Chilling in Santiago

Hi All,

I think both Julia and I are feeling a bit of culture shock after leaving the little villiages of the Antiplano in Bolivia and then arriving 12 hours later in Santiago...its a bit overwhelming!

When you spend time somewhere very remote and foriegn and allow yourself to connect to the people there you never look at your home of lifestyle the same way....the familiar becomes unfamiliar and you find yourself questioning things which you always accepted as normal or perhaps you didn`t even notice them at all. After spending jus a little more time with the people of the antiplano it makes most of what folks stress about really appear very very silly and really highlight what is truly important (family, friends, leading a positive/constructive life etc)

I think trying to travelling with an open heart and mind is VERY difficult but VERY rewarding. You meet some tourists that had blinkers on - they were there for the photographs - not bad people by any means but they really seem to be missing out.

Anyway...I am being way to preachy for 9am! Julia and I need to have breakfast and do a bit more exploring around Santiago before Julia (and hopefully I) get to fly back to Atlanta tonight.

Allthe best and cheers,
Neal

PS I will be do a decent job of documnting the trip once I get back to the states...there is just too many pics and too much to write :)