¿Por qué Chile?

A year in Argentina.

2017-01-22T18:47:00.001-03:00

On the 29th January 2017 we will be flying out to spend a year in Argentina.

To follow our adventures in Argentina go to http://harpersinargentina.blogspot.com

Follow us on Instagram @ harpers_in_argentina

Home.

2011-11-30T16:37:00.016-03:00

A quick note on how we exited the country. We went back to the airport on Monday night slightly anxious with our documents allowing us to exit the country. The man at border control had never seen the type of letters we had so there was much head scratching, sighing, reading and re-reading of the documents until he must have decided that it was just easier to let us leave the country so he stamped our passports and wished us a safe journey.

We’ve been home now for 24 hours and already we’re suffering from reverse culture shock. The strangest thing is hearing and understanding conversations that happen around you. One relaxing part about living in Valparaíso was that we weren’t distracted by overhearing people talking to each other. Now that we’re back in our own country we have no choice but listen to some stranger on her mobile phone explain every detail of a recent operation or the couple in front of us at the supermarket complain about the government. No longer are we able to float about the general populace in our own little bubble.

The girls are happily spending time with their cousins and enjoying being able to run around barefoot in the yard without fear of stepping in or on something.

As a family we’ve talked about what it means to us to have lived in Valparaíso for ten months. We all agree that the random and spontaneous art is something that we will truly miss. There were people that helped us along our journey in different ways. Some with friendship and encouraging words, and others with information. There were people who saw us as tourists and there were those that admired our adventure and offered praise for the opportunity we were giving Indiana and Truce. With technology we will be able to keep in contact with all of the people who shared our time in Chile. There were students both in the institute and those who would come to our house and share stories of their lives while learning a second language.

Drop in centre for homeless dogs - Santiago

You know your in Chile when… is a line we saw in another blog and it makes perfect sense to us. We were amazed at pathways nearly two metres higher than the road with out hand rails, crumbling buildings with satellite TV dishes on them. On our last day in Santiago we watched a llama wearing a traditional hat being led past our hotel. It’s the juxtapositions that we will remember the most.

This is the first time we’ve written a blog and we were frequently amazed at the origin of our consistent readers. Talluah and I would always joke and ask, “Who do we know in Switzerland?”

People have told us that they admire what we did and that one day they would like to do the same thing. In life there will always be another bill to pay, a leak in the roof, a change at work, an important meeting next month or something else that can be used as an excuse to stop you from traveling. They are just excuses. We tell everyone that we speak to: Pick a country, pick a date and go.

No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.

The Office for Naughty Tourists

2011-11-28T17:41:00.000-03:00

We went to the Office for Naughty Tourists at 8:31, one minute after it opens and were given number F62. Turn up one minute after opening time and you have to wait behind sixty other people. The line moved quickly and we were soon called in. The first thing the man behind the counter asked for was the girls’ birth certificates. We knew we had them somewhere, just not on us. We told him we didn’t have them but he said that we had to prove they are our children.

Of course they’re our children. Who else would travel with them?

He went off to have a chat with his supervisor and came back and said that we didn’t need to show the certificates. Then he looked into his computer and asked about my work visa. He told me this was a good thing. I had a visa so I could leave. But I didn’t have a visa because several months ago we decided it wasn’t worth the US$250 to finalise it and during our final pack this week I threw it out. Here is a valuable lesson in common sense (something I’m going to buy in the near future) don’t throw out any papers until after you leave the country.

The official pointed to Talluah and the girls and said they can leave but I can’t. Indiana started crying and I was ready to find out how to fix this when he said he was just joking. All of this was taking place in Spanish. He continued with his magic computer, wrote letters of permission for Talluah and the girls and gave me a copy of my work visa with an extra stamp saying I was leaving. The good news is that we weren’t charged for overstaying our visa with the condition that we don’t return to Chile within the next three months, or that we would have been charged if we’d overstayed by three months, or he’s retiring in three months… The only thing that we understood was that we weren’t being charged and something about three months. Either way we were grateful and are currently sitting in the airport filling in several hours waiting for check-in and seeing if we, or more specifically, if I can get through border control this time.

Even though today is, hopefully, our last day this won’t be the last blog. We have a few more things to talk about upon our return to Oz.

Our last day in Chile... almost.

