Torres del Paine

We were picked up from our hotel at the civilised hour of 9 a.m. by a man driving a wee jeep, to travel the two hours into Torres del Paine National Park. Our alternatives would have been a 7.30 a.m. bus (too early since our proper walk doesn’t start until tomorrow) or a 2.30 p.m. bus (arriving a bit too late to enjoy exploring the area around the camp) We drove through wide grassland valleys, where sheep, cows and guanaco were grazing. Guacano are the type of llama which live in this area of Chile and they are absolutely beautiful. So vocal was my enthusiasm that the driver stopped so that we could take some photos of them. We also saw an ostrich and even flamingos wading in shallow Lake Amarga. 
When we arrived at the entrance to the National Park, there were the Torres del Paine towering above us in all of their glory, sharp and silvery grey in the sunlight; to one side of them sloped a big snowfield, still there despite this being the end of the Patagonian summer. We continued about 20 minutes to the large Rifugio Central which nestles beneath the Torres del Paine, and set off for a walk to find the beginning of tomorrow’s trail. This was not difficult because it’s well signposted. It was warm and sunny so the valley and the mountains looked glorious but those who know me will realise that a hot day does not serve me well for walking. I was soon sweltering. Luckily there was plenty of shade back at the campsite where rufous-collared sparrows (aka Andean sparrows) with their wee tufted heads were hopping about, and tired back-packers were returning from the mountains. We checked in at the campsite and were directed to our bizarre tent-on-stilts, climbing up a ladder to get into it. We were gratified at how clean and comfortable it is inside; the mattress covers the whole floor and there are various windows (covered with mosquito netting) which can be opened or closed by rolling the fabric up or down. On the other hand, you have to climb down the ladder if you need to go to the toilet in the middle of the night! Dinner was served at trestle tables in the main rifugio and was distinctly unexciting. The so-called aubergine soup was like grey water. It was also served at considerable speed because there were two sittings, at 7 and at 8.15, so the three courses had to be consumed in an hour. We chatted to a couple of pleasant German - Americans called Jürgen and Margit, who emigrated to the USA in their twenties for work and live in Phoenix, Arizona. We had an early night tucked up in our little tent. 

In Patagonia

We were picked up early from our hotel to catch the 08.53 plane from Santiago to Puerto Natales in the south of Chile; a three and a half hour flight down this long, narrow country. We were seated separately because we hadn’t booked seats until yesterday, but it turned out that the two seats beside James were both free. James asked the flight attendant to fetch me which she duly did. It meant that I got lovely extra leg room and an empty seat between us. I did have to forfeit my window seat which might have had a view of the Andes but the nice American couple beside me were delighted to gain the window seat and spare seat in the row, so it was win-win. 

We were taken by car to our hotel in Puerto Natales, a little town with a frontier feel; mostly Nordic style wooden houses, a small town square, and a big harbour. It’s set on a fjord with mountains all around it, and I was delighted that the temperature was pleasantly cool compared to Santiago. The Milodon is the local prehistoric beast, remains of which were found nearby and a large statue of which greets visitors to the town. We went for a walk to the fjord and along to the fishing harbour. We were delighted to see a variety of birds as we strolled along; a small bird of prey called the Chimango Caracara, black-necked swans, branta goose, southern lapwing) There were lots of restaurants and cafés, and after a good walk around the town we ate in an excellent fish restaurant called Bote (boat) where James enjoyed the local speciality of King Crab and for dessert I tried a mousse made with Calafate berries, Patagonia's version of a blueberry. It’s small and tart and contains more seeds than a blueberry; I loved it. Another walk to the fjord ensued to watch the sun set. 

Tuna for breakfast in Chile!

 We tried a strange greenish fruit at the breakfast buffet this morning which was full of quite large hard seeds. I asked the waitress what it was and she told me “it’s tuna.” Knowing that it definitely wasn’t fish, we investigated (thank you Google!) we found out that it is in fact prickly pear! A first for both of us. We met Marcello at 9.30 and set off by car and then cable car to visit the impressive Statue of the Virgin Mary on the top of Cerro San Cristóbal. It has great views over the city and Marcello pointed out all the landmarks. There was also a grey band lying just above the city which is unfortunately pollution from all of the cars in this city of 8 million people. There is a little church and square near the top of the hill dedicated to the Basque immigrants to Santiago. They are not the only immigrants; in addition to the descendants of the Spanish and the indigenous people, there have been many waves of immigrants such as Germans, English, Venezuelans, Peruvians and many more so it is a very diverse city. Marcello himself has French, Spanish and Jewish ancestry. We descended from the hill by a little funicular railway and then walked through the pretty Bellavista area where we saw Pablo Neruda’s houses, and continued through the old town and the market. We ended up in the main square in the oldest part of the city; Plaza de Armas. It was attractive with lots of trees and a couple of statues as well as Santiago Cathedral. Finally we visited Constitution Square to see the presidential palace which was destroyed in the coup of 1973 when President Allende was killed, and then rebuilt. Marcello’s guidance and commentary were very interesting. It was however very hot so we were glad to arrive back at the air conditioning of the hotel in the early afternoon. We relaxed at the pool again before going out for dinner to the Galindo Restaurant near the market in Bellavista, which Marcello had recommended to us earlier as a good Chilean restaurant. The meal was delicious, very reasonably priced, and massive! We then wandered back into the market, pleasantly cooler in the evening but still warm, and had drinks sitting outside in the small square watching a young couple singing with guitar and flute called “Duo Caminhos” which means “two paths.” It was a lovely evening. 

