Final Summary

I had a wonderful time travelling to New Zealand, then onto Chile and Brazil, for Alex and Karen’s wedding. Then spending longer than expected in Brazil and meeting some wonderful people and making friends with them. I then finally returned to Chile to spend time with both old and new friends. Have some special times to discuss, think and impart my limited knowledge. It was a nine month adventure, having a few ups and downs in all areas, mentally, physically and emotionally. I re-connected with some friends and made many new ones, some I still regularly talk to now, either via electronic methods or via telephone. Hopefully I will be able to repay some of the favours given to me by the people I met and stayed with. I am so grateful to them all, as it is due to their friendship and hospitality that I was able to stay longer and experience much more of Brazil and Chile. To cap of my travel experience I was given wonderful hospitality by Debs, her flatmates and her friends in London, preparing me for the return journey to Australia and the change of cultures from the South American culture to the Australian / Anglo Saxon cultre. I am happy to be home.Now, I can sing the song by Peter Allen and sing it with gusto…

I've been to cities that never close down

From New York to Rio and old London town

But no matter how far

Or how wide I roam

I still call Australia home.

I'm always travelin'

And I love bein' free

So I keep leavin' the sun and the sea

But my heart lies waiting over the foam

I still call Australia home.

All the sons and daughters spinning 'round the world

Away from their families and friends

Ah, but as the world gets older and colder

It's good to know where your journey ends.

And someday we'll all be together once more

When all the ships come back to the shore

Then I realize something I've always known

I still call Australia home.

No matter how far

Or how wide I roam

I still call Australia home.

London

The flight to Madrid took about 13hrs however it seemed a lot faster than what it was, even though I was in the middle seat, meaning it was harder for me to get up and move around the plane. Basically whenever the guy next to me looked awake, I asked him to move so I could get out and get a drink and move about the plane. It was not long before we arrived in Madrid. This is where the strange things started to happen and I can now understand why South America has so much ‘red tape’ and is so backward in their thinking. All I had to do was to go from my Landing gate, to the train station (the train only went from Terminal 4A to Terminal 4) and then onto my departure gate. Sounds easy enough… well think again. During the process of transferring from one Terminal to the next (you can only get to and from 4A through 4) I had to go through customs. Yes, customs and that was before I left 4A. During the process I ran into a Brazilian couple, who are the parents of Brazil’s #1 female volleyball player. I chatted to them in very bad Portuguese and helped them get through the mess of the airport and even got them to their correct gate just before boarding started. They said I was always welcome at their house in Belo Horizonte.

The next 2 hours went quite fast, but I was also becoming very hungry but as I had no Euro, I could not buy any drinks, and I thought it was crazy to get some money from the ATM when I was going on to England where they use the Pound. Plus, I thought, I can wait and get something to eat and drink on the plane. Good luck with that. They had changed their meal arrangements on the plane and I was left thirsty and hungry on the 2 hour flight to London. They had a ‘you want it you buy it’ deal and I had no cash. Arrh well, I guess I can eat something when I get to Deb’s house.

I had met Deb when I went to South Africa with a Mission group from Church back in 2004. She had been working as a teacher in a school that my group had been doing some voluntary work at. On the last day that we were there, a Friday, it was also Deb’s last day, so the school held a luncheon for us and for Deb. As they said that she was leaving for England and I was going there too, I decided to go over and introduce myself. We exchanged details, caught up in England (that is another funny story) and have kept in contact since. After I arrived at Heathrow Airport, I had to catch the train to Deb’s place in Kennington. Only as it was the weekend, track works were being carried out, so I had to take the scenic route. I didn’t mind. What was another hour on top of 16hrs on a plane or in an airport? The best thing was, as I exited the tube station, Debs was crossing the street on her way home from the corner store. I don’t think she had changed a bit in four years. It was hugs in the street and then a short walk to the house, only 4 down from the same corner.