2011-11-26T21:55:00.002-03:00

This blog entry was going to be called, We blinked and it was over but even on the last day plans can be altered.

Indiana had been asked to prepare a small speech on behalf of our family for the last day at school. She’s gone from having an idea of Spanish colours and numbers to being confident enough to talk in front of two hundred of her peers in Spanish. We are very proud of Truce and Indiana’s enthusiasm and energy they have given for our Chile adventure. Sometimes it felt like this was their adventure and we were the chaperones. They’ve been surrounded by a great social network and immersed in the language.

YouTube link – Indiana’s speech.

Truce and Indy enjoyed their last day with their classmates, a farewell party and presents. We rarely got to see the girls in their classrooms and when the bell rang for the end of school we saw how respected and loved they are. This was the first time the school had non-Spanish speaking students enrolled and Talluah and I are glad they agreed to it and took the time and patience while our girls learnt Spanish.

The children at the school are very loving and while the Pre-Kinder kids don’t quite understand that Truce is leaving for several years we saw tears from Indiana and her friends as they said goodbye for some time. It’s hard to articulate but part of the reason we did this adventure was so our children learn that, in life, we make friends that we may not see for some time but they are still friends. Some of our painful memories are connected to our best memories.

This was to be our final day and during the ride to the airport (which had been kindly organised by a student of mine) we talked about the last ten months. We arrived at the airport and checked in our luggage and went to border control, showed our passports.

This is our advice to anyone travelling to Chile. Don’t overstay on your tourist visa in Chile. We thought, after some anecdotal research on the Internet, we could pay the fine at the airport and be on our merry way. The customs officer told us that we had to go to an office in Santiago and sort out the paperwork before we could fly out. This was 21:00 on Friday night; our flight was three hours away. The office doesn’t open till Monday. We went to the LAN office, changed our flights, waited for 80% of our luggage to be taken off the aeroplane and arrived at a hotel at the stroke of midnight. We’ve been forced to have a little holiday in Santiago while we wait to fix our visas on Monday. It feels very surreal because we didn’t plan to be here and all the while we keep thinking I should be cramped on a plane somewhere over the ocean.

But we are taking it on the chin and using this weekend to explore Santiago, last time we were here we were very green and jet lagged. Fingers crossed that our baggage that did make it home to Australia is safely waiting.

We will miss the art.

2011-11-23T21:33:00.000-03:00

And sometimes this happens outside our window...

2011-11-21T22:12:00.001-03:00

YouTube Link

Eating Chile.

2011-11-19T22:41:00.002-03:00

There are a lot of places to eat in Valparaíso ranging from Sports Bars to Silver Service. In Australia, only the best restaurants offer complimentary bread on seating – In Valpo, any place that supplies cutlery also offers free bread and, usually, pebre or some other salsa. Most eateries have a Menu del Día, which is a set menu with several choices of entrada, fondos y postre, (entrée, main, and dessert). The price can range from CLP$2,500 to $8,500 per person depending on the view, overall quality of restaurant and food. We’ve found that we can happily share two meals between the four of us and get to sample a variety of tastes.

Thanks to our great friend Boris from Chilean Cuisine Cooking Classes we know good quality, traditional Chilean food when we see it. One of the things I’m looking forward to most when we return to Australia is cooking a few Chilean feasts for our family and friends.

These are some of the restaurants close to our apartment that we have tried and recommend.

Almacen Nacional on the corner of Uriola and Almirante Montt makes the most delicious handmade empanadas we have tasted since being in Valparaíso. We have had the delight of attending this restaurant a few times and each time have enjoyed not only the great food and attentive service but also the cool, fun decor of the interior. Highly recommended.

El Desayunador the permanent breakfast café at the end of Paseo Dimalow often has the best quality for the lowest price on our hill. The coffee is strong and hot and the eggs are delicious. They also make a pretty mean empanada. They aren’t always on the menu but if you happen to be going by and see them on the black board they are definitely worth stopping for.

Viavia Café and accommodation is also on Paeso Dimolow and serves well cooked and nicely presented dishes inspired by Belgium flavours. If you’re not interested in trying strictly Chilean food then this is the restaurant for you. We have eaten at Viavia a few times and always had really lovely flavours. The menu del día is always elegant and well priced.

