El Futbol

Something I really wanted to do in South America was to go to a football match.  It always looks so crazy on TV.  I can confirm that this is so!  I'd looked online to see about matches, but Mendoza's A league team had an away game.  When walking through the park  in the afternoon though, I saw lots and lots of police officers around a stadium.  Chatting to them found that Mendoza also had a B league team - Independiente de Rivadavia (or something), who were that night playing Huracon, from Buenos Aires. 

Later that evening, after buying tickets from people sat in something like a blue letter box (for security) and undergoing a very strict search, we got into the stadium just as the game kicked off.



 ...Lots of police

 The Home Fans

    

The Away end

 (Buenos Aires is a LONG way away)

 

You can see from the pictures that it looks pretty crazy.  The end with all the flags only stopped singing and clapping for about 60 seconds in the whole match, and that was to try and hear the away fans.  There were loads of drummers, and lots of different songs, though not many i could translate! 

 In terms of standard, I'd back Leicester to beat either of these two  well done the foxes at Stamfprd Bridge too, I saw the two goals on TV earlier

About 70 minutes into the game, when it got dark, the fans were obviously a little unsettled at the lack of goals and this happened for about five minutes, stopping play (See video).


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The game finished 0-0, not a classic, but a great evening out! Independiente pretty much did everything but score though, they had so much possession, hit the underside of the bar etc...  Shooting practice at training!

Don't cry for me...

...I'm in Argentina, and it's very nice so far! (The don't cry for me thing is from a famous musical btw).  I am in a town called Mendoza, in the Central West of Argentina.  The bus ride to get here over the Andes (BIG mountains) was amazing!  The road was really twisty to get up so high, and we went right past Aconcagua (pronounced A-con-cau-wa) which is the highest mountain in the world that is not in the Himalayas (where Everest is). I will apologise now for any typos in these few posts - the keyboard is Spanish layout and has all the letters rubbed off, so finding letters and punctuation is a little tricky!

 It looked like these riders got taken to the highest point on the road, near the Chile - Argentina border, and got to ride back down - what an amazing ride!

 


Spanish speaking is improving.  Now 2 and half weeks into my learning via Harry Potter I know the words for wizard and wand, but also today managed to ask lots of quite difficult questions at four different bus companies and understood at least half of the answers!  Looks like I am right on track to get to be OK just around the time I fly to Miami!  I think that's called Murphy's Law in polite company.
Here's some pics of Mendoza and bus ride - check out the Futbol blog too...

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Wilson's story

It is 'onces' time on the farm - elevenses. Time for a cup of tea and a snack, and to tell you a dog story...
On the farm there a few dogs, often others come and go. Several years ago, a dog arrived and was a bit of a trouble maker, chasing farm animals etc. The owner of the farm asked for him to be shot. (sounds harsh, but the naughty dog could have done a lot of damage and hurt other animals).
One of the staff shot him, but only in the shoulder, the dog was driven a few miles away from the farm and abandoned.
A few weeks later, however, the dog reappeared. Again, he was put in the truck and taken 6 or 7 miles away and left.
This time it took him 4 weeks, but sure enough he found his way back. Wanting to be rid of the nasty dig once and for all, this time the lady who owns the farm asked her husband to make sure the dog couldn't come back.
He drove the dog 12 miles away, and left him.
After 7 weeks the problem dog was all but forgotten. You can guess the end though- once again he found his way back to the farm. At this point the husband and wife decided that anyone who wanted to live there so much that they would keep coming back should be allowed to stay. Wilson still lives here, and since being back he has settled down completely, maybe he is grateful for the home!

Perros, paintings and la playa

There are dogs everywhere in Chile, and they are the rulers. Everybody loves them and looks after them, and the dogs pretty much do whatever they like. They are varyingly scraggy, and there are some great dog stories- see Wilson's story. In Valparaiso there was a lot of street dogs, some of which appeared in the town's street art. The town is built on a series of very steep hills, and has seen better days. In seafaring years gone by it was THE port city to stop at for supplies and partying. Sailors would stop before or after the long trip round the Cape of Good Hope- the very bottom of South Since the Panama Canal has been open Valparaiso has been in decline, though tourism in the town is helping.

Spent a few days at the beach to relax- it is quite hard work being in busy places where the language is different. Without a car (or bike!) you have to use Spanish to find out about and catch buses etc. Spanish learning is going ok, at the moment via Harry Potter- in Santiago I bought a (photo)copy of hp1 in Spanish. Definitely could not manage a grown ups book!
Adios...

Cute!

Working on a farm in Chile at the mo- proper update later but check out how cute these are! One hour old!

Hola!

Hello from hot and sunny Santiago, the biggest city in Chile, very different from previous stops on the world tour!
There are some amazing buildings here, and mountains in the background (the Andes) make the city look very dramatic. More updates soon, best go practice some Spanish!