went to the Swedish embassy about 1. 5 km away. It was 4 pm and they were about to close. They immediately took up my case and I was able to call my travel insurance company to provide the embassy with a guarantee of payment. They were also able to provide me with a document to apply for my driving license.
    After filling in the forms for the passport, I was asked to return the next morning at 9 am for the biometric for the passport. After that we went around to find a place to get a picture for the driving license, but all the shops were closed by now.
    We walked the 6 kms back to the hotel and stopped at a mall nearby to have our dinner at an Indian restaurant (Pardesi Tadka) in the food court. The food was quite good. After that we came back to the hotel to sleep.    Read more

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    2Looking at the list of things to buy
    2Looking at the list of things to buy

    Shopping for lost stuff

    December 19, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    The next day morning, I got stuck with the insurance company since they didn't want to cover any of the losses so I missed the appointment at the embassy. Melinda and I reached there at around 10:15 am and were asked to come back at 11 am. In the meantime Hristo and Maria went to check around the rest of the car rental companies.
    While waiting for the appointment at the embassy, I was able to get my picture taken for the driving license and also post it via a courier to Sweden.
    We reached back at the embassy at 11 am and I got my biometrics etc done in about 20 min. After that we went to a hige mall nearby to biy some of the items to replace the ones I had lost.
    We were still shopping till the late afternoon so Maria and Hristo went for the free city tour in the meantime.    Read more

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    Sky Costanera

    December 19, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    We came out of the shopping mall around 5:30 pm and figured that we had spent the whole day at the base of the highest building in the southern hemisphere. We decided to go to the top floor (61st) to the viewing platform. The views were 360 degrees around and stunning. Luckily, it was a clearing day and we could see all the way to the mountains.Read more

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    Off from Santiago

    December 20, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    We woke up in the morning and had our breakfast at the hotel. Hristo and Maria went to pick up the car while we waited at the hotel. It took them about 1.5 hours to get the car. As soon as they came back we were out and loaded our bags in the car. Just in time as we were parked in a forbidden zone and we saw the parking check as soon as we started to drive. Maybe our luck was finally changing!!
    We drove to the police station and got my case number for the theft case. After that, we drove to the main police station to get a copy of my case file but unfortunately we were just a few minutes late. They were closed for the day. We then drove for a few kms outside of Santiago and stopped for lunch around 1:40 pm.
    The place Casa Bosque was amazing. Very beautifully carved from wood, each and every corner was tastefully decorated with an elf and troll theme.    Read more

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    Embalse de Yeso

    December 20, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    El Yeso is a reservoir located in the Andes, in the Santiago Metropolitan Region, Chile. It is formed by the damming of the Yeso river, part of the Maipo river basin.
    El Yeso reservoir, along with the nearby Laguna Negra, is a major source of drinking water for Santiago.
    Its water has a turquoise hue and is suitable for fishing and windsurfing.    Read more

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    Embalse de Yeso end of the lake

    December 20, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    We drove all the way to the end of the lake. Further, we could see the mountains rising higher and the road continued across the mountains towards Argentina. We stopped for a while at the end. There were a lot of empty trucks going towards Argentina so we decided to go back towards the middle of the lake where there was a parking a bit off the main road. Hristo and Maria decided to walk to the lake while I drove the car to the parking.Read more