Normas’s restaurant on Almirante Montt has a generous and delicious Menu del día. With a huge selection for each of the three courses you are bound to find something for everyone. The locals seem to know about this old gem but I’m not sure if the long stairs up to the slightly hidden restaurant does it any favours with the tourists. Norma’s gets a big thumbs up from us, in all aspects from the soft fresh bread as an amuse to the friendly and prompt service.

Mote con huesillo.

2011-11-18T22:16:00.001-03:00

This is a very traditional summer drink made from dried peaches (huesillo), cooked husked wheat (mote), honey, cinnamon and sometimes prunes.

It is served in a tall glass for those who want to drink at the stand…

…or a plastic cup for gringos who want to move a polite distance away from the huesillo vender so as not to offend if the drink isn’t what one expected.

The one that we tried was too sweet and too warm and there seemed to be a very strong taste of prunes.

Down to single figures

2011-11-17T22:32:00.001-03:00

Truce was having troubles understanding how long until we returned to Australia. We drew a calendar for November and each morning Truce crosses off the previous day. Weeks, months, days are a bit tricky for a four year old to fully comprehend.

Now that we’re down to our final week in Chile we’re calculating and rationing our rate of consumption and deciding what items we can do without. There are certain things that we don’t want to have to buy in these last days: washing powder, a 32 pack of toilet paper, five litres of oil, two litres of ice-cream – perhaps the last one is okay.

The girls are going through things they’ve acquired here and are going to give the larger articles to their friends at school. We’re going to take as much of their school work home that we possibly can and to help with their Spanish we’ve organised the language books the girls would be using next year.

Our main priority is to find a set of bathroom scales so we can weigh our bags and avoid any surprises at the airport.

Dome complete with cat flap.

Round and round again.

2011-11-15T20:00:00.001-03:00

We’ve commented a few times on the level of litter we see around Valparaíso, particularly in sensitive areas like the beach. In this era of greenwashing and eco friendly lifestyles we have some thumbs up for the people of Valpo.

Many of the soft drink bottles are sold in reusable glass bottles. It’s quite intriguing watching people purchase a Coke and drink it on the spot because the shopkeeper wants the bottle back. It’s also possible to buy drinks in reusable plastic bottles.

At the fruit markets a lot of the produce is moved around on homemade carts. The timber is from old pallets and the wheels are the bearings from machines. Reusing is greener than recycling and these trolleys add to the charm of the markets as they rattle down street.

Henry Hikes to Fitchburg.

2011-11-13T20:52:00.000-03:00

Henry Thoreau said that, with all costs considered, it was quicker to walk to your destination then work for the train fare and catch the train. Henry did not have any children when he said this.

We started our walk to Viña at Avenida Argentina near Metro station Baron. Most of the scenery we had seen before but always at the sonic speed that micros cruise at. It was good to be able to look at some of the ocean front houses.

The girls plodded along at a good pace and survived on their rations of biscuits, cup cakes and water. By the time we reached station Recreo, we agreed that we had walked far enough and it was time to catch a train back home.

Trolley fun.

2011-11-12T20:42:00.000-03:00

When we first arrived in Valparaíso we, more often than not, chose the Trolley bus over the Micros. The Mircos are faster and service more places. As our confidence and our desire to get there faster grew we switched our preference to the buses.

Today we jumped on a Trolley bus to go out to the fruit and veg ferria, perhaps for the last time. Here are a few snaps taken on board.

The cajón drum.

2011-11-11T13:49:00.000-03:00

Every Sunday afternoon, a rhythmic pounding echoes up from Plaza El Descanso. A band of musicians meet to play a variety of percussion instruments. The most basic and perhaps interesting of these instruments is the cajón drum. It is a simple timber box with a sound hole in the back. Sometimes, strings are attached to the inside to give a deeper effect. The musician sits on top of the drum and uses their palms and finger tips to produce music.

It’s a matter of trust.

2011-11-06T20:14:00.000-03:00

With doughnuts and a play at the beach on our agenda for the day we headed over to the pretty little town of Reñaca. Last time we went there with our great friend Lena we had a blast eating doughnuts only the weather wasn’t warm enough to truly enjoy all that the beach had to offer.

