Santiago and Arica

Hola hola,

the trip has been going well so far. we have been travelling a lot but have some down time today so its super nice. were in a cool little village called Putre that is super small and right in the andes so there are mountains all around us.
We had a long lay over once we got into Santiago so we went downtown for about 4 hours and walked around. Its a very nice city, lots of smog though as you will be able to tell in the picutres. After that we flew to the northern tip of Chile to Arica. We spend just one full day there and it was nice. Right on the ocean. Its also one of the dryest spots in the world. They havent recorded rain in a long long long time. I actually dont think they have it recorded. In Arica there was a cool cliff that overlooked the city (see pics). there was a big war between Bolivia and Chile and Chile won and that where it took place.
My spanish is doing a lot better than i thought. there are holes i have to fill in but i am having convos with people and they say they understand me. mike doesnt know any so its just me doing most of the talking. he is learning stuff surprisingly quick though.
thats all for me, here is a few words from Mike or as we say Miguel: Hey mike on the mic, here is my bloggers debut. Im having a great time in chile, its been super busy - go go go - but were making wicked time and weve had a chance to see alot. Cerro Santa Lucia in Santiago was cool, its where the Spaniards claimed and founded the city of Santiago. Pretty much its a huge hill with tons of 18th century architecture, and at the top you have an unreal view of the city surrounded by the mountains. In Arica, against brother Matteos advice I went body surfing at the playa de chinchorro and it was suprisingly warm, and the waves were pretty dece. Talk to u later.....