Chilly in Chile

It's fair to say no one really understood stopping in La Serena. The attractions-pisco tour, penguins/sea lions boat trip, local villages, observatory-were all things we'd already seen farther north. La Serena's also a beach town, but even I was wearing a jumper. After the 17 hour bus ride we arrived with a full day, but food, showers, laundry, checking out options etc. and a lack of drive saw the day drift away. We'd tackle La Serena on the morrow.

A funny thing happened at breakfast. I'd been talking about Yellow a few minutes before, when a new song started on the TV. It caught my eye and I said-is that the Pyramid Stage? It was. That's Coldplay. I was there in the mud in '05. And then the crowd started singing 'Look at the stars' (Chris Martin took the first verse off) and I was transported-I was no longer in the conversation, the café or Chile. Did I miss home, not that I have one, for the first time? Or did I just miss Glasto? Is that now my spiritual home? I'm not sure if I'll be ready to return to the UK in a month, but I'm fairly certain I'll be ready to leave South America.

Since then the number of e-mails asking when I'm back has increased, the messages have started asking if I want to do things when I'm back (most of which cost money) and I've read Swiss Toni's alphabetical CD posts (which I enjoyed and want to do myself). So I'm ready. And this seems a good opportunity to say to everyone who's commented on this blog, mailed me, texted me and been thinking of me from time to time-love you guys.

Swiss Toni-thanks for the Billy Bragg credit, I didn't realise that came from me. I shall put the Bard of Barking on right now.

Anyway, back in La Serena......

We took a spin round the small local museum. The others were accosted by hoardes of local kids, but the attraction for me was the Moai they'd pinched



Feels like an old friend-Rapa Nui feels a lifetime ago.

Afterwards, we hired bikes, picnicked on the beach and Lorna and I went to see No Reservations, which had been the plan before La Paz got so messy. Not life changing, but a nice day.

Santiago Hello/Goodbye
So goodbye/farewell to Brett, Lorna, Connor & Catherine, Richard & Katie, Chris & Laura2. Some have had a few mentions here, others not so much. There'll be new names and faces joining, but given my sense of being on the home straight I doubt the newbies will replace them. For me, I'm feeling somewhat withdrawn-I can't really be arsed in other words.

Returning to Santiago will complete a mini-loop (of several thousand miles) that I started in mid May. Slow times in La Serena allowed us to do some planning, so tomorrow we're off snowboarding before a winery tour on Saturday. After another 7 hours on the bus.

I wrote most of the above about a week ago, since then there've been good, if unspectacular times. I've the bus ride between Pucon and Puerta Varas to write about it, so I reckon on being a little more succinct than usual.

We reached Santiago mid afternoon, which left time for Lorna to give me a haircut before heading out for a curry, which was probably the best food we've had in South America. We even headed back 2 nights later for Lorna and Brett's last night with the newbies in tow.

We had a cracking day snowboarding at Le Colorado about an hour and a half outside Santiago. Ian and Conor knew what they were doing, while the others were beginners, leaving me a little in between. While they had their morning, we headed off round the very quiet slopes. I was pleasantly surprised, after nearly 3 years, that I remembered quite a lot-including how to catch an edge and do a 720 degree front somersault complete with bouncing on my head. We spent the afternoon as cut price snowboard instructors to the other 8. I recommended my patented Jesus technique.

(Emily, if you or anyone in Howth is reading this, Conor is Conor McGuinness. He was a DCU engineer and has a brother, called John I think, who Conor reckons was at your 21st.) Everyone else-it's small world.

In the grand tradition of such events, the leaving dinner was lame. People were tired from snowboarding, hungover from the night before, sick (still not me) and had early flights. And anyway, Lorna and Brett were staying another day and we'd see Rich and Katie again in Pucon. After a disappointing dinner (a small risotto side dish and a portion of rice for me), about half of us went for one drink. Lorna and I were last out of the bar-we were about 5 minutes into our second drink, when to our surprise everyone else left-they'd had their one drink. Some people don't know how to have just one.