However, today was a definite slip, slop, slap day. I still managed to get a little burnt on my legs but I guess that’s what happens when you take naps on the beach.

On the roller coaster, oops, I mean bus ride to Reñaca I saw something that I didn’t think I’d ever see in this day and age. A mother climbed aboard with her two year old and his stroller. She stowed the pram and sat the toddler into a seat and then turned to a stranger sitting in the row behind her son and asked him to hold on to the little boy while she went and bought a bus ticket. He willingly obliged and entertained the child during the mother’s brief absence.

This is obviously a cultural difference and something we’re not used to seeing in Australia; a mother felling comfortable and safe trusting a stranger on a bus.

¿Truco o dulce?

2011-10-31T23:03:00.002-03:00

If our sources at Wikipedia can be trusted, pumpkin carving originated in the British Isles. The only difference being that our British cousins used turnips instead of the modern Jack ‘O Lantern pumpkins that we see in every Halloween movie from the USA.

Pumpkin carving is relatively new in Australia and in 2010 the price of a carving pumpkin was just ludicrous. Our local supermarket here had six pumpkins for sale at a very reasonable CLP$2,500 each. The Harpers sharpened their blades for their first carving soirée. We scanned the Internet looking for ideas and had to steer away from some of the more intricate cemetery scenes and opt out for a traditional toothy grinned lantern. Truce designed one side and Indiana the other.

The street vendors, as reliable as ever, have been flogging tridents, scythes, masks, witch’s hats and anything else ghoulish that can be made from plastic in preparation for tonight. Our kids are normally asleep before the sun goes down but as Halloween is an affair for the night they stayed up later than usual and joined the other zombies, brujas, vampires and evil scientists wandering the streets high on the smell of sugar and food colours 139, 145, E116 and 187.

There seems to be varying degrees of participation in the neighbourhood but those that did give lollies gave very generously. The girls have a pile of lollies that should last them until our trip to the airport.

In the olden days.

2011-10-30T21:14:00.001-03:00

A row of eight horse and carriages wait under the shade of the trees in Plaza Vagara, Viña del Mar. They’re all reminiscent of a time when things moved slower. We were approached by one of the drivers who showed us a laminated card with the route and a set price on it of CLP$20,000. We said we’d think about it and turned away – right into another driver with the same card but he said he'd do it for $15,000.

We climbed into the shiny red carriage and clip-clopped our way around Viña. It’s a very relaxing way to see the city and the kids imagined having to travel long distances in the back of a carriage. Except I don’t think the carts of 100 years ago had modern suspension and rubber lined tyres.

Are your Mcleans showing? Part II

2011-10-28T20:14:00.010-03:00

In her best Australian accent Truce called out from the bedroom after school today.
"Guys, I don't know why but there's a tube of toothpaste in my bag."

That solves that mystery.

Are your Mcleans showing?

2011-10-25T20:28:00.000-03:00

Just when we thought we’d progressed with interpreting communiqués from the school, a new challenge came along.

Truce was asked to bring in a tube of toothpaste. We assumed it was for a charity drive to send essential toiletries to needy families. A few days later we were introduced to rabbit. Zoom in on the skeletal system of this rabbit and you’ll see a Colgate toothpaste box.

We asked Truce what had happened to the tube inside.

“No sé,” she replied. Someone, somewhere has fresh breath.

Canopy.

2011-10-22T21:47:00.001-03:00

Truce was strapped into her harness to do the chercan course which is 1.5 metres off the ground and she loved it. She was shown how to clip her carabineer onto the safety rope and then she balanced along logs, rope bridges, scramble nets and finished off with a flying fox.

At the end of it she had the biggest grin on her face. We were so proud of how confidently she made her way through the obstacles and for only CLP$3000 it was worth every peso.

Indiana’s course was 3.5 metres off the ground and started with a flying fox through the canopy. This is when Indiana’s smile started. An instructor followed Indiana on the gavilán course making sure that she was always clipped in as she changed from rope bridge to floating logs to tight rope. The course finished with another flying fox and one of the biggest smiles we’ve seen in a while.

It’s been ten years since I last wore a harness but the girls wanted to see if I could climb the rock wall. With encouraging comments such as, “Frog boy,” – because of my green jumper, not my physique – I did manage to make it to the top. However, teaching English has left my arm muscles a little under developed so I’ll be sore tomorrow.

