santiago latest

It´s nearly time to bid a final goodbye to Santiago, a place which always arouses all sorts of mixed feelings in me - the place I was born, and where 99% of my family live, yet still a place that I never feel entirely comfortable in. Perhaps it´s something to do with the mind-boggling size of it - the Metro may be excellent and high-tech, and still spotlessly clean after all these years, it´s just we always seem to spend so much bloody time on it!! Anyway, I have to admit it´s more appealing than normal in the autumn, and when we weren´t schlepping about, it was nice as ever to have some time catching up with family again. Getting to see two plays my cousin Ximena is involved with (starring in one), was definitely a highlight as well.

We managed to shoot down to Valparaiso for an overnight stay this time, as another cousin of mine, Marcela, has now moved there. It´s a place that´s always held much more charm for both of us than Santiago - more charm than most places in the country, even, despite its dangerous reputation. (Though everyone´s hearts are in the right place, you do get tired of hearing how dangerous everywhere is over here - Chileans seem particularly fond of doing this. The levels of wariness we employed to keep us out of trouble in Rio, Salvador, La Paz and Lima have generally sufficed here). Our night in Valpo was tremendous fun, although to be honest it really should have finished a couple of hours earlier, before it got as messy as it did, messing up half of the next day into the bargain! I blame the full moon (oh, and mixing pisco with rum - not recommended)...

Back in Santiago, we managed to miss ALL the tremors that are still occurring (the most recent one measured 5.8 apparently!), usually in the middle of the night. Everyone asks us next morning, "Did you feel the tremor?" and we always have to admit that no, we didn´t. Still, shouldn´t hope for too much excitement on that front considering events here a few months back - let alone the crazy and dangerous weather that´s hit other places we´ve visited, like Peru and Brazil, after we´ve left!

After a couple of months with Piñera as President, I can report that he´s shown an unfortunate tendency towards Bush-isms (of the linguistic variety, anyway). We´re both keeping an eye on events back in Britain of course, fingers crossed we don´t get our own embarrassing head of state later this week! I can also report that Chilean males aren´t so much favouring the Argentinian-style mullet at the moment. Terrible though that is, the current trend over here is actually worse - the "normal short hair with one single rat tail, or even dreadlock, hanging from the back". No danger of me coming back with that look, don´t worry...!

In other news, Becka managed to break half a tooth off, while eating maní confitado (caramelised peanuts) - those f**kers are more dangerous than they look!! Thankfully, we managed to find a dentist without too much hassle, thanks to some family connections, and they did the necessary work pretty efficiently and affordably... much better than it would have been back home, Becka tells me. And I got quite an interesting look into her mouth while the dentist was doing the business, as it goes. Anyway, as the anaesthetic started to wear off, I dragged her to the Mercado Central to check out their crazy seafood, and try some unavailable-almost-anywhere-else-on-Earth locos, (yes that is indeed what they´re called) known in English as abalone. I think she enjoyed them, though she couldn´t really speak properly at the time...

Time now to say goodbye to the city and country of my birth, and make one last trip across the Andes - back to Argentina, and Mendoza, where you can get wine-flavoured ice cream, and (allegedly) wine with your Big Mac...