Up in the Andes

Well BT, Alan and I went riding in the Andes at the weekend. It was indescribable...photos tell all...my horse (left) was called Chuncho...a bit big for me but we coped admirably...the path the horses took was pretty much like a sheep path- right on the cliff edge, winding up to the top. The day was fantastic. Cannot reccommend more highly, the place where we went:
Cascada de las Animas

Tree Time Special

In Santiago, probably because of the pollution, there are trees everywhere. In the parks, a lot of work has been done to make the trees very ornamental. For example, judicious clipping back YEARS ago, has left a legacy of some real beauties. Others just have great flowers or leaves. As mentioned before, they all smell great. Its possible to get a book on the trees of Chile, published by the Gardening authorities (??!) or whatever, here. However, the office is open only 9-5, Mon-Fri...so it will be a slow Google Images effort to get the correct names. In the meantime...pictures-eye-oh... Oops and also, 80% of landscaping includes white roses...everywhere....so thats why they're there..


























x

Seaside last Sunday

Wellwell..ahem..finished 'Casino Royale' and feeling almost like my own self again...apologies for that brief schizophrenia. Still, got a nice tuxedo from it all.. Last Sunday went to the beach at Vina del Mar- pretty much the usual seaside dive. Sand was pretty coarse and with the (hello, freezing cold) water, really was hell on the fur- I've been making the bed gritty all week.. The number one tourist attraction is the 'Clock made from Flowers'; sounds good until you trek the miles down to see it...yawwwn! The best thing was actually this large rock just off shore, upon which gulls and other seabirds (pelicans??) sat, making guano. The bus journey to and from however, was pretty nice. Great views of the parched hills and several vineyards. Heres the photos...

Bear with the Golden Paw

M-
Just a quick note to show off my new threads- pretty snazzy eh? And, as you'll agree, more the part.
Thats the World Trade Centre in Santiago behind me, BTW.
Got your memo about not letting things drop to the enemy on-line; quite right. Nude nudge wink wink and all that.
Finished my report on that "Fishing Trip"; stand by...

M-
Got your message, thanks. Have not yet apprehended target since target has not yet been identified. His luggage was lost in Lima, I believe; haven't the heart to take down a guy who has been wearing the same socks for three days. Meanwhile, it's a hard knock life for me, staking out the Ritz-Carlton; only the Penthouse was available, sorry to say. However, Q assures he can hack their system so taxpayers only have to pay for price of broom cupboard. Must dash- it's cocktail hour
007
ps- Good idea of your to converse using Blog- no-one will suspect a thing...

Name's Bond...

Hi BT
Very polluted here today; no wind and the Andes completely blocked by
clouds and smog. Coughing all the way to watch Alan work. No sitting
outside for me today...just too grimy.It's quite cool too; yesterday was humid and rotten hot...really
burning. Had to take off my Aran sweater- felt a bit exposed but much
cooler.This photo is a picture of the front of the World Trade
Centre/Radisson Hotel. So I suppose you are wondering what I do all day? Mostly I just hang around with Alan; try and pick up some Telecomms knowledge, the usual. Otherwise, I loll around reading and drinking martinis. Speaking of which, have just started the first Bond book, "Casino Royale"...Reading this in sophisticated and exotic Santiago has the effect of making me feel like I am a secret agent myself...for which I REALLY should lose the Aran sweater......

Las Condes Stampede

BT- Here in Las Condes, where we are staying, some sort of art initiative has put in place large (about 14hh) plastic ponies, each of which has been decorated differently. It's all very like the exhibition of cows that was seen a few years back, in many major European cities, including Dublin. Heres just a few of them...the guy with the star on his head is actually a represetation of the chilean flag..

Roses, roses all the way

Big Ted A big weekend here in Santiago. The best thing was a Rose Festival in Las Condes. Al and I went just out of curiousity; 1000 pesos (c. CAD$1) in and not only was the Rose Garden of this park all in bloom but there were floral competitions...upon which we, the great public got to vote...some gorgeous designs...the main theme was operas, so we had a lot of Rosen Cavaliers, La Traviatas and Madame Butterflys. Other categories were just arrangements and so on... heres the best 2 photos to give you an idea:

Snuffsters Snaps

Hey Big Teddy; heres my first impressions of Santiago...
Big modern buildings beside old ones, lots of trees and parks and strays...queer little back streets and the mountains surrounding everything..and these are only mere hillocks really...

Snuffsters Reports 1

This news just in from Snuff:
*************************
Greetings from Santiago BT!
Weather is gorgeous; a very clean dry heat.
The snow-capped Andes are a mad backdrop to everything and everywhere...kind of puts our own 'mountain' into perspective..
So, what else? We are living downtown in a teeny apartment with a great view (see pic). The nights can be still pretty cold though, so I'm glad I brought my Aran sweater. OK, heres some Santiago quick facts:
There are a lot of well-fed looking stray dogs wandering around. As it is summer, everything is just coming into bloom and of all things, the trees smell gorgeous...from marshmallow to stewed apples in custard..Mmm
Polution is really bad; there is a haze over the city most days. People are great here; very friendly. And the final fact, brought home hard everyday is that I cant speak Spanish...at all. Learning a basic word a day though to get by...find I overcompensate for the lack of Spanish by spewing out broken french...like thats going to help.
Later, hopefully there'll be time to upload some first photographic impressions....
Adios!