The kids have asked when can we go back.

The bucket list.

2011-10-16T19:29:00.000-03:00

The four of us have shared a bedroom for the past seven months and this has had its advantages such as in winter we knew how warm, or cold, the room was for the girls.

Truce has been waking up recently with numerous bite like welts over her arms, legs and back but never her face. This doesn’t seem to be a problem except that Truce then scratches at the bites. We’ve been at a loss as to what has been biting her as Talluah and I have not received a noticeable bite. Truce and I even swapped beds for two nights.

The cause of these mysterious marks had to be alien abduction so we set up a motion sensing, infra-red camera to capture proof of this extra terrestrial foul play. Alas there were no aliens fleeting past in grainy resolution with a list of experiments to carry out on earthlings. Next on the list was to consult a wise friend of ours. Renowned doctor, travel advisor, interpreter, psychic and entomologist – Google. We narrowed the culprit down to bedbugs and have since learned that bedbug bites can affect one person and not another. Truce seems to be the one that reacts.

We have turned their beds into islands by putting sticky tape around the feet. Tomorrow we’ll see if we’ve caught anything.

We’re on the homeward stretch now with less than six weeks to go before we fly back to Australia. We’ve written a bit of a bucket list. Due to financial constraints it’s more of an old ice cream container list. First on the list is the one ascensor that we haven’t travelled in yet. Ascensor Polanco is very unique. The base is reached by walking through a 150 metre long tunnel which is noticeably colder than the street temperature. A constant, cold wind creeps through the tunnel.

The start of the ascensor, a vertical elevator is about 40 metres underground and is complete with constant dripping water, which you can hear falling on the roof of the elevator as you travel upwards.

The top of the tower is 45 metres above street level and gives a great view of the city. We chose to walk back down to Avenida Argentina through the most varied collection of steps that we’ve seen here.

The building we live in is a house more than a hundred years old. The current owner has been trying to sell it for the past eight months and has finally done so. Part of the condition of sale is that the property is handed over empty. Our landlord has been really fair while we’ve been here and he’s given everyone six weeks notice to vacate. The actual date is five days after we fly out – talk about lucky.

Not exactly petals.

2011-10-10T19:42:00.002-03:00

We haven’t fallen off the face of the earth and as said in the last blog we’re lying low. Not because the police are after us but because the kids seem to have a bit of trouble shaking this last flu.

A good night’s rest is always recommended when you’re feeling run down. On Saturday night at around eleven o’clock, a party started up at the corner of Calle Cummings and Atahualpa. This may not mean anything to those without a local map but to help put it in perspective the proximity of these streets I shall use the metaphor of the hurled apple. Calle Atahualpa is close enough and downhill enough that, with a tail wind, one could hurl an apple and hit the offending two hundred people who were having the street party. That is if the great big green hostel wasn’t in the way.

From eleven pm Saturday night till dawn these people sang, played instruments, drums and the wine bottle. We’ve seen this on other occasions in Valpo where people use an empty wine bottle as a percussion instrument. The bottle is tapped with a metallic or stone object so that it creates a noise which curls the hairs that lead to the middle ear drum. Apparently if you are the one who consumed the contents of the wine bottle it sounds more like a fairy laughing than a slow motion car wreck.

Some of those two hundred people wanted to experience the view from the ascensor near our house. Come one, come all, all you merrymakers with your drums, guitars and empty wine bottles. Carress my sleep with renditions sung three ways; flat, off key and out of tune. And when the morning comes, scamper away and leave your broken beer bottles and empty wine caskets and whatever else you couldn’t carry back home.

We were a bit grumpy Sunday and looked forward to a good night’s sleep. But last night’s party was so good that it had to be recreated. From eleven o’clock till dawn. It’s like living next door to vampires.

This morning they hosed two hundred metres of Calle Cummings and there is broken glass spread almost to the plan. We know that Valparaíso isn’t Chile and we can’t judge all Chileans on what we saw last night, but the sheer volume of disrespect for neighbours and environment has left us speechless. Indiana and I went for a walk to take some photos of the wildflowers that are popping up around Valpo and there were some parts of Atahualpa where we could hardly breath due to the smell of urine.

Just resting.

