Turning 27

Wel, as most of you already know, it was my birthday a couple of days ago and what a treat it was to be celebrating it here in Chile, although I have to admit I did feel a little homesick as I usually spend it with Brian (my younger brother). His is the day after mine (pause to perform ritual birthday dance for Brian - Happy Birthday!

It turned into a sort of three day celebration - the gang in the hostel were looking for an excuse to party - an i got some pretty thoughful gifts from some of them. I think Ive said this before, but the smallest things mean so much when you{re backpacking. My favourite present was a pair of jeans which fit like a glove! from my German friend Markus. On the afternoon of the 5th we had a great outdoor lunch and splurged on a decent bottle of Chilean wine. It was great to be just lazing around in the sun contmeplating life as a 27year old!

Latera couple of the hostel staff took me out for a birthday beer.

Matt and Sky didnt get back from Mendoza until the following night so we waited until then to go out dancing. One thing I{m really going to miss about South America is dancing -the people here seem to be born with rhythm and its so infectious! There{s no such thing as sitting on a couch for the night in a club nursing your drink.

Anyway, reluctant as I am to leave the warmth of Santiago, tomorrow I{m off to Puerto Montt to catch the ferry to the tip of South America. I{m hugely looking forward to it, although its getting very cold down there now. I have no idea whether I will be back in Santiago again or not. I might just keep going to Argentina and Brazil from there, but I{m finding it hard to let go of this city.

Stuck on Santiago

God, I cant believe I had only planned to stay in Santiago for 2 nights and Im still here a month later! Its like the Bermuda Triangle of South America - people get lost forever in the HI hostel! In fact, Im really just enjoying taking some time out from the hectic pace of bus journeys and taking tours. Its great to just unpack your backpack for a few weeks and relax.

Ive really enoyed the last week here actually . My American friends Matt and Sky also came back to HI and we had a little reunion the other night. The week started with a stupid jokeamong all of us about pirates (which I wont explain because it would take too long) but it just grew and grew and got more and more ridiculous, and it ended up with us all dressed as pirates on Saturday night. Ive never had so much fun in one night. There was a bbq on the same night for one of the staff members birthdays, and so there were a lot of CHileanos in the house. At the start of the njight, they were all huddled at one side of the terrace looking at us like we were crazy, but it wasnt too long before they just got into the stupiduty of it all and it turned into a great night. I salsa danced for so long, I just love it! We have some hilarious photos of us with big black eyes,bandanas, hooks, a parrot and lots of rum!

The last couple of days have been spent job-hunting, which is proving fruitless so far. I am leaving here in a couple of days to go South to Patagonia, and if I havent heard anything back from any of the schools at that point, I probably wont come back to Santiago but continue on to Argentina instead. At this stage though, I have my heart set on living here for a while and I will be disappointed if I cant find work. Im also considering an Irish bar but my lack of Spanish is a problem in applying for any kind of job other than English teaching.

On Sunday we spent the day wandering around Santiago´s flea and artisan markets and I bought a lot of stuff which I probably dont need, but it was really enjoyable. My favourite purchase was a fantastic black Russian military hat which i will have to send home. They have the weirdest stuff in these markets, including one stall with tonnes of old Nazi memorabilia which you can buy for a song.

Santiago is hurting my pocket significantly though and Patagonia isnt going to be any cheaper!

A Jaunt to Argentina and Back Again

Well, I´m back in Santiago again. Just spent 5 days in Mendoza, Argentina which was great! Im really looking fwd to getting back to Argentina again, but it could be a while before that happens. I´m moving at a snail´s pace at the moment, and should have been in Patagonia AGES ago. Now its getting really cold and if I want to see it I need to hurry. Tried to book the NAVIMAG during the week..thats a ferry that takes you on a 4 day trip from the Lake Distrrict in Chile down to Puerto Natales which is the gateway to Tierra del Fuego. What I didnt know is that it only sails once a week, and the next available place is on April 10. So, I decided to come back to Santiago for a few days and do some serious job-hunting. Ive made quite a few friends here now and I actually missed the city for the 5 days I was away. Once I get back from Patagonia, Im really hoping to find a teaching position and stay here until August or September, so fingers crossed!

Spent a few very relaxing days in Mendoza. Its quite a big city but has a vcery small town feel and its very pretty with lots o sycamore-lined streets. Most backpackers in the city are there to tackle Acongacua or do some serious adventure sports. I spent my first day there wandering around the city and just hanging out in the hostel. The next day I booked a full days horse-riding which was fantastic! A group of about 10 of us spent hours riding in the desert and finished the day with a long lazy 3hr bbq. (the food in Argentina is to die for, especially the steak!) Met a very nice English couple that day and we decided to tour the wineries outside Mendoza the following day. We hired bikes which becmae very interesting after a few glasses of vino! The most famous wine in Mendoza is Malbec - very very good!

And so, yesterday I decided Iseen and doine what there was to do in Mendoza and got on the bus back to Santiago. At the border, there was a bit of commotion on our bus as a female passenger was taken away, her ags were searched and when she finally got back on the bus she was guarded for the rest of the journey! I think everyne just assumed she´d been cuaght with drugs or something, but in fairness, the Chileans would nearly arrest you forcarrying an apple over the border! They are super-strict!

The bus journey over the Andes is spectacular - I havce never seen anything to equal the beauty of the Andes. Its coming t the end of Summer, start of Autumn here and the colours arejust amazing.

It looks like Im going to be here in Santiago for my birthday which im glad about because a few of us are going to go out and celebrat, and im really looking fwd to it.