The remainder of the day, I basically settled in, met some of Debs’ housemates and slept. I woke at about 4 so that we could go to church at Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB), where Nicky Gumble is the vicar and he created the programme called Alpha. London is very cold at night, especially when you have come from the Southern Hemisphere Summer. Church was great and I met some of Debs’ friends and work colleagues, as she works for Alpha, which has its office based at HTB. After church Debs and I caught the tube and went to met up with one of her friends, Alison, who was going to a Pub Quiz, with some of her friends. I was a little out of it, from lack of sleep, but I still put in and helped out with answering some of the quiz questions. We ended up coming second, which I think was a good effort. During the evening, I finally appeased my need to have some decent chips, some good old fashioned deep fried chips. Soon after Debs and I were back at her place and I went straight to bed. I didn’t wake up until about midday the following day.

During my time in London I trued to do a lot of sight seeing. The only thing is, as it is winter the sun comes up about 8am and goes down at about 5. I needed to be quick on my feet, something that I can’t be after being in South America for 9 months and having the mind set of… “If I like it, I stay, if I don’t, I go”. I went and visited a few places of interest, Big Ben and Westminster and the Westminster Abby. Everybody had said how wonderful The British Museum is but I thought it was lacking in some areas, especially Australia and the other Commonwealth Countries and South America. I guess that the Commonwealth stuff may be in the Military Museum down the road. I even walked through Kensington Palace and its gardens, through Hyde Park and onto the Albert Monument. Out of sadness, Old Queen Vic had the monument built in memory of Princey Albert after he died of Typhoid. I also sent time walking along the South Bank of The Themes with Debs and took in a wonderful ‘Fair Trade’ coffee before going onto the Shakespeare Theatre. We also went and to watch a friend of a friend’s band. They were playing in a boat, which was a very strange place to play because as you looked out the portal you saw the water lapping against the boat.

I also spent my time catching up with old friends. The first to be visited was Stephen and Shirley & their latest addition, Ben, who was only a month old. I had met Shirley many years ago, along with her 3 brothers and 2 sisters. She comes from a South American background and lived in Sydney. Stephen is an English lad who met Shirley on the internet, thinking it was another friend of his and they kept in contact, so much so, I was invited to their wedding in Sydney, where they had the reception at the Opera House. It was great to hang out with them and talk about what we had all been up too, the pizzas were great too. We were talking so much, that I forgot what time it was and arrived back in Kennington quite late. I think I woke Deb up when I tried to get my bedding.

I also spent time with Naomi, whom I think I have known for about 17yrs. We met and had a lovely little meal at a place called Leon’s, just up the road from Harrods. It was great chatting and sharing funny stories about adventures we have had. But I guess the most special thing was the day I went to St. Paul’s Cathedral with her and paid the 10Pound entry. It was just fantastic, especially when we were taking the ‘sneaky pics’, as St. P’s don’t let you take photos. I think that all the walking that I did in South America prepared me for the climb to the top of St. P’s. If you are ever in London, just the view from the outside of the little dome at the top, is worth the entry fee. St. Paul’s is very central and it gives you some of the best views of London.

I think over the Easter Weekend, I went to 3 church services, for about a total of about 6hrs of Service.
It started on Thursday night, after my dinner with Naomi and Debbie. Deb and I went to the Maundy Thursday service. The following morning was Good Friday and the services started at 12noon and there were 6 blocks of 30mins. It was designed that people could come and go as they pleased between each block. Deb and I missed the first block but we stayed for the remaining 2.5hrs. It was a great time of reflection and meditation. On Easter Sunday morning, Deb woke me with the words, “Wake up and look out the window”. I quickly opened the window to get the full effect of the light snow that was falling. It gets cold hanging out the window in just your PJ’s trying to catch snow. I had a wonderful morning of just looking out that window, wondering how Easter was going for my family and for all my friends, all over the world, wondering where they were at with their Easter celebrations… some would have been resting, after eating a roast meal, some just waking up like me and others still sleeping and dreaming of what chocolate they will receive and what activities they would undertake on that day. Later that day I went walking with Debs, as mentioned before, and after that we went to church to try and warm up. Fancy that, going to church to get warm…

