After the salt flat tour we had the option of driving 7 hours back to Uyuni or to continue for 1 hour and cross the border into Chile. We decided to carrying on into Chile as our tour company would also help with crossing the border which was a blessing as we have heard stories of the Bolivian police being very corrupt especially at the border.
When we arrived at the border our driver asked for our passports and exit tax, he then disappeared into a dodgy looking shed which was strange as we could see the 'official' office a couple meters away but sometimes in these situations you have no option but to trust people and go along with it. After waiting 10 minutes the driver came back out of the shed with our passports and the exit stamp we needed to be able to enter Chile. It was all a bit strange but didnt us surprise us after travelling around Bolivia. After driving for about a km we reached a new modern looking building which was Chile's border control office, everything was much more official and they even searched our bags which was a first in South America.

We continued on to a small backpacker town called San Pedro.
It felt like a beach town but was in the middle of the desert. The weather was beautiful and I was very happy to be at a lower altitude.
We used our time in San Pedro to relax as the Salt Flat tour was full on with early starts and very cold nights. We then flew from San Pedro to Santiago.

We spent 4 nights in Santiago and it was cheaper to stay in an apartment than a hostel. The apartment was tiny but we really enjoyed having our own space and to be able to save money by cooking our own meals. Chile is very expensive and there was a big contrast when compared to Bolivia which is one of the least developed countries in SA, where Chile felt like a European city. The weather was beautiful the whole time we were there and we spent our days exploring the city and even stumbled upon a Christmas parade. I really liked Santiago as a city and it reminded me of London with its cool bars and restaurants.