Thank Heaven for Kangaroos

---

Spending a few days on the Chilean coast winding down after a fun-filled couple of months that took us from icebergs to jungle.

We´re at La Serena and the entry in the guide book reads ¨blessed with a long golden shoreline¨, but that same guide book fails to mention the sea mist that blankets the coast for most of the day.

Luckily, just 15 minutes east, every day has blue sky and sunshine so we rented a car with the steering wheel on the ¨wrong¨side and went to have a look. Numerous vineyards, all dedicated to producing grapes for Pisco Sour drinks, fill the valley, while the slopes are the domain of a type of cactus.

Our car, a Toyota Yaris, seemed to be ¨possessed¨. An alarm system that would set itself and lock all the doors, even if we were still inside and a sequence of actions required to start the engine, that we failed to master but having to push the clutch through the floor seemed to be part of it.

Coming to terms with the different local customs has been fun. A cup of coffee with milk shouldn´t be too difficult. It´s usually called Cafe con leche. In some areas its black coffee and a jug of milk. In others, its a cup of hot water with a tin of coffee and a jug of milk. Here in Chile, its an empty cup, a tin of coffee and a jug of HOT milk.

Swimming pools, either natural or man-made are called ¨Piscinnas¨. I tried to explain to one tour guide that, in Australia, we usually try to discourage people from doing that in the pool, but he didn´t seem to catch on.

Speaking of Australia - thank heaven for kangaroos. We are often asked ¨Where do you come from?´

To this, we have learnt to answer, Owstralia

And then the reply is priceless.

Öh, Owstralia, kanGARoo followed by lots of jumping up and down¨

To Santiago tomorrow and then home to save up for next time.

Hasta luego

---

Comments

[cath]

thanks for taking us with you on your incredible journey, but we miss you now...it's time to come home.