The town came alive at the arrival of the dieciocho. By 11am the majority of the residents had turned out for the celebrations. Hordes of people gathered on and around the newly erected stands in the main street, which had been closed off to traffic. All ears were focussed on the annual Mayor's speech. The Mayor of Peumo was coming to the end of his term in office, and you could definitely sense his sadness and the passion he possessed for his beloved town....

Peumo is a small town in the 7th region of Chile. It was named after the large amount of Peumo trees that grow there. It is surrounded by hills which means it benefits from a micro-climate For that reason there are an array of plants products that are cultivated there including oranges, avocados, cherries and grapes. When we first arrived it seemed quite a tranquil place, but my preconceptions were obliterated when everything came alive in the holiday cele...

What a week! What a week! What a week! This country has turned into a fiesta hotspot and it's all in aid of the Fiestas Patrias! After being at uni just two weeks, we were granted a week's holiday to celebrate Chile's independence day, the 18th September. Most people were given three days holiday but schools and universities profited from a whole week's worth of festivities. The date of the celebrations is not in fact when Chile actually gained independ...