Back down to earth..

So were finally back at sea level and it feels GREAT!!
We have been at altitude for so long now, it is great to feel normal again and not wake up with headache, or feel breathless when you bend down to tie your shoe laces, it`s difficult to explain the symptoms if you`ve never experienced it yourself God only knows how climbers do Everest without oxygen!!

Yesterday we took the bus from San Pedro to La Serena, which is on the Chilean Coast, we`ve not made it to the beach yet as we only arrived at 2am this morning, after 16 hours on the bus!
Buses and roads in Chile are by far the best we have experienced in Sth America, and I can honestly say that yesterday`s trip was really comfortable, with lots of leg room, and the bus was clean too!
The weather is cool and overcast here, probably as were near to the sea, just like being back at home, but without the rain!!

We are hoping to go to one of Chiles many observatories this weekend to see the stars, because there is no light pollution here or cloud cover there are literally millions of stars to see through the telescopes, really looking forward to that as it`s supposed to be a great experience.
We will ony be in Chile for anther week as we want/need 3 weeks to see Argentina, plus Chile is extremely expensive compared to the rest of Sth America that we have visited so far.
I can`t believe that in 4 weeks (today) we will be flying to New Zealand to take up life in a Camper Van. It`s going to be great especially after travelling on so much public transport, dirty buses, unpaved roads, no legroom, late departures, and also to be able to do some of our own cooking as we have now been eating out for 3 months, and it does get a bit repetitive.

Chile reminds me a lot of Spain, we have hardly seen any poverty since we arrived and not come acrss any beggars! They are not the friendliest of Sth Americans that we have met though.
Chile may be one of the richest countries in Sth America but I would much rather spend time in Bolivia with people who have nothing to give you but the time of day.

Matt posting some pics on the blog of our trip to the Salt Flats, they are superb, even if we do say so ourselves!!