I alighted the bus in Puc<span><span><span><span><span>ón, retrieved my backpack and was then met by a smiling lady by the name of Silvana who would become my mother away from home. I had arranged a homestay in conjunction with my 4 week Spanish course and had hoped that it would be a memorable experience. I didn’t anticipate that in only 4 weeks I would be finding it difficult to part company with not only Silvana, her husband and daughter, but their whole extended family and friendship network. I was seamlessly integrated into all their family gatherings, whether it be family festivities or informal ‘drop-ins’ that would end up with the drinks being poured, dishes of food being prepared and songs being played. On occasions this even involved a guitar being placed in my lap whilst everyone eyed ... read more

There were a few reasons why I felt I had to come back to South America, mostly to do with visiting places that I wished I had seen last time around. Iguazú Falls was one of those destinations and it did not disappoint. I have never seen so much water thundering down and over such a vast area. It is a visual feast. There are somewhere in the vicinity of 175 waterfalls at Iguazú and many of them seem to be irrepressibly bursting through the lush greenery of the jungle when first viewed. Many years ago I went to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, but they now seem like a minor trickle when compared to the raging beauty of Iguazú. An added bonus at Iguazú is the walks you take to the various vantage points, as the ... read more

There are places in our world where the sheer beauty of the landscape instills within you a sense of awe, wonderment, contentment and unabashed happiness. Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia is such a place. After arriving in the southern Chilean city of Punta Arenas we set off in search of some penguins on the beaches of the Straits of Magellan, who are breeding at this time of the year. As is the way with penguins, they were highly entertaining to watch as they waddled and interacted with each other. However, this was just a prelude to seeing the real jewel of Patagonia: Torres del Paine, which translates to ‘The Blue Towers’ in a mix of Spanish and the now extinct indigenous dialect. Upon first entering the park I was constantly drawn to the milky ... read more

Three continents. Four planes. Five cities. Forty hours of travel. Who cares? I'm back in South America! Time has become less tangible and certainly doesn't exist in a 24 hour cycle for me at the moment, but I'm sure that such parameters will return soon enough. After such a prolonged journey, I set out on foot in the familiar surrounds of Santiago, Chile, observing the imperious snow-topped peaks of the Andes to the east which had held me captivated in their innumerable folds as we descended from our cruising altitude. I was in search of two things on this venture from the hammock at my hostel: a Chilean power-plug adaptor and some food. I got both, but the latter was indeed more memorable. Knowing that I am invariably hungry and not feeling entirely thrilled with the ... read more

Having spent the summer that I lived here traipsing around the continent, putting on as much weight as I could humanly manage whilst on a gastronomical tour of Italy, France, Slovenia and Croatia, this time around I settled upon spending a few weeks of the summer in London. One night I was walking to a pub in Notting Hill to see a friend from my teenage years spent in Ballarat and, lo and behold, who should be walking towards me but none other than Jimmy Page! I did an about-face as he entered a restaurant to my right, felt giddy and realised that I was wearing the grin of an inbred half-wit who just experienced for the first time the rush gained from drinking his uncle-daddy's moonshine. With the classic Led Zeppelin riff from Kashmir flooding ... read more