It is time to say Goodbye to Peggy, our Tucan Truck that has brought us safely all the way from Ushauia, Argentina, the southern most city in the world, to Santiago, Chile, one of South America’s largest cities. 
We’ve had a great bunch of people on this trip, and we’ve all bonded well together. We have shared laughs, adventures and conquered new challenges such as the ice climb in Viedma Glacier. It was fun getting to know both Andy our truck driver and Ally our group leader.
I had a chance to ride up the front with Andy on one of the drives, and learnt he started his career with a degree in Geography, that we shared a passion for writing and we both had dreams of publishing a book one day. Andy has been driving overland trucks for many years now, having been enticed away from the UK, while travelling as an overland passenger himself. He keeps me entertained with tales from his overlanding life and the passengers that have passed through these parts. He knows Patagonia like the back of his hand and just like Ally knows where the best beer and a good steak can be found in the towns we travel through.
Ally herself is a great trip leader. An Aussie, still in her late twenties, she is fluent in Spanish and a few other languages and has travelled through most of the countries in South America. She has completed most of the challenging hikes and ice climbs on this trip, so it is great to get the inside scoop of what we are in for, before we sign up for an excursion.
We say goodbye to the group at a steak dinner in Santiago. Many of these guys will go there separate ways, but Sarah, Rose and I spend the next day exploring Santiago together. 
Santiago is reputed to be the largest and most important financial centre in Latin America and is a modern cosmopolitan city complete with sky scrapers, a good selection of restaurants and the usual hustle and bustle of a big city.
When we arrive, I have feelings of culture shock and instantly miss the quaint, quiet towns of Patagonia, we have left behind. I find the noise of city traffic grating. Santiago is not a city that instantly appeals to me, even on this my second visit. I realise I prefer the low key, smaller cities, in the country where one can walk everywhere and where there is a sense of character and atmosphere.
Bigger cities the world over give you a sense that everyone is in a rush and no one has time to spare. The plazas are more interesting and we have fun browsing the little stalls and people watching.
We visit the fish market and decide to have lunch, sampling the fresh seafood on offer. We also visit the local arts centre and go through one of the local photographic exhibitions showing at the moment, titled ‘Chocolate on my Jeans’.
Then we walk to Bario Brasil, a bohemian neighbourhood with painted houses and a few murals. It was more run down than we expected, but still fun to poke around a neighbourhood that was full of locals having long lunches and enjoying their weekend.
We walk back to our hotel via more interesting neighbourhoods and find ourselves at Constitution Square.
The old Palace has now been converted to government buildings and is heavily guarded with security guards and guard dogs. The guards seem rather bored, standing around all day with nothing to do and we people watch for awhile before we head back for a nap and Rose takes off to the airport.
It is just Sarah and me for dinner, so we head out in search of something different. We dine at an Indian restaurant and have drinks in a downtown cafe that our guidebook promises would have tango music. Unfortunately they’ve got the days mixed up but we still enjoy our pisco sours and baileys! It is a lovely atmospheric cafe that has seen many eras of Chileans pass through. I realise that after wandering for most of 2010, my travels are almost over. I still have some time in New Zealand with friends, but this was the last major journey before I started to head for home.
We drink a toast to our wonderful experiences in Patagonia before heading back to our hotel, for our last night in South America!
Few people know so clearly what they want. Most people can't even think what to hope for when they throw a penny in a fountain. ~Barbara Kingsolver
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