You've Been to Santiago TWICE!!!

After a surprisingly mild 25 hour bus ride from San Pedro, we arrived in Santiago.

For the first time, we felt like we were close to home. It is a huge bustling city dotted with crowded department stores, McDonalds and Burger Kings. Unlike the US, it is also filled with an amazing array of pastry and ice cream stores...they don't mess around with dessert! Everywhere you look people are eating ice cream-Natalie was a big fan.

We got lucky with our bed and breakfast and for the first time felt like we were getting our money's worth. The owner was a quarky, unwashed, fairy-type of man who decorated his large rooms with large wall paintings, nice furniture, big beds, and homey trinkets. We got a free breakfast each morning: eggs, yogurts, bread, fresh juice...THANK YOU!

Santiago is a sophistocated, well-educated city with an intriguing mix of old architecture and new trends. There are amazing churches that pop up unexpectedly and the Plaza de Armas is home to street artists and the occassional comedian.

Plaza de Armas

Bobby's dreams came true when we entered the 'Market' filled with any and all types of seafood caught over the mountains in the big blue.

Where we ate lunch in the Market.

However, beware of the Chilean Seabass...we both got sick!

It's Chile Outside

San Pedro de Atacama for one night-

So we ended our struggles in the Bolivian Salt Flats and took a bus into San Pedro, Chile-a town just over the border.We had heard rumors that the Chilean Spanish was very hard to understand...and those rumors had come from other South Americans. Immediately, Natalie's beginner spanish was nuliffied...there were question marks flying everywhere. However, Chile's charm was undeniable. The people show years of European influence and, aside from our first cardboard pizza meal, the food was good! After Bobby's crazy weight loss in Peru and Bolivia, we felt it may be time to put a stop to the madness (we were partially right...Argentina was the true savior).

San Pedro is a young, outdoorsy town. The crowd of mid-thirties transplants run activities from biking, sand-boarding, to star gazing tours. The dry desert landscape makes this place the mecca for young adventurers seeking that adrenaline high.

This dog was sooo smart, he hit up every trash can in the park looking for snacks.  I watched as he went to every can.

THAT's A LOT OF F&^*(%$ SALT

We took an over night bus from La Paz to Uyuni, located in southern Bolivia. The first third of the road is paved, the second third is 'slightly' worse paved road, and the last third is full on dirt. If this had been true, we would have been able to sleep from 10pm until 5am in the morning before the road got bad. WRONG-we forgot we were in the land of liars. The road got bad at 2 in the morning and our bodies were jolted by the increadible shaking of the bus until our arrival at 8am.

As the travel book puts it...Uyuni is a 'shit hole.' However, it is the jumping off point to adventure trips in the salt flats. In true Griswold fashion-the notoriously good tour company we booked filled up their cars and took off tellling us "their sister" company was coming by to get us in another car. LIAR!!! We got stuck with another company (luckily the other travelers were wonderful). The rest of the tour was also filled with empty promises: we were promised an english-speaking guide but wait you don't speak english; you told us this morning that we were having eggs for breakfast but now we aren't-just more bread; you told us that we had two free bottles of wine for dinner but you didn't buy any; you heated up instant mashed potatoes and it took you three hours to serve us. Yeah, that happened for the rest of our trip. Long story short-Bolivians are world reknown for their lying and both of us fell victim to it.

But check out these views. We had three days and two nights on the salt flats and it was indescribable.

Getting ready to leave on the big trip...after merging with another group

Train cemetery just outside Uyuni

Ummm...salt bricks

Harvesting Salt

Bobby's best Scarface interpretation.

Harvesting Salt

Yes, Natalie is that small-she can fit in Bobby's pocket.

The Incahuasi Island in the middle of the salt flats.

Gianormous cacti everywhere

This took alot of concentration, no wind, and perfect timing to capture this shot of Bobby standing on a Pringles can.

The first night we stayed at a 1/2 star salt hotel; the beds were alittle hard.

Nat making a quick PB sandwich

It was soooo cold and windy.

Those are flamingoes-who would have thought they lived here

Bobby is jealous.

Our French friend, Michelle, having fun with his boom mike.

Bobby with the Dali tree

Nat is freezing at this point.

Red Lake

The coldest hotel either of us have ever stayed in.