Well we are off again! Currently it's midnight and we are getting up early to catch a 6.10am bus to Puerto Montt, 14 hours to the south.
We had a productive day, leaving the hostel to catch the metro to the office for a cruise company to book a 4 day boat trip for monday from Puerto Montt to Punta Arenas way down south. (I've marked the trip already on the map at the top of the page) Then to the bus station to book the bus. Tried doing that bit online but was just too difficult. The Spanish I could managed but not the info they needed to register with the website to book it as I don't have the required national ID number?!
We were aprehensive taking the metro system after our previous Mexico city experience but it was actually quite easy and not very crowded. Much cleaner than Sydney's train network and the trains were very frequent. As we arrived at one platform we just missed a train and the next one pulled in a minute later. The NSW government could take some notes if the Sydney North-West Metro ever gets built!
Santiago seems like quite a pleasant city. Lots of pedestrian malls around the Plaza Del Armas which is full of palm trees, statues and people including children splashing in the centre fountain. Very clean and people are friendly, haven't been hassled in the streets. Shame we aren't staying longer to see a bit more of the area.