Santiago. It'd be a spectacular view of the Andes behind the city, if the smog ever lifted.Twas a bit of a shock to return to non-English speaking travel but Chile is great fun. Santiago is an easy city to readjust in - very Western (perhaps too much so - Santiago has more fast food outlets per capita than NYC. Chileans appear to love their takeaway).
In fact if it wasn´t for the smog, Santiago would be spectacular. Ocean on one side and ski fields on the other. However the downside of being squeezed between ocean and mountains is an almost permanent layer of smog that doesn´t move.
After a few days adjusting from travel in the States with friends, to the far less glamorous life of backpacking through non-English speaking countries, we relocated to Valparaiso, a pretty little seaside town. Valparaiso is famous for its beaches and its inclinators. Built on a series of steep hills, the city features these crazy little railways (ascensors) which connect uptown and downtown. Many of these are over a century old and have the look and feel to match (think of a garden shed on a rope sliding up and down a guide rail on the side of a near cliff). Makes for spectacular views from uptown but is a bit of an opportunity for extortion for the operators (recently the ascensor serving our hostel hiked its fees by 500%, hitting a pretty outrageous figure for what's essentially a necessary public utility).
Valparaiso, and one of the older ascensors. 
That wooden shack look isn´t just for show.
Anyways, fun and games by the coast. We made the most of it, knowing next stop would be the far less friendly climes of Patagonia.
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