Day 137 - Colo Colo win again

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After a week in Torres del Paine we just wanted to relax for a day enjoying the simple pleasure that comes from knowing that hot food, a comfortable seat and a hot shower are all available if we want them. The day turned out to be not much more than visiting a few cafes and spending time on the internet. That is until the evening.

Regular readers will know we've rather taken to a Chilean football team called 'Colo Colo' who have been enjoying a good run in the Copa Sudamericana of late. Tonight was the first-leg of their semi-final against Toluca of Mexico. We had been recommended a bar to watch the game in by one of the park rangers in Torres del Paine. It had 2 separate parts, a restaurant and a bar, so we went for some roast lamb in the restaurant and mentioned that we were planning on watching the football later. The food was excellent and the wine was cheap (they only have house wine and cheap was its sole positive quality). Ed thought a few days trekking in the mountains would have made Rob a little jealous, but that was probably eclipsed by the mixed grill they served up here. We could hear the other side filling up so we asked for the bill, but the waiter just showed us through to the bar and sat us down at a table right next to the very large screen telly which had a scribbled 'reserved' sign on it. God knows what all the people standing and craning their necks would have made of it all.

The game started and Colo Colo were soon in front from a penalty. Then a shock equaliser went in from a deflection. Later on a second penalty scored by Fernandez, their best player and who has just signed for Villareal in Spain, secured a 2-1 victory. We'd had some conversation with fellow fans during the game who were well impressed with our visit to a match at Colo Colo's stadium in Santiago. We'd also been drinking a bit too much of this cheap and nasty wine, which probably explained why Ed succumbed to the pressure and stood up to lead the whole bar in a rendition of "Chi Chi Chi, Le Le Le, Colo Colo de Chile". Thankfully they all joined in. In a sparkling display of gratitude one chap, a proud fishing boat captain, handed over his 'Colo Colo' Zippo lighter, saying something like "it doesn't matter that you don't smoke, I want to give you a present". We promised to send him a photo of the lighter outside Buckingham Palace, and staggered towards our hostel.

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