After church we went out with friends of Deb, whom she stayed with when she went to Los Angeles in America. They were parents of a friend of Debs from church. They were a lovely couple and we shared about many things and I got to share with them about my time in South America. Only after talking about my time there, I began to realise how much I had done, the people I had met and the diversity of experiences that I had had. I was grateful for the time that they spent with us and they offered for me to stay with them, whenever I was to travel to the US. Saying goodbye, was a little hard, as I had said it so often, in recent days, knowing that I would be doing it again in about 24hrs, as I was leaving to go back to Melbourne the following night. On returning to Debs place, I had received notice that Naomi was back from her travels to Wales and was keen to go sight-seeing with me, so we planned to go to St. Paul’s.

After returning from our sight-seeing, Naomi and I had a great cup of hot coffee, which was needed to warm us up, as being at the top of St. Paul’s with the cold icy winds… well you get the picture. It was time for me to complete my packing and do the necessary things before leaving for the airport. Debs came with me, as she was off to visit a friend from Ireland, who was off to Burundi and was stopping over at Heathrow for about 8hrs. It was great to have her company, as it meant that I was not going alone to the airport. Deb and I departed ways at the airport, as she had to go to another terminal to see her friend. I went and checked in my bags and then waited for Debs to turn up. We chatted over a drink for about an hour and I think it was hard to say goodbye, as all goodbyes are like that. I remained positive, as I knew that I would be back in Australia in around 24hrs.

The flight to Australia was one of the quickest 24hrs I think that I have ever had. Sorry about the analogy, time just flew by. Along the way, I changed planes in Singapore and lost my deodorant, as it was over 100mL, so I smelt good on the second leg of the journey. We arrived in Melbourne about 20mins late, but that was alright, as I had told the folks to wait a little longer, instead of being at the airport at 6:30am. I made it through customs with all my bags and entered Australia after about a nine month absence. I looked for the family and saw no-one I knew, so I found a seat and sat there for about an hour waiting for the folks. With no change, I couldn’t call them to see where they were, so I decided to buy a coffee and get some change from a $5 note that I had carried around the world. As I was waiting inline, I saw Mum and Rachel and ran to greet them. It was wonderful to see them in person, knowing that I could discuss all about my trip with them in person. Dad was doing laps of the airport. We drove back to Scott and Katrine’s house to have breakfast. Charlotte had grown so much and little Hamish was not so little.

I was finally home.

Final Thoughts - Chile

I only spent 89 days in Chile on my second visit for this trip. I had a wonderful Christmas with Paul, Danni, Nati and Danni’s Dad. I also travelled to new parts of Chile and met the rest of Daniel’s family in Villa Alemana. I had some deep conversations with him and other members of his family, all of them at one time or another. I spent NYE in Vina del Mar and Valparaiso and saw a very different type of Chilean, than ones I had seen before. I really liked Vina, but had very little time for Valparaiso, as I thought it was run down and I felt people did not care about their surroundings. I guess that Vina is a little better as it is the more touristy section due to its beaches and number of restaurants and clubs. Travelling to visit friends in the south of Chile was good too. Spending time with Papi at the farm and then with Paul’s extended family in Lican Ray was great. Moving onto LA and spending time with Jess and her family again, gave me so many wonderful memories. My final week in Santiago was one of my toughest for my whole time in South America, trying to decide whether to leave Chile and South America in general or stay for a further 90 days. I am so torn about Chile. It is a place of contrasts, a place at times that I really love and at others a place I cannot understand. In some ways my decision to leave was made for me and one that I have not really regretted.

