All quiet on the South-eastern Pacific seaboard
Well i thought i should update you with what we’ve been doing here in Santiago since New Year.
As you may remember, after a great hike up to almost 5000ft on Hogmanay, we visited friends to bring in the New Year watching an enormous firework display! The display, from 4 hills in Santiago, was actually better than those i’ve seen in Edinburgh (shame on you Bank of Scotland!). It was a really special evening despite being on the other side of the world to our families and friends.
The New Year came with the rather sudden news that my Grandpa had died on the 30th December, aged 90. He contracted a kidney and urinary tract infection a day before Christmas and his body responded badly to the antibiotics given to him, weakening his breathing. He died very peacefully and gently, with my dad at his side in Dunfermline. A service of rememberance and celebration of his life was held yesterday, in Dunfermline, followed by his burial in a family grave site in Edinburgh. His life story is an amazing one and we’ll all miss him terribly. You can read his life story here.
We completed our flat-move on New Year’s Day with the help of a hire car. Since then, its been a rather arduous process of seeking, ordering and waiting for furniture to arrive from a number of shops! We got broadband, telephone and TV installed last week so you can call/email/appear on TV (delete as appropriate). We got some rest over the weekend and explored our local area in advance of Rachel going up the mountain (yesterday) for a date with Isaac lasting a further 7 days! I’m continuing with Spanish this week, attempting to unblock my Orange mobile to use on a network here (£20!) and blogging. I’m also hoping to visit the offices of two potential employers.
Anyway, thats the abbreviated version. Will post some stories and more of The New Adventures of Timbo soon.