London to Santiago

I was absolutely delighted to get about eight hours of sleep on the plane from London to Santiago. This is thanks to the joys of Economy Plus, where our seats are slightly wider than in Economy, with more leg room and I think that they recline slightly more as well. I stayed awake until after dinner and then fell asleep very quickly. Despite the long flight (13 hours) there is only 3 hours time difference between the UK and Chile which should bode well for avoiding jet lag. We were collected by car from the airport by our guide Marcello, who chatted to us about the city before dropping us at our (very smart) Hotel Solace in Providencia. We will have a proper city tour tomorrow. Santiago is hot! It’s early autumn here so it’s about 32 degrees - I think it can get a lot hotter in the summer. 

Nothing daunted, we went for a walk along the river. The Mapocho River is currently but a burn in the middle of two city parks, beside the main road through Providencia. We went into the shopping mall below the Sky Costanera which was full of European brands, and had a coffee there before heading to the more arty Galeria Drugstore for a quick look around. Back at the hotel I was keen to go to the rooftop pool which was delightfully cool and we had cocktails while looking over the city to the foothills of the Andes. 

All packed for my holiday

On Sunday the Iranian state media confirmed that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had been killed along with many other state officials. However Iran is still attacking other countries with missiles so the regime is still not completely gone. I don’t know how all this is going to end. Alison and Hugh arrived late on Sunday from Gran Canaria on their way home from their holiday and departed on Monday morning after we all had a leisurely breakfast and a good chat. After a sunny session of pickleball outdoors at the tennis courts I finished packing for our holiday. In the evening I completed all of my preparation for CHS Training Day 5, which for me will be at the beginning of April. I was glad to get it done before my holiday but I will need to do a wee bit of revision before the next session to refresh my knowledge!
Which brings me to today. Despite having already packed I spent the morning footering about with chargers and adapters, and checking that I had packed everything. It was a classic case of a task expanding to fit the time available! The cats were suspicious when we took our suitcases downstairs, in case we were about to load them into the car to travel to Ullapool, but we were able to say a proper goodbye to them before they scarpered out of the cat flap. Now I’m on the plane about to take off to Heathrow, before our long flight from Heathrow to Santiago in Chile. 

Military Strikes on Iran

It has been a pleasant week at Casa Anderson. I went over to Heather’s to watch a French film with her; La Passion de Dodin Bouffant. It was delightful and very French! Set at the end of the 19th century, it was a love story about French cuisine. 
James and I were back at the Citz to see George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan with Gordon and Morag. While he was not hugely enthusiastic, James enjoyed it a lot more than Waiting for Godot! I thought it was excellent, the young cast were amazing and the minimal scenery worked well. It was in the wee theatre which felt very intimate, especially since we were in the second front row. 
I also had another day of Children’s Panel training, my last with my current group. This is because we will be away on holiday for most of March so I will need to join another group in April for my final three sessions. I was sad to say goodbye to my chums. 
This evening we had Heather and Ewan over for dinner; I made estouffade de boeuf in honour of the French film we watched, because it was a similar recipe to the pot-au-feu made by Dodin Bouffant. It seemed to go down well with the meat eaters, and James’ crême brulée was delicious. 
However things are not so peaceful in the wider world. Today the United States and Israel launched military strikes on Iran. Several top Iranian leaders have apparently been killed in the strikes; and Iran, immediately started firing missiles at Dubai, Qatar, and other places who are allies of the west. The hotel that we stayed in with Ally and Cat in Dubai four years ago, the Fairmont at the Palm, has been hit and is on fire. Pete and Roisin are ok and following government guidelines to stay indoors. And Kevin had only just left Qatar by plane ahead of the missile strikes, on his way to the UK to visit his brother. 

Those Canadian fingers

Alison and Hugh arrived yesterday to spend the night with us before their holiday to Gran Canaria. It was great to see them and we had a good chat before dinner; then watched the Winter Olympics closing ceremony together, which was quite entertaining. There was much music including some excellent excerpts from Italian opera, and of course the competitors all marched into the stadium in a happy mood.
The British commentator pointed out, “The Canadians are wearing gloves, no doubt to protect those all important fingers.” This was a funny and apt reference to the controversy during the curling, when a Canadian player was clearly seen applying his forefinger to the stone of the curling stone after he let go of the handle, thereby giving the stone an extra wee push after it entered the “no further contact” zone. He got away with it because apparently the players had already all signed off at the end of the match that it was played fairly, and that shot luckily didn’t actually affect the outcome of the match, but he still got into a shouting match with a Swedish player over it. The umpires kept a very close eye on the players during the rest of the matches so no harm done. 
Alison and Hugh left very early in the morning while we were still asleep, and we will see them again next week on their way home.
I had lunch with the ladies today; Helen, Wendy, Maggie and Libby. We had lots of news to catch up on; Libby’s son Cameron got married on Valentine’s Day, and Maggie’s daughter Megan will be having her first child in a couple of weeks, and lots more. We had a good time in Il Pavone and the food was delicious. Late afternoon James had an appointment at Braehead and afterwards we decided that the traffic on the M8 would probably be very busy since it was about 5.30 p.m. so we spontaneously decided to go to the nearby Odeon cinema. We went to see a film of which we had not heard, called “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die” mainly because it was about to start! It turned out to be a good choice. It was about a strange man who appears in an American diner and tells the customers that he is from the future and needs their help to save the world. It had a really good plot with a twist at the end that I didn’t see coming. It starred Sam Rockwell who is always excellent, and it was quite funny as well as portraying a terrifying and believable future for the human race. My only criticism was that it was derivative of several other films and tv series that we haven’t seen, such as Terminator, Ghostbusters, and several episodes of Black Mirror. James and I both thoroughly enjoyed it.