Santiago

I arrived back into Santiago, after what felt like a very long bus journey. I am not sure why it felt like that, I just guess I was getting sick of buses. Anyway I arrived at Paul’s apartment and dropped of my bags, had a quick bite to eat and set off for the Qantas office in Santiago, armed with as much paperwork as possible. I was aiming to get home to Melbourne by Easter, so I could spend it with the family. However after discussions with the staff at Qantas and seeing the lack of flights available, I knew that I could not make this happen. I had a decision to make. Should I try and get a second visa for Chile and stay an additional 90 days or make my way to London. I booked the flights to London and went away pondering this question… should I stay longer?

I had spoken to Alex previously on Messenger about my Columbia Ski Jacket that I had left in Brasil. He had arranged for someone to take it to Chile and I could collect it from them. I found out that it was Daniel and Thalia’s Auntie that had the jacket and that she lived in Santiago, not to far from Paul’s. I contacted Thalia and asked if she could help me get my jacket, in between other things that we were discussing. The following morning I went to where she was staying and met her Grandparents and some of her extended family. Thalia’s Aunt drove us to the other Aunt’s house to get my jacket. After 3 months of separation we were together again. Thalia had asked me earlier to meet her cousins and in the process I was asked to stay for lunch. I was in mid conversation with all three cousins when a problem with communication arose, the usual language barrier. I had thought that I had said one thing and Thalia had said that I had said the opposite, but when she repeated the word I said, I got very confused about it. I was trying to say it all in Spanish, but gave up and told Thalia to translate instead. She didn’t want too and I didn’t want to talk in Spanish anymore... so I think it ended the conversation. Luckily we were all called to the table for our late lunch.

The following morning I went to church in La Florida. That is where my new American friends have their ministry. I got up early enough and caught the metro train system and then walked the final 5-10mins. It was great to see them again and be able to share some time in church with them, even if I didn’t understand all that was being said. Listening to an American speak Spanish with an American accent is amusing, same accent but a different language. At that meeting I met Elizabeth Hallyburton. Her parents have been missionaries in Chile for almost 30years, first of all in Concepcion and now in Antofagasta. It was also great to speak to someone that had an Australian accent that was similar to mine (Her family comes from Melbourne) and in language that could be understood by both parties. The Smith’s invited me back to their house for lunch, but as I had been invited by Thalia’s family first, I did the right thing and went there for lunch, indicating that I would come for a meal another day at the Smith’s.

Over the next few days I went to visit the Smith family and have dinner with them. Their house was so different, this time, as there was no boxes and everything look like it was in far better order than during moving time. I also chatted with Elizabeth and I think that we got on quite well. She is studying Music at University in Santiago and is staying with the Smith’s while she studies. A few days later she called me up and we arranged to meet and go to her sister’s house, so I could meet her (once she got home from work) and her 2 nieces and 1 nephew. We had a great time at the supermarket and then swimming in the pool and counting in English with her eldest niece. I had a lot of fun and a very relaxing time.

I also went shopping for last minute gifts in some of the local markets, called ferias. During these outings I would also go shopping for food items to cook a final meal for everyone. I wanted to invite a few people over to say thanks for the memories, as during this time, I had decided to leave Chile and move on to England. I felt, from conversations and actions, it was time for me to leave. I felt that God was telling me that he no loner wanted me in Chile. Plus I think that the small apartment would have been very cramped for space with the arrival of Alex and Karen from Brazil. So, the last night I was in Chile, for the 2007 – 2008 trip, I cooked a wonderful sweet chicken stir-fry and my, now World Famous, Self Saucing Chocolate Pudding. I only had a few people over, as I wanted to share my last night with them. There was Paul, Danni and Nati (of course) and I invited Andres, Thalia and Eli. The 7 of us had a wonderful night, well I think we did and that is all that matters, of chatting and eating and drinking. It was also great to catch up with Andres and share some of my stories and adventures of both Brazil and Chile with him. However, as usual the night did not finish until about 5am and I didn’t get to sleep until about 6. One problem…I needed to be at the airport by 12noon for a 2pm flight, I had to be up at 10. Now that wasn’t the problem, the problem was making sure Paul was up to take me. At 10:30 a taxi was called and I was on my way by 11, after saying ‘Goodbye’ to a very sleepy Paul. Thalia, who had stayed overnight, decided to join me in coming to the airport, so I wouldn’t be alone. It was great that she did, as I never like going to airports by myself, even if I am going to be leaving a place. However once I started walking to the customs booths, I turned to see if she was still there and she was not to be seen. I was on my own again, starting a journey to another country, Happy that I was leaving Chile behind me.

