Thank goodness for our Chilean friends

Our intention had been to spend time in Arequipa at the world´s deepest canyon, then to pass through to Chile and spend time discovering some coastal towns on the way to Santiago to visit Consuelo and Nelson (the couple we met in Valparaiso at New Year). It became apparent in Arequipa however that Tas was not well so we had spoken to Consuelo who was kind enough to book us an appointment at her Doctors. We were to get the bus from Arequipa, Peru to Arica in Chile where we would rest for the night before catching the bus to Santiago, a total journey of 3 days.

It was a pleasure to arrive in Arica, especially from Peru. The Chileans are the nicest people we have had the pleasure of meeting. We arrived at bus station and caught a taxi to the hostel. The driver was smartly dress, the cab was clean and well maintained and the charge was fair. We arrived at the hostel and the proprietor was very nice. he showed us to our clean room and the hostel facilties, then gave us a map of the town and highlighted the important places.

The following day was a bank holiday so we stayed put and as is typical of bank holidays we went to the beach. We checked out the weather forecast and found our weather to be considerably more favourable than yours, 30 degrees c and sunny vs 17 degrees c and wet! The evening was spent watching TV in our room, a luxury we have become fond of. We are currently watching a show called Dr House, I don´t know if it is shown in the UK, it´s a Yank hospital drama with Hugh Laurie staring as a Yank Doctor. I would hate it if we were in the UK, but as English speaking shows are few and far between we find it quite entertaining.

The next day was the 28 hour bus journey to Santiago. Because Tasmin was unwell we decided to take the best seats on the bus, the second best to flying. The seats were comfy and the bus was modern so we slept, ate and played cards most of the way. We stopped at one point to pick up new passengers and I took the opportunity to stretch my legs. During my little stretch I was accosted by a drunk man who first of all asked if I was English. My reply pleased him and he confirmed I was not American before talking about how bad the war was. Even in his drunk state he was careful to check my nationality before commenting in case his comments caused offense. I am embarassed that the UK supports the war in Iraq but am glad that it is not thought of (at least by some people) as the main aggressor. The conversation was again confirmation that the Chileans are the nicest people we have met so far and the best place to see a Doctor, but hopefully not a drunk one!

We arrived in Santiago on Wednesday afternoon and were met by Consuelo who took us to her house in the suburbs of Santiago, and a very nice house it was too. We had tea the went to bed, quite tired after our mammoth voyage and Consuelo and Nelson had made us feel very much at home.

C and N were at work the next day and we awoke to an empty house, only us and the 2 cats. We had only met C and N for 2 hours previous to this visit and they trusted us with their home - sorry to keep going on but Chileans and C & N particularly are so nice. We spent the day visiting the local mall for icecream and other such essential provisions, checking email etc and generally being nervous for Tas´s visit to the docs the next day. When C & N arrived home they prepared 'once´which is a light tea of bread, cheese and meat. The bigger meal of the day is taken at lunch time so once is ideal for the evening. We drank Pisco and wine with once - we obviously made an impression at New year and this was one of our topics of conversation -enough said.

The next day we were at the Doc´s promptly, the bad news was that Tas would need an operation, the good news was that it could be done the next day. Needless to say this is not the place to detail Tas´s poorliness, but it is safe to say she is now on the road to recovery.

Tas says she will be happy to answer questions when she gets home.

On the last visit to the Doctors while Tas was changing the Doctor said to me 'She is a very brave girl, there are not many like her, so you should keep her´. I told him we were getting married on our return to the UK in September and he said I was making a wise choice.

The level of medical care was fantastic and very speedy. The whole process from diagnoses to 'OK you are safe to travel´was 4 days, the NHS would have taken 2 months. The down side is the expense. We had insurance (hopefully) cover the one and a half thousand pound bill, a huge expense in a country where a nights hostel accomodation is ten pounds. Consuelo sells medical insurance and so stresses the importance of it. It is sometimes necessary for people here who are diagnosed with something like cancer to sell their house to pay for medical treatment. If the treatment is unsuccessful the bereaved family are then left wiith a huge debt or no home.

Our visit to Santiago sadly did not contain as much time with Consuelo and Nelson as we would have liked. But from the time we did spend with them we can say they are two of the most fantastic people on earth and a fine representation the Chilean people. We will be forever in their debt. During the medical process we met many different people and it was evident that Consuelo had been active in the background preparing people for our arrival and enuring an easy journey. It should be noted that during our trauma C & N´s cat sadly died, but they still managed to support us at a time when they were upset themselves. Cheers to Nelson and Consuelo.

We were sad to say goodbye but it was time to move on. We never had time to visit C & N´s home in the country so we have a good excuse for a return visit - we will be back.

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