Copiapo. Chile. 02.01.16

• How we got here: We took a bus from Santiago which cost us 16.000 CLP per person for a half bed with Pullman Bus and it took just over 11 hours to get here.
• The bus left at 20:00 and arrived at 7:15 the next morning, they have pillows and blankets but they don't provide it. Bring some drink, but don't bring food, they give you breakfast in the morning.

Arriving to Copiapo: It doesn't look like the type of place that would attract tourists and there is not much to do here, we didn't know and booked a hotel in the centre of Copiapo (Il Riposo) for 45.000 CLP, but if  you can just take a bus to Bahia Inglesa immediately after you arrive.

What to do in Copiapo: As we have already said, there is not much to do in the centre, it looks dusty and the number of homeless people is even higher than in other towns. However, even though it didn't give a good first impression we gave it a try.

It is and looks like a desert, the air is dry and the sun, constant. There are some nice mountains surrounding the town though, we saw someone hiking one of the smaller ones, which was topped with a cross. At the bottom of this mountain there were some run down houses, and what looked like an old railway line.

We walked back to the town to find a free museum (which was closed at the time), a nice church and a square that had some kind of charm.

As a town, Copiapo might be your place if you're looking for a mild temperature in the middle of nowhere, that leaves you close enough to some really interesting spots in the region. When you arrive you won't know in which direction to turn because there's so much around this area.

Santiago de Chile to start 2016

We arrived to Santiago during the build up to New Year's eve. This time of the year is crazy in the city, everyone takes the party very seriously and sellers and buyers gathered on the streets to get the cheapest fireworks and colour sprays for the night. We stayed near Estacion Central where the metro station meets the train station at the hotel Imperio. It cost 38.000 per night with breakfast included, and although it might seem a bit pricey it places you in the middle of the chaos. The market that surrounded the entire area sold all kinds of things and it was noisy and lively the entire time we were there.

Some curious things we noticed about Santiago during New Year's eve is that they use yellow underwear for luck, they use masks, hats and "matasuegras", as well as loving the culture of fireworks. This is starting to get lost in Spain for the risks and the children being irresponsible but here it's still big and used by people of all ages.

All the build-up was impressive and at night, on the 31st, after 6pm people left the streets to get ready for a long night. All the shops and the markets closed and we stayed in the hotel, wishing a happy new year to earlier time zones and eating chocolate. We heard a few fireworks but nothing too big, we slept just fine so it wasn't that noisy around our area after all.

We woke up the first of January to find an empty street, nothing open. It was midday and except for a restaurant on the corner from our hotel, everything was closed for the new year. We decided to take the metro and venture somewhere during that quiet day in Santiago. We took the metro to Universidad de Chile and walked to the main square. There was a lot to do in this area and we found what seemed to be the heart of Santiago. We took pictures of the main buildings and inside a church where there was a service going on. The architecture around La Moneda and U. De Chile is pretty impressive and we recommend it if you are into that kind of photography.

We ate at Telepizza (9.090 pesos) the only thing open around and went back to our station as the sun was rising right on top of our heads.

During our time in Santiago we also managed to visit the national football stadium in Nuble. We were let inside the stadium with the only condition of not stepping on the grass!

El Calafate (Argentina) to Coyhaique (Chile) by land

If you are struggling to get around Patagonia I hope this information will help. We couldn't find much info on the web before we travelled.

• El Chalten - Los Antiguos (1000 ARS pp). Bus takes 12 hours with Chaltentravel. You should book in advance, as it always sells out. There is 2 buses a day that both leave in the evening and travel through the night.

• Los Antiguos - Chile Chico (5.000 CLP pp). Bus takes half an hour including the border crossing and you can get it right at the bus station where you're dropped off.

• Chile Chico - Puerto Ibanez (2.100 CLP pp). Ferry takes 2 hours to reach the other side of the lake, you book it at the port. You can also buy tickets to Coyhaique from here.

• Puerto Ibanez - Coyhaique (5.000 CLP pp). Bus takes one and a half hours and picks you up at the port where you arrive, check the company before you get on. You can buy in advance or just get on a bus that has spare seats.

• If from Coyhaique you want to get to Puerto Tranquilo, this costs 9.000 CLP pp and it takes 4 hours every morning from the bus terminal in town. There are several companies, including Aguilas Patagonicas