Amigos in Argentina

Thanks to more Delta mayhem, Len and Eva made it to Buenos Aires but missed Ireland's Grand Slam keeper-upper against Scotland. Despite this setback, we quickly assembled the portable gym and got working on the guns. Having seen our (dingy) hostel, we accepted the invitation to stay at their fancy boutique hotel in trendy Palermo. The 4 days in BA mainly revolved around vino and steak, although we did manage to squeeze in some sightseeing, Evita-singing, tango-dancing and futbol-watching. Riquelme is officially the laziest human on the planet!

While Len and Eve scooted off to Iguazu Falls, we headed for Uruguay, to re-rendezvous in Punta del Diablo, near the Brazilian border. Punta is a nightmare to get to, but very much worth the trip. We had booked a house over the phone with the rock-solid information "meet a man on a yellow motorbike when you arrive". Turns out we had hit the jackpot - As they'd say in Limerick... "Pool'n'allnit bud". We had a tranquilo week soaking up the sunshine and celebrating the GRAND SLAM in style.

A few fond memories... "Jaysus lads, I think I'm going to be sick."
"Aherlow 1-1 Nenagh no score. Aherlow have history med. Jaysus, there'll be a big night in the Glen".
Shopping is most appropriately deposited at the front door.

Thanks for coming to meet us halfway down South America. We had a great holiday from our holiday. Jaysus lads, this travelling lark isn't so bad.

Pucon, Chile

The most stunning place I think we've been so far. Like a natural disneyland. The town of Pucon is underneath the pretty active Volcan Villaricca (last went off in 1986 and on a cycle of 23 years - shizah!) and surrounded by lakes - it's beautiful!

We warmed ourselves up with a quick wee hike which turned out to be a 17km full-on climb to view some lakes but was totally worth it. Next came the big climb up the imposing Volcan. Using the crampons and ice pick was great craic, with lots of hilarious falling over. The summit had spectacular views and ooodles of sulphur, both of us thinking we'd never be at the top of an active volcanoe! The highlight was sliding down the glacier on our bums, like bobsledding with out the bobsleds - great craic! Alot of ash was consumed over the day, so fulfilling and knackering.

The next day we went canyoning i.e. for me ridiculously lowering yourself down a sheer waterfall, amazing scenery and adrenaline pumping, the photos tell a good story.

A short trip to Pucon but a real highlight

Photos are here

Chile

Crossing the border from Bolivia to the Atacama Desert was an important step towards sea level. It's been a month since we've seen the ocean and we were very keen to get the heart-rate back to a reasonable level ASAP, without the need for mate de coca.

San Pedro de Atacama was a haven for a few days to sit still (after the 3 days in the jeep through Bolivia). We shouldn't have been surprised to find that the heat was insane most of the day - all the locals criss-cross the street to constantly walk in the most shaded spots along the streets. Cactii, dust-storms and signs declaring "water is gold" satisfied our need for the desert cliche.

My mother would be proud of our new tradition... 17 hours on a bus tends to whizz by if you get stuck into the Chilean red wine! Next pit-stop was La Serena, an old colonial city with a great observatory. The obervatory was slick. We saw the southern cross, a comet and the moons and rings of Saturn. No sightings of the rings around Uranus, unfortunately.

We'd been told Santiago was "OK but no great shakes". I'm glad to report that we defied this by thoroughly enjoying the capital for a couple of days, wandering the city, finding weird buildings, loads of graffiti and viewing the city from lofty swimming pools at Parque Metropolitana.

Some notable differences between Chile and Bolivia:
- On the serene bus to San Pedro, we spent all of the trip in our seats, as opposed to the "Bolivian levitation trick"
- When trying to cross the road in Chile, drivers slow down and wave you across. In Bolivia, the "bonus point system" is strictly adhered to (Gringos = double).
- Its easy to be a millionaire in Chile. I can safely say this is the first time I've ever withdrawn 150,000 from an ATM.
- Fiona "might even trust the street-meat" in Chile.

Suffice to say, Chile is a fancy-dan version of Latin America. Its very European and if it wasn't for the tall red beacon walking alongside me, I could blend in with the locals.