I have sea monkeys trapped in my feet and if you think i'm joking you are horribly mistaken. I have a blister on the left side of the big toe on my right foot and its rather large and rather full of liquid, except to my horror, i noticed today that as i press the blister, small creatures (little white bits of stuff like sea monkeys) dart around and swim. It's truely fascinating.

We got sunburnt today but was worth it for the relaxation, sangria and strawberry champagne. The garden here is lovely, you can lounge by the pool sipping on pisco sour whilst indulging in a game of gin rumi (which I am awesome at). It is also possible to play cricket, rugby (of sorts) and ping pong.

We met some people today who introduced the darker side of South America to us. They were talking about their time in Bolivia and the people they knew that did the 'most dangerous road in the world'. From what I gather it is a gravel road that winds down a cliff side and people bike down it in groups and get a t-shirt at the end if they survive it. Well a t-shirt must be worth it. The people said that they met someone who lost their foot, someone who lost their face and hear about 4 people who lost their lives all in about 6 weeks. Sounds like a bundle of fun....We won't be trying that anytime soon.
Apparently Bolivia is pretty corrupt and the laws there are a little non-existent. They had apparently visited some 'coke dens' which from what I gather, you turn up and buy a beer and a line of cocaine. They aren't quite legit as one of the guys said he had been there during a raid but nothing happened, the 'gringos' were just asked to leave. Apparently the police in Bolivia aren't able to touch the tourists. I sat there listening to these peoples stories in utter bewilderment at my naivity and lack of desire for anything like the lifestyle they lead. It seems to me that spending your time travelling completely off your head defeats the point of being there. As we were talking to them some posh kids from Birmingham Uni turned up and seemed interested in the 'dens' one was called 'routa treinta-seis'. Toby and I sat there twiddling our thumbs.

Anyway, I think we are going to the Palacio Cousino tomorrow which is a large house and from what I gather will be like Buckingham palace only less lavish. It houses the first elevator installed in South America.

Yesterday Toby managed to lose our travel guide and someone stole it (I can't remember if i've mentioned this already, its a sore point) anyway so we were in Santiago with no idea where we were going and about 2 hours later we came upon the museum that we were wanting to see. There were some old mummies in there that were 2000 years older than the ones of Ancient Egypt. They preserved the bodies by replacing all the soft tissues of the body with leaves and bark and rocks, any natural object that fit the space. It was quite effective.

The things I am looking forward to most in New Zealand next week (apart from the obvious - seeing my lovely aunty and uncle) is meeting my cousin, having a bath (it may be quite horrific), having a duvet instead of sheets and woolen rugs that are home to bed bugs and eating some crystallised stem ginger. I saw some of this ginger in harrods at the airport in London and didn't get any - biggest regret ever.
We are both really looking forward to being able to drive, it will be sooooooo nice.

Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my brother he is a whole 14 now. Wooooooop.
Take care xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Lots of love Tegan