Chile

Image:

Wednesday the 25th of Febuary

Well Chile it certinately is not, far from it. Warm and breezy would probably be a better name. Then again it would sound a bit stupid so lets just leave it as Chile. The weather here is fantastic, I might even go as far as saying that this is my favourite climate so far. We have been roasted in Rio and Guayaquil and frozen in Cusco but so far the weather in Santiago has been perfect. It is hot and sunny with blue skys yet there is always a nice breeze so you don’t feel to hot. Also at night the temperature drops so it is nice and cool. It kind of reminds me of the peak of summer in London. That might also have something to do with the fact that the whole city reminds me of London. The buildings, the street signs, the traffic lights could all have been lifted directly out of London. It is quite a nice feeling, kind of familar even though I have never been here before. I think Lou and I are both enjoying the freedom here as well. By that I mean that we both feel quite safe walking around, even at night. This is quite a novel experience in South America, as normally you are advised (by the guide books) not to walk around after dark. The fact that it does not get dark until after 9.00pm has also meant that we have felt a lot more free to head off and explore the city. Which leads me on nicely to what we have been doing for the last few days.

Our flight out of Quito left at 9.25pm, which we assumed meant we would arrive in Santiago at about 2.00am. This however was not the case! First of all we had the stop over in Guayaquil which cost a few hours and then we also had the fact that Santiago is only 3 hours behing GMT rather than 5 like Ecuador. All in all these factors meant we did not arrive until 6.00am and then did not get to our hotel until 8.30am. As you could imagine after a night of no sleep we did not do a great deal on our first day. Although having said that, due to the fact it does not get dark until 9.00pm and also the relative safety of Santiago, we were still able to explore the city in the afternoon.

Yesterday we decided to head out to visit a vineyard and to do a bit of wine tasting. Unfortunately the nearest we got to the wine was the front gates of the vineyard. After spending 2 hours on various buses we finally arrived only to be told that we had missed the tour in english and that the only other tour that day was in spanish but regardless we would not be allowed in unless we had previously booked. Slightly disapointed Lou and I decided to make the best of a bad lot and book a tour for the following day. On our request at the front gate to book 2 places for the following day, we were told that they could not do the reseravations there and that we would have to phone the reservation line. At this point I thought stuff this for a game of cricket and went for a pint instead.

Anyway thats all for now from “Uncle Billy” as it is to nice of a day to waste it in front of a PC screen.

Image:

Friday the 27th of February 2004

I am afraid we dont have a hell of a lot to report from Chile as we have been pretty lazy. Yesterday however we had fun in Fantasialand, a theme park convientently located 20 minute walk from our hotel. Now this theme park had all the usual rollar coasters but was different in a few aspects to the British ones like Alton Towers. One ride in particular featured a scantilly clad lady wiggely her bum at the audience of mainly pubescent spotty boys who were jearing her on, then as if by magic the lady turned into a gorilla and came down to frighten the audience. At at this point all the lights were turned off and the crowed screamed and scrambled desperately away from the fake monkey. Ruairi did not scream though, but I have to admit I did, a bit. It was odd. Another strange one was a show of horrors, we were led into a castle which contained various young budding Chilan actors pretending to be insane in various forms, mainly from horror films. There was a character like the girl from the Excorcist, which was pretty nasty, a chain saw weilding madman, and mad doctor in a blood smeared room. He waved a fake foot in our face. In fact it was pretty scary but also funny and a little sick, and we could not imagine such a show in Disney world, although you never know!

We met a couple of locals last night and had a drink with them, one was a tour guide so quite helpful and has reccommended we head south to a place called Canyon Del Maipu. The accomodation there is mainly all log cabins with there own kitchens, which does sound appealing as although we have felt at home here in Santiago we are ready to escape the city. This city as Ruairi mentioned is like London in many ways. It is also very unlike London in terms of its coffee shops though. Here they are exclusively for men, have no seats, and the staffed by pretty leggy ladies who wear extremely short skirts. You see it goes like this, the guy goes in orders a coffee, the girl asks him about his day, he tells her about how much money he has or something or other and then perves over her and then leaves. I think thats how it ends anyhow. Well I am signing off so bye bye. x L x

Image:

Monday the 1st of March

Well we have left Santiago as planned although we did not venture far, only a mere 65km to the south east. Although for such a sort distance the difference is quite dramatic. We are staying in a place called Cascada De Las Animas which is a ranch and a nature sanctuary in the foothills of the Andes Mountains. It is a really wonderful place which has mountains, roaring rivers, waterfalls and forests, all within 10,000 acres of their own private reserve. It is real cowboy type country which is great as they do horse rides in the surronding hills and forests so I can finally get to pretend I am Billy The Kid. They also have white water rafting and various treks and walks, so with so many adventures all in one place Lou and I have decided to spend the next week here.

There was also another reason we have opted to hang around and that is the cabin we are staying in. It is a great little cabin in the middle of forest, it feels quite rugged and adventurous. Although it is not really as we have electricity and a gas oven and how great it is to have an oven! Not just an oven but a whole kitchen and living room. After living in hotel rooms and eating out every meal for the last 3 months I really can´t explain just how great a novelty this is. Being able to cook what you want and when you want it is proving to be a real joy. It is quite strange really as in London I was the king of Marks & Spencers ready made meals and now here I am getting excited about cooking my own steaks and pastas.

So all in all I think we have a fairly good week planned out, what with the riding and treking during the days and then some good home cooked food in the evening. We even have a massive swimming pool to cool off in after a hard days riding, this really is the life.

Rolling, rolling, rolling, keep those wagons rolling, RAWHIDE! Well thats all for now I am afraid, us cowboys are busy guys and I cant waste all day in front of a PC when theres cowboy work to be done.

Image:

Thursday the 4th of March

Well what can I say apart from fantastic! I absolutely adore this place (Cascada De Las Animas rather than Chile, although Chile is also quite fantastic.) It is just so chilled out here that I am starting to feel like I do not want to leave. This feeling is also hightened by the fact that we will be leaving South America in 3 days. Although I know there is so much else to see I have to say that I have no desire to leave this wonderful continent. I have had the greatest 3 months of my life and I am sure we will definately return.

Yesterday we headed off at 10.00am on our horses into the wilderness. Just Lou, Leon (the guide) and I and thousands of acres of the most amazing scenery. We rode up mountains, over hills, through fields and forests. We even managed to break into a canter a few times. I felt like a mix of Frankie Detori and the Malboro Man.

As for what else we have been doing for the past couple of days, well I will leave that for Lou to tell you.

Image:

Thursday the 4th of March

The rest of our time has been spent swimming in the very large fresh water pool here in site, sun bathing in the glorius sunshine, picking and eating the ripe grapes that hang around the cabin, and eating lots of home cooked pasta. Its just great! We have also made companions with a local dog we have named Ralph. He has such a good temperment, I think he thinks he is human. He has waited outside our cabin each night now for 3 nights and we give him hot dogs for breakfast, biscuits for tea and more suasages in the evening. I will feel quite bad to leave him but hopefully the next tourists who come in after us will be nice to him. Lou

Image:

Other pages:

Chile