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[Rachel says..] Last night at 6am I felt my first earthquake in Chile. Despite having been here for well over a year, I’ve always managed to be in the North when there are earthquakes in Santiago and vice-versa. Or else I just don’t feel them. However, last nights was a 5.3 and not too far away, so it was hard to miss. Quite exciting.

Sadly, we woke up to hear of a larger earthquake (6.2) in the south the day before, which brought home the potential seriousness of living in an earthquake zone. Large parts of some hills in the south fell into the sea and inlets, causing massive waves and 3 people are reported to have died, with 10 missing.

However, don’t worry Mum, Santiago is (mostly) built to withstand earthquakes, and we’re a long way from the sea here. We’re far more likely to be run over by a mad bus driver…..

Rachel’s cold tones caused me to glance up from my breakfast bowl this morning with some panic… has she finally flipped? Who is she referring to? Our local annoying yappy dog didn’t deserve it- it has been at least 3 days since it has barked relentlessly!

I relax and my spoon returned to the fruit salad below. And missed. Doh!

Turns out, Rachel started thinning her tomato plants this morning (that’s “tomatoe”, not “tomaaato”, like a “potatoe” is not a “potaaaato” for any US of AAAAAAians reading this).

It seems such a waste of life. Although we hope the reward of the few survivors will turn out to be delicious (despite the smoggy air they’ll be breathing!).

Hello again from the mountain. Once more it’s 6am and I’m sitting in the middle of the desert. Only this time it’s raining. Very strange. Supposedly they have only had heavy (meaning you can’t count the spots on one hand) rain here once before in the last 20 years. Just about the opposite of Glasgow. It’s been raining for over 6 hours continuously - at least I feel at home!

The plus side (for me) is that the telescopes are closed, so I can get on with some other work, and get to bed early. My visiting astronomer was not quite so happy. Also, buildings in the desert tend not to be very waterproof. About half an hour after the rain started, the residencia started to flood. Cue lots of frantic people with sandbags, mops and even blankets! My walk to my room requires walking through puddles and avoiding the large bins catching drips in strategic places along the walkways. At least the swimming pool is full.

The telescopes are better protected, as they shouldn’t even get one drop on the mirrors. That’s typical Paranal priorities - humans are far easier to dry out than telescopes.

Wahaay - The VLT astronomers are now officially famous! The BBC news magazine, the favourite procrastination source of so many ex-pats, has finally recognised our contribution to world peace and happiness.
Take a look at this.

It was bound to happen. Chile, a country famed for it’s red wine, is also a country obsessed with cream carpets. Need I say more. At least our sofa is red.