Chile... but not too cold (sorry terrible pun)

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Having relaxed for so long in New Zealand we began to feel a new sensation in those last wet and windy days in Auckland... we wanted to hit the road again so badly! We were happy on the journey to the airport although sad to leave our friends Brad and Doro and baby Theo behind. We arrived in Santiago refreshed and ready only to be immediately disappointed by the cloudy overcast weather and the rain as we took our bus into the city. We really wanted this winter to be over!

We left Auckland at 17.20 on Monday 11th August and having flown for ten and a half hours found ourselves in Santiago at 13.00 on Monday 11th August! The time difference and crossing the international dateline accounting for this slightly surreal phenomenon. If you had your life (or just four hours of it) to live over again what would you do? Surely not what we did, which was to immediately go to bed and sleep. Thus began five days of serious jet lag - wide awake at 4 a.m. and sleepy at 9 a.m. when it was time to get up.

Luckily the weather was great the next day as we went to explore the capital. I was interested in the many Irish names I found and the links between Ireland and the fight for Chilean independence. The most celebrated name in Chile is that of Bernardo O'Higgins, son of an Irish father from County Sligo, who lead the battle for freedom against the Spanish and won decisively in 1817. Every town and city we have seen in Chile has a street named after him and many have parks as well. Other Irish names appear on streets throughout the country including, Mackenna, Lynch and of course (modestly!) O'Brien. I was aware of many links between Ireland and Argentina but I was not aware of the links to Chile too. What an effect on the world my small island country has had!

Our next stop was the legendary port of Valparaiso which although it has seen better times still retains enough of its former glory to be a truly entrancing city. It is squeezed into a small patch of land between the mountains and the sea with most of the city being built on the steep slopes leading down to the port. The houses are built of wood with iron roofs most of them being brightly painted. The sun shone while we were there and we walked all over the city sometimes taking the legendary "ascensores" (funiculars) up the steep streets to explore the different "barrios" (neighbourhoods). We stayed in the atmospheric family home of a Chilean/German couple who were so kind and helpful, something we have found again and again on our travels here. We climbed the longest, steepest, straighest, street I have ever seen (called Av. Ferrari - any car coming down that street is a Ferrari!!) to visit the home of the renowned poet, writer, diplomat and politician, Pablo Neruda. He also helped to design the house in which he lived which was delightfully idiosyncratic and with gorgeous views over the port below and the coast stretching away into the distance. With such views I doubt I would have written a word...

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