Villa Alemana

After a 7hr bus ride, with very little sleep, I arrived at the main bus terminal in Santiago. I was to wait here for about 40mins and then take another bus for the 2hr journey to Villa Alemana. There were only about 6 other passengers on the bus, so it was much more comfortable then the trip from LA to Santiago. The bus attendant was asking for tickets and where people wanted to get off, I was not sure what he was staying, so I answered with the central terminal. It was not until I realised that people were getting off earlier, in the main street, so I decided to jump off the bus and walk the shorter distance to the Moder home, the place I had stayed at earlier in Villa Alemana. I walked the short distance and rang the door bell to request entry. Fortunately Thalia had a later start to University that day and was able to let me in or it would have been a much longer wait.

I had a cuppa with Thalia and talked about my adventures in the South. I went to go to bed and sleep but thought it would be best not to fall asleep in Thalia’s bed, as we were talking in her room, but to have a nice hot shower, something to eat and then sleep. This is what I did and waved Thalia and Mirty goodbye, as they left for University. Then I basically found myself on the couch watching TV, a place that I stayed at for the rest of the day, drifting in and out of daydreams. I think that I must have slept a little bit, as I remember having a very cloudy mind and the TV programme that I had been watching was different. I think that this would be the setting for the rest of my time in Villa Alemana, one of sitting on the couch and not doing much more than watching TV.


I think that my predictions were correct as most of the time I did very little other than watch TV. I think it was due to both Daniel and Thalia returning to University studies and the youngest brother Esteban starting his Air Force Training. This meant that I had time to think and ponder about things and asses were I was in life and the sort of things that I wanted and thought about what God wanted for me. One day Thalia invited her friend Pia over to sing together, as they are in a choir together. Now I think that I am not the best singer, but can hold a tune, if required. As they never asked me to join them, even after I hinted a few times that I would like too, I decided to sit and watch TV with a set of headphones on, so as not to disturb them and not to be disturbed by them. Try to do the polite thing when they are singing about 5m from where I was sitting.

I actually went to look for my missing zunga, which I had left at the marina, the time that Thalia and I went Open Ocean kayaking. It was all in vain, as someone had taken them. Now people in Chile don’t wear zungas (they are their version of Speedos), as it is very socially wrong, so I am not sure why someone would want to take them. Ohh well, I hope whoever did take them is getting good use out of them. I also went and did a little shopping to buy a few items for the house and to aid me in some cooking. I wanted to thank the family, properly, for having me but as everyone was so busy and never at home, it was a little hard. I caught the bus back to Santiago in the third day, which was the Friday, as I needed to go to the Qantas office to fix my flights to England. As Thalia had Fridays off from University, she decided to come with me, as she wanted to visit her little cousins and spend some time with them.

Los Angeles

We finally left the farm at about 3 in the afternoon. It was great to be back on the open road and behind the wheel. I called Jessica at the first available moment to let her know that we were finally on our way and that we were going to be later than expected. I found out later on that they had prepared lunch for us all and I felt very bad that we had not been their, as first planned. The drive went very well and it seemed the 3 to 4hr drive went by in no time. We took the wrong turn off into Los Angeles but managed to arrive at Jessica’s house, after a short stop at ‘Solcito’, a friend’s restaurant in the centre of town. I had met them in my first visit to Chile in 2000.

