Hi Everyone, have you missed us?

Well, we have spent July and August working back in old Blighty and staying with Abby´s Mum scrounging in Hertford. After looking hard at last minute deals and a bit of haggling we have managed to put together an itinerary that takes us up the west coast of South America.

After an overnight flight via Madrid, we landed in Santiago, Chile. It is very reminiscent of Spain, but not quite the same. The motorists are very polite and always seem to stop to allow you to cross the road, not very ´latin´ at all.

After accidentally overpaying for our bus to our hotel we have now got to grips with the money and things are quite reasonably priced. Beer is cheaper than coke, and local wine is very nice and we have purchased a 1.5 litre bottle for about 2 pounds to accompany us on our trip accross the driest desert in the world.

We have joined an overland tour, travelling on a big truck called "Tranquilo". There are 4 other people travelling with us, Linda and Jamie from New Zealand and Charlene and Kate from the UK. We also have a British driver Andy, his Australian girlfriend Kirsty (also a guide), and our tour leader Adam from Atlanta US.

Day 1. After a heavy nights drinking we set out at 7:30am for our first nights camping in La Serena. Unfortunately we were slightly delayed due to the loss of our tour leader Adam, who could not be roused having gone to bed at 5am! Honking the horn and shouting outside his flat woke everyone within the neighbourhood except Adam! As it was a Chilean national holiday this has not made him popular with his neighbours.

Having two men in charge of this tour seems to mean that it is slightly more laid back than the previous one that we went on in India. Beer and fat steak bbq´s take priority.