Diego De Almagro Calama

... for the 6.30pm, (look...we were desperate..OK?) After a few more hours in town, we arrived for the 6.30pm show, it was my first ice dancing circus thingy, and it will probably be my last, lots of dancers in various costumes ice skating, with a vague story to some of the sketchs, then iceskaters swirling around the top atached to a rope on the ceiling...very ...

... were about to spend $30 for an adapter. We decided to wait, thank god!!! Because in Peru and Bolivia we had no problems using the plugs. Chile has been the first place and right across the street from our hostel, Hostel Los Andes, there is a dollar-store-type store. Where we found the plug adapter we needed for 200 pesos, which is maybe $.30? LOL. Thanks ...

... After sharing a taxi with the teachers as far a the Plaza, and picking through their guide book for some more info on accommodation as mine has no map or much else of any use either, I found a place to stay and at a reasonable price too just off the main pedestrianised shopping area in the town centre. All ok no problems, the only exciting thing that happened that night was when I was sitting in a cafe for ...

... i les dues ho fan els mateixos dies: dimecres, divendres i diumenge... visca la competčncia!)... ara si, ara no, ara ja ho veurem... total, que fins que no ens possem bordes, ja veniem calents, no ens asseguren el bitllet de tornada. Total que a mitja tarda ens presentem a l'oficina d'Avis a Calama... els hi expliquem el problema i comencen a fer trucades (la veritat és que ens ajuden tan com poden, cap queixa)... i resulta que a Antofagasta: ES VAN EQUIVOCAR DE COTXE ...

... t believe it when I saw stone carvers there, selling little rocksalt llamas....it must be hellish to work there. They were completely covered with balaclavas and facemasks, which made it all the more strange! So after a week of touring Cafayate, Cachi, San Antonio de los Cobres and all the landscape around, we were well ready for a day off yesterday. We spent it in Salta, pretty much sitting in the square reading our books - it was ...

... balaclavas and sunglasses all the time. However, after a week of getting up at 6.30am each morning it was a relief to have a lie in on Saturday and just relax, it actually felt like a Saturday after a week of work! Then we were lucky to see a ceremony in the square in Salta featuring armed Guachos on foot and horse back and a full military brass band. I still donīt know exactly what was going on ...

... flats, we stopped at the Isla de los Pescadores, which was bizare enough in just appearing in the midst of the whiteness, but also covered in huge cacti (up to 12 metres high). Again, I managed to commit a childīs error - stabbing my finger on one of the huge spikes which looked as if it would give way under pressure. It didnīt. From here, we went to our overnight stop of San Juan. It is an incredibly depressing looking town in the middle of bleak, rcky waste lands and makes ...

... a fantastic birthday treat for me from Richard. It was an eco friendly hotel constructed from adobe - sun dried mud and straw and looked like a very lovely oasis on the edge of this desert town. To do it justice you really need to see the pics attached - it was sensational. Pablo ranked it as the best hotel he had ever stayed in for its unique nature. After checking in, we were taken to our room, or "hut" that was absolutely beautiful - bed on a raised platform, doors ...

... fromt eh top though are pretty nice. A lot of the buildings are painted in different colours and there were a lot of arts and crafts shops up there with a few nice restauraunts aswell. Pretty nice place to spend a day or two walking around. We got and overnight bus anyways further north, didīnt know what to expect but god Bus Eireann should come over and take a look at them, plush or what! The seats go back just about enough for ...

... Chuquicamata close to Calama. I had a dream on the bus that customs officials were cutting open Monoloco monkeys head and legs looking for diamonds, a premonition of what was to come perhaps. The town of Calama is a dusty, hot service centre for miners and even Chileans had told us it is the ugliest city in Chile. We immediately hated its guts. Here is how the robbery of the backpack went. This time they stole a big load of gear causing our drama in Calama ...