Unfortunately our trip to the Unduragga Vineyard was switched to 9 a.m. Lorna, Brett and I weren't in the best shape as a result, but it was a goody-they had a great gate,



the cellars looked tempting



and we were quaffing by 10.30. The afternoon was spent in an Irish bar (for Conor and Bryan, who's just joined us to Rio) watching 15 Irish doing a miserable impression of a rugby team.

So by Sunday I'd spent 5 nights in Santiago and was yet to see the city. With a night bus in the evening, this was my last chance. We climbed up the 630m Cerro Santa Lucia for views over the city and the mountains beyond. Then the Palacio de Bellas Artes (art gallery) was followed by lunch, then the exhaustion kicked in leaving only the energy for goodbyes. Since the salt flats, I've spent the overwhelming majority of my time with Lorna and Brett. Reckon it'll feel a bit hollow without them. On the plus side, we have only one Laura now and no Lorna, so the names are a lot easier for me

Pucon
Just 2 days before Chilean independence day, the bus station was busy as you like at 10 p.m. on a Sunday. To reach the lakes of Pucon (a name confusingly similar to Puno) would take us 10 hours overnight. We got off to the worst possible start; as we were settling into our seats, a suited guy offered to help one of the Danish girls put her bag up on the rack. I wish I'd noticed-I was across the aisle, but was rummaging in my bag and thought he was just moving their bag to make room for his. No one noticed him get off, but he did and the camera, cards, passport and bag were never seen again. The girls had to get off too; they were a bit lucky that they managed to get a replacement passport in a day and join us 24 hours later. Their trip was nearly over before it began.

This was on top of Lor's bag being taken while she had lunch the day before.

It may be a stereotype, but South America really is the home of sneak thieving. I've heard so many stories from people who've been robbed (a mugger punched Lor in Cuzco); I don't think local economic factors are an excuse-I think this is way worse than Africa and Chile is riding high at 37 in the world development league. Short changing and chucking extras on restaurant bils are also common; you have to watch your washing and ask for your 'missing' clothes back. It just seems to be part of the culture. I guess, as Noel Coward says in The Italian Job, 'everybody's bent'.

The havoc we seem to be spreading across South America continued in Pucon. Less than half an hour after getting off the bus, I was sat on the biggest bed I've ever seen in the girls' room (another shit room for the boys) when an air raid siren went off. When we got into town, the reason for the siren became clear.




This was the casino. In the end the whole block burnt down. The architects were unimpressed by the fire proofing. Charred bits fell from the sky. Given the timing, special fire investigator van de Poll estimated it probably started at the very moment we stepped off the bus. Spooky.

In a separate conversation I remembered the crashing of the Kiwi Experience bus. Plus my previous chaos creation when travelling: Tenerife-riot, Russia-near coup, Paris-death of Diana. It's just a trail of disaster. Then Rich said a meteorite had crashed just near Puno. What is going on? I'm going to keep an eye on South American news when I get home-see if it's always volcanoes, earthquakes, disappearing islands, bus crashes, fires and meteor strikes. Or if it's just us.

We spent our time in the country- half a day on horses, then a day on bikes. The horses were feisty, but nearly half the price of the agency Christian took us to. We trekked up the hills and rolling views before walking to a waterfall in the trees.




We grabbed 4 bikes and although they weren't much good, we went up hill and down dale and reached the Ojos de Caburgua



On top of the falls was a gorgeous mirror pool



We did about 50km in all-it was just a shame we ran out of time before we could play the mini golf course we found.

As it was Chile day, you know the evening drill-see earlier entries on Peru day, Swiss day and cheap large Havana Clubs (3 times the price in Chile).

Ian and I took a long walk to the golf course, only to find out the price on the internet was wrong, there were twice as many holes as the net said and we didn't have enough money to play. So we walked back, found out the Chile day rodeo was off and it started to rain. So I took the rest of the day off.

Next stop Puerto Varas, our last in Chile. Then it's Argentina.