Santiago, Chile	Antofagasta	Trying out my DigiCam	Anto Florencia Apartment

Bad Karma on the Bundy Front

Greetings from Antofagasta

I am sitting my aprtment lounge with the TV on.. refer attched (pretty ordinary) images....Got to Anto last nite, got picked up by a Mr Gerardo Flores and taken to the appmnt and after a brief discussion with proprietor Al' - we decided that food was the No 1 priority and I was accompanied by Gerardo (my trusty guide) to the local supermarket (Korleat del Parque) and got a whole pile of Chilean Grub. As in most developing countries - the commercial facilities are pretty Americanised (did I tell you that my appmnt is near a Maccas? surely not) so no problems getting Kelloggs and Coca Cola. That should do for the batchelor diet. Only joking - i got a whole bag of steak slabs as well.

Hmmm I always thought Bega Cheese was an Aussie Company. Wrong

Trip over was long and entirely lacking in any glamour. That is, that glamour that the seldom travelled imagine and which the frequent flyers know as a myth. Unless you have an interest in Airport architecture. Didnt get a window seat so no panoramic views of the Andes. Arrived at Santiago in the arvo - so got a view of the Mtns which lie on the outskirts of the city. 15,000 foot monsters covered in snow.

Probably the most noteworthy event has been my bad karma on the Bundy front. I had decided to follow due expat protocol and provide the local IT Manager with an allocation of his preferred liqour - in this case Bundaberg Rum.

It seemed a fairly simple task - I sauntered up to a shop at the Auckland duty free and got my 750ml. I was pretty heavily laden with 2 laptops and my 'Man For All Seasons' hand bag (wherby, if my hold luggage fails to pitch - i can survive in conditions ranging from desert to antarctica for 20 days - ok im exaggerating but i must insist that it was fairly heavy beast)

However another doover in the form of a bottle in a plastic bag was a bit of a shlep to lug around - i looked to see if i could slot it anywhere but no - so i carried it. I then had to make a few calls and dumped evrything on the ground and tried a few credit card telco phones but again no.

Then, after wandering around for 10 minutes with that uneasy 'somethings missing' feeling i realised that someone had nicked my Bundy whilst on the phone. Exit Bundy No 1stage left.

So I went back and got another and this time put it on my portable trolley with the other bags - I was loath to do that the first time as i was worried the whole arrangement with one dodgy bungy strap was a bit unstable.

This risk eventually manifested itself when the bag wriggled free and toppled onto the floor. Exit bottle No 2.

Lesson learnt: Always listen to that little voice in your head.

So bottle No 3 was purchased. This time i repacked the 'Man for All Seasons' and proceeded in an easterly direction. At Santiago I had become weary of the load and decided to put the All Seasons in the hold.

At Antofagasta I received a wet rummy bag. Exit bottle No 3.... Ahhh wellll .... some things are not meant to be.

Lesson learnt : If you want some grog - order it from the local bottlre store.

Went for a walk this morning ... the place is a lot bigger than I remembered. Im located at an apartment sounth of the CBD and near the beach - only problem is that ' the beach' is pretty ordinary - rocky, cold&polluted water. Sea views punctuated with frigates and battleships, cops look pretty well equipped too ...is there something i dont know ? ...better watch CNN tonite and find out. The city infrastructure pretty is a tad arbitrary...a bit like Thailand.

Going to go and find the designated tourist spot tomorrow. Will bang off some pictures of the place and send them over.

Unpacked the bike but roads look ..ah ...well ...kinda south american (rough, not much room for bikes ..AND no evidence of any 2 wheeled bretheren...perhaps theyve all been run over..) - will scout around and report back

Hey Touchy&Laurie - i shaved my legs last night - first time ive seen my legs since puberty - trying to remember where all the various scars had come from - added another inch to the carpet pile and used up a set of shaver batteries - with my usual modesty i must add they are real show stoppers - i might have to permanently wear leg warmers until the hair grows back - if you hear of riots in south america, you'll know the warmers were in the wash that day

Click on the images below…

Image Thumbnails - click on the image to enlarge