We finally arrived in Los Angeles at about 7pm. Much later than the expect midday. Yet I had arrived and all were happy to see me again. Everyone was invited in for an afternoon tea and time to talk and catch up. Paul had gone to the neighbour’s house to show Natalia off, so we had to wait for him to return. Danni was organising a few things for her Dad, as he didn’t want to come in. Finally we all entered and sat down for some afternoon tea. I was amazed how much the place had changed. Jessica had spoken about her new pool but the whole back yard had a complete make-over. The garden had been worked on and new grass was being sown. That said Paul and Danni didn’t want to stay long, as they needed to get back to Santiago, still a further 6hrs away. I waved them goodbye, only finding out later that Natalia asked where I was and cried for a long time when Danni explained that they were returning to Santiago without me. I took my bag and went up the familiar internal staircase turning right at the top and entering Jess’ bedroom (which would be my sleeping place for the next few nights or for as long as I was to stay). It was like seeing an old friend again, back in familiar surroundings and being at home.

Later that night Jessica asked me to go with her to collect 2 of her friends. I found out that Jessica had asked some of her friends, from both High School and University days, over for a BBQ. It was a great night of meeting new people and catching up with old friends. As I was the guy from Australia, I was asked many questions about my homeland and also why I was in South America. That meant I held long and detailed conversations about my travels in South America and the differences with Australia. Catching up with Nicolas, Jessica’s friend I met last time (refer to earlier blog entries) was great fun and from then on with him and the others there I was known as Bruce, as in Bruce Lee.

During the remainder of my time in Los Angeles, Jess and I would go shopping, pay bills and just generally hang out in Downtown LA. I went to McDonalds for the first time in a long time and ate a McFlurry with Jess. We talked for a long time in McDonalds about the places I had been and the people I had met. It was good to debrief myself with a good friend. I think I needed it. That said, this was the type of week that I had with Jess and her family. We would hang out, do a few things and have some wonderful discussions about her life and about mine and eat too much. I think that South America’s are very good at hospitality. I think that every night there was a BBQ at Jess’ house because of one reason or another. I didn’t mind, as the meat was great and it meant that I could practice my Spanish.

We even went to Concepcion for an overnight trip to drop Jess’ brother off, as he was going to start studying at The University of Concepcion. Along the way we stopped off at a traditional Chilean restaurant to have a traditional meal. Basically it was 5 different kinds of meats and 4 different kinds of sausages and some green stuff on the side to give it a hint of healthiness. I think that I ate enough meat to last me the rest of the week. We all stayed at the Grandma’s house, which was a very tight fit, but was a lovely thing. The following morning, while Juan-Pablo was being settled in, by his Dad, Jess and I went for a walk to the local pond/lake. We walked around it and chatted as we went, talking about different things. Again there was a subtle hint of travel in her words, which I have felt many times during conversations with people from South America. Life is very hard in South America, unless you have a lot of money, but when you have this money you need to spend a lot on security, as those without it will try and take it from you. That was a very broad statement, but I think it reflects some attitudes. We left Pablo in Concepcion and drove the 2hrs back to LA.

It was a routine of waking up, late of course, having something to eat, then swimming for a little while, as the weather was always hot and sunny, and then having more food doing the necessary events for the day and then it was party time again at night. The parties were either at Jess’ house or at one of her friend’s. I think that there were so many parties, as people wanted to share in the fun times with the crazy guy from Australia. On one such night, we were all at Nicolas’ house (Jess and I, Nicolas and his girlfriend, Danni and my man Borat (that is the nickname I gave him)). Jess received a call from her Mum saying that her Aunty had passed away, leaving her 3 cousins without any parents. Her husband had passed away only 6 weeks earlier from cancer. It was a gloomy end to a once jovial evening. The following morning Jess’ parents went to Concepcion and Jess stayed to look after me, but I felt that I was being a burden to the family, so I decided to leave Los Angeles that night and head back to Villa Alemana to collect some of my clothes that I had left there from my earlier stay. This was becoming a habit with me, as I had left clothes in other places in Brazil. Jess’ X-boyfriend came over to give her support and the three of us sat a chatted and just tried to be as normal as possible for Jess. We ended up having pancakes with manjar (caramel) as a final meal together. They were so good and I ended up eating about 6 of them… I didn’t have to eat until lunchtime the following day. I finally waved goodbye to Jess at about 10:48pm that night and I tried to maintain a happy face, for Jess’ benefit, yet I was sad that I was leaving, not knowing when I would see her in person again, after 2 wonderful visits to her house in LA. They were such wonderful times of strengthening our friendship after 7 to 8 years of only email and MSN. I will miss you Jess. Thank you so much for allowing me to stay with you and your family. Sorry I could not join you and your family in drinking the wines.

