Back in "old blighty" again- and the rain!!!!

Hi. Just to confirm that I arrived back safely from Santiago on Monday morning and was met by our best friends, Mike and Maggi. Marilyn also arrived safely in Auckland some 14 hours before me and will be glad to have quality time now with her family. I am settling in again and have caught up with the chores at home and checked all the large piles of unopened mail for us, that was waiting, of course!! No lottery windfalls, just a £25 premium bond win, so it's back to work next week!! Swizz! Adjusting to bachelor status is hard after such a wonderful experience with my beloved in Mexico and S/America, but having the skype and video camera makes us feel that much closer. I shall be resuming gardening and consular duties next week which will make time go faster! I'm joining Marilyn at the beginning of July in Auckland.

That's all folks. I'll try and put some photos of Santiago on soon but at the moment my computer is so full of programmes that need to be culled, I can't get our 800 photos of our trip to stay on the Picassa shop. Some defragging is essential, I think.

Take care. Jon.

In Santiago.

Hello again. We are still here in sunny Santiago and enjoying a chill-out week, relaxing by the pool at our hostel and sight-seeing, present-buying etc, before we head off in our different directions at the weekend. Santiago is a huge city with plenty to see, etc. We went to Valparaiso on Valentines Day for the day, just under 2 hours from here by bus. Quite pleasant but ruined by some b........ stealing my day-pack almost under my nose as Marilyn and I were enjoying a Valentines sea-food lunch and a glass of wine in a downtown restaurant. I had it under the table by my feet but must have been distracted by 2 singer / guitarists circulating around the tables and then someone must have nicked the pack!!! We then spent 2 hours at a Police Station giving statements, etc before we headed back to Santiago. I lost almost GBPds 1000 of possessions and have alerted my insurance company already so I can complete the claim form when I get back. Fortunately I had my money,cards, and passport around my waist in my body belt so I can fly home okay on Sunday! I was also robbed of my ipod and headphones in Atacama 2 weeks ago, so Chile has not been the most memorable of stays compared with Peru, Ecuador, and Mexico, certainly where disasters are concerned! I even left my Panama hat on a bus in La Serena last week!! That-s the 2nd one as my first Panama hat was left on a bus in Peru!! Plonker Bennett!!! Never mind, these things are sent to try us and worse things happen at sea! Must be getting old and travel weary after 6 months.

Marilyn is obviously looking forward to flying off to Auckland on Saturday night to spent quality family time with her sons, their wives, and her 3 grand-children. I plan to join her at the beginning of July , and also visit my daughter and grand-children, also in Auckland, and then we will fly back together to the UK at the end of August, hopefully via. Hong Kong and Delhi. She still has 2 stopovers available on her round the world airticket after Auckland. I shall miss her as we have been travel buddies now for 6 months, looking after each other, with the inevitable ups and downs, but we are still talking to each other and time with her family is paramount. Kind of catch-up time now that she has retired from work at Southampton University. I still have work to go back to but am eternally grateful that I have been allowed to be overseas for so long without incurring anybody-s wrath, I hope!! No doubt I will soon be back in to the swing of things after a week or two. Getting used to being on bachelor status again will be hard after 12 continuous years with Marilyn, but at least we have good communications nowadays, what with skype, etc.

No more news for now. Will confirm my safe arrival home next week, and thank you all agin for following me on my blog. Hope it has been interesting for you to read as it has for me, living the experiences. Bye for now. Jon.

Sunset over Atacama Desert plus Plaza in Copiapo and Mall in La Serena.

In reverse order, we have ...... 2 snaps of the sunset at Atacama and the Plaza Square in Copiapo and the Mall in La Serena. We arrived in Santiago last evening after travelling in quick succession from San Pedro de Atacama to Antofagasta, Copiapo, and La Serena. All quite pleasant places but our aim has always been to get to Santiago for a week stay minimum. We have, in fact, covered a distance of around 2300 kms since we arrived in Arica, Chile on 30th Jan. That is alot of bus travel but I have to say that throughout Ecuador, Peru, and Chile, the bus services have been brilliant - very clean and all air-conditioned.There is plenty to see here and around, i.e. Valparaiso and Isla Negra, both on the coast about 3 hours from here by bus. We have found a really cool hostel aswell in the centre of the city with all the mod cons. Bit more expensive than our previous hostels, but worth it just to be comfortable and happy before we part on the 19th Feb. I will finish my blog before I leave here and just confirm safe arrival in the UK when I am home on bachelor status for a few months!! Jon.

Some photos of the Atacama Desert.

Here are 4 photos taken in San Pedro de Atacama during our dtay there last week. Marilyn plus Marilyn and I with the Moon Valley behind us, moi in a hammock relaxing in our hostel, and a view of the desert. Photos do not do this area justice. It really is quite breathtaking and you have to be there to really appreciate the serenity and beauty. We had a great half day tour and the highlight was the sunset over the valley, separate photo to follow. It did actually rain earlier in the afternoon but this did not spoil the sunset.

Some photos at Arica, Chile.

3 snaps in Arica on 30 January. 2 of Marilyn in front of the "rock" and an approach snap from the bus in the countryside. I will also add the Customs Building which I meant to do instead of 2 similar ones of Marilyn!!? Sorry. The Customs Building was designed by Eiffel, who didn't just have the famous Paris tower as his claim to fame!

Photos in Arica, Chile.

The Customs Building in Arica, designed by G.Eiffel in 1873. That´s the building on the left. Quite impressive. We also saw similar designs by him in Lima.

San Pedro de Atacama

Hello again. I will be brief as time is short and Marilyn wants to update her blog also. We arrived in Arica on the 30th Jan, as you know. Stayed there for 2 nights - quite a pleasant place on the coast and we then moved on to Iquique, another 7 hour bus journey south. Stayed there also for 2 nights in a backpacker hostel dormitory. Great beach and well worth the stopover to top up our suntans which have faded alot since Mexico! We then moved on to San Pedro de Atacama where we are now and have been since the 3rd. Fantastic place in the Atacama salt desert. We did a tour yesterday afternoon to the Valley of the Moon Craters and concluded it by watching the sun set over the valley. Stunning and some photos will follow. It has rained for the last 4 days here in the late afternoons for a few hours. Amazing as it has been a rarity for some years but wherever we have gone inland in S/America since arriving in Quito before Christmas, the rain has been closeby!! I guess being at altitude doesn't help! We are about 2800 metres above s/level here.

We are both well and tomorrow move on to Antofagasta on the coast for an overnight stop before continuing south on our journey to Santiago via. Copiapo and La Serena after Antofagasta. We hope to arrive in Santiago on the 12th or 13th and spend a week there before we fly home to the UK (moi) and New Zealand (Marilyn). I will update with some photos from Santiago. Ciaio for now. Jon.