The Farm

We arrived back at the farm at about 10pm to have a small snack, before going to bed. I was a little tired and I think I needed the rest. My friend’s welcomed me back with open arms. The following morning parts of my body were on fire because of the ‘kisses’ they gave me during the night. Damn fleas. Anyway, I tried to take it on the chin and keep my mind on other things, so as I would not scratch my new and old bites. If something was happening, I wanted to be a part of it. The turbine was not generating as much electricity as it should, so Papi and I went and cleaned the water aqueduct to maximise the water flow. Even then it only helped a little. The amount of water in Chile is low. Power prices are going up, as they don’t have enough water to run the hydro-generators at full capacity. We were having the same issue at the farm, a lack of water. I also collected a few apples to go into the collection for making Chicha. It was simple work; just collect the apples that had fallen to the ground. The only problem was, I was not given a basket to collect them in until after I had a discussion with Papi about it.

I also spent a lot of time on the computer, writing text to go into this blog spot. Trying to remember events and details from about 6 weeks before, is a real stretch for the brain but a good mental activity. I got up to date a lot at the farm, as you have a lot of time to think about things and also to write about them. Paul and I also spent a lot of time playing PC games. It was great fun shooting as many bad guys as we could. It was a great way to fill in 2 or 3 hours of the day, when nothing else was happening. I think that Papi got a little sick of Paul and I spending so much time on the laptops, but we were having fun. He was always going on about how we should be spending more time outside looking at the surrounding hills and trees, so we decided to take the laptops outside and play the games, an easy fix to that problem. I even managed to get onto the internet a few times with Paul’s GPRS connection. It was a good enough connection for MSN typing only, but it meant I had a link to the outside world. One night Paul and I sat and watched the lunar eclipse. It was amazing how bright all the stars were once the full moon was out of action.

The last full day at the farm Papi, Paul and I went into Temuco for the day. First of all we went to Gorbea to undertake a few paperwork matters that Papi needed to attend too. Like always in South America, a function that should take 20-30mins took us about 2 hours. This meant that we arrived in Temuco in time for lunch. So we headed to the central market and ate a lovely lunch, after they mixed up the order, took ages to fix, then gave us coffees and teas without hot water and then took 20mins to get the bill to us. That is a thing that is also lacking here in South America, Customer Service that is efficient and friendly. We then went and did a few other things around town before heading back to the farm. Ohh yes, on return I was also made to make Chocolate pudding again. I think that this is becoming way too much of a common theme. But I don’t mind, as I am contributing to the enjoyment of the farm. It was Paul’s request, like a last night feast.

The last morning was similar to the morning we travelled to the South. It was an effort to get Paul out of bed, with the regular "give me another 20mins. This went from 9am until just after noon. By this time, the lunchtime BBQ was well under way and there was more than enough food to feed an army. So the decission was made to stay for lunch and leave shortly after that. Lunch was a great feast. My only concern was that I had told Jessica, my friend in Los Angeles (where I was going to stay for the next few days), that we would be at her house by about lunchtime. With no cell coverage, I could not get a message through, saying we would be late. At 3pm we finally said our goodbyes and headed for the open road. It was sad to leave the farm but also good to know that I was heading back to a more modern environment. I do like the farm, but it is just a little remote, at times. I also said goodbye to Paul's uncle, Harry, but I knew that I would see him back in Australia, as he was heading home in mid April.