2011-10-07T19:54:00.001-03:00

The Harper Hotel has shut down and turned into the Harper Hospital. Talluah is recovering from her op and taking it easy in the house. The girls have taken turns over the past week running a temperature. Indiana started with three days of 38-39 degree temps and then Truce spent three days with similar temperatures. It seems like they have some sort of flu.

All three ladies are recovering well but it has put a dampener on any of our outings.

Something smells fishy.

2011-09-29T21:24:00.022-03:00

Halfway between Valparaíso and Viña is the Caleta Portales fish market. The easiest way to get there is on the metro, which stops out the front of the markets. The markets are currently being renovated by the government but are still open for business.

When you think of flower markets, fruit markets or spice markets you automatically divide the experience between the sense of sight and smell. Fish markets smell like fish. The Portales markets are clean but fish is fish. My parents owned a bait business for over thirty years and for me I felt like I was fifteen years old, packing fish to earn some pocket money.

There was a real variety of seafood to choose from and every bit as colourful as a flower market. Incidentally, the Spanish language has one word for fish that are alive, pez and one word for fish that are dead, pescado.

Perhaps the real treat is out the back of the markets where you can watch the fishermen repairing their nets and attaching new floats – glass bottles. Further down is a jetty with pelicans sitting on the railings and sea lions underneath. Just waiting. Two women brought out a drum of fish offal and scraps. The pelicans and sea lions knew who these women were and what they were carrying.

As soon as the first piece of fish hit the sand a sea lion was right beside it. Within seconds there was pushing and shoving as the pelicans tried to grab their share of food.

Back home.

2011-09-28T21:33:00.000-03:00

Just a quick blog to say that Talluah is back home now. She feels a bit battered and bruised but is alive.

If your appendix is at the front, where is your index?

2011-09-25T22:21:00.003-03:00

It started in the early hours of Friday morning with many visits to the loo and Talluah cursing the crab empanada. The maker of the crab empanada was also cursed, as was the person who caught the crab and I think at one stage the inventor of the empanada was cursed in the crossfire.

Talluah lay on the bed saying she’d never been so sick or sore in all her life. My parents had eaten from the same empanada and didn’t suffer any ill effects. Our neighbour had recently had a stomach virus and was subsequently blamed but as time went on it was obviously a very determined tummy bug and with a baby on the way it’s easy to let your imagination get carried away. By Saturday morning Talluah said that she couldn’t take the pain any more and we needed to go to a hospital. Medical care is always a concern when you’re travelling abroad. We all think our own country’s hospitals are the best. We called The Yellow House for some advice and they offered us a lift. Sometimes private vehicles are a better option than calling an ambulance. Fifteen minutes later, Martin turned up to take us to a private clinic in Valpo.

Talluah was attended to as soon as we entered the clinic and because she is three months pregnant they organised for an obstetrician to come and do an ultrasound. For all the curious people out there, we don’t want to know the gender of our child and baby had his or her legs crossed. Everything was fine with baby, strong heartbeat, right measurements and little arms moving around. It’s a magical moment hearing that heartbeat for the first time. The doctor concluded that Talluah had some sort of virus or infection and organised for some medicine.

The pain relief that they’d given Talluah made the trip home bearable and Talluah returned to bed to recover. Until the pain meds wore off and agony, which was described as worse than childbirth, started stabbing into Talluah’s abdomen. She might be a featherweight but she can tolerate a lot. To see her this way meant that something was really wrong. We called the doctor again and he said we had to meet him at a different private clinic in Viña, which had more equipment to run tests. He advised us which train station to get out of. Talluah could barely think she was in so much pain.

My parents are visiting and Indy and Truce had some Granny time while one of my students drove Talluah and I to the Viña clinic. We arrived before the doctor and were told that as foreigners we have to have a US$6,000 guarantee on our credit card. We don’t have that sort of limit on our card and the clinic averages US$300 a night plus expenses. They pointed us to the public hospital around the corner.

Talluah could only walk doubled over and didn’t complain once during the whole trip. We arrived at the Emergency doors of Hospital Fricke and entered a packed waiting room. A man, who may or may not have been under the influence of something, came to our aid and ordered the security guard to let us through, bypassing administration and straight to the maternity section.

The staff were super friendly but we felt like we were in the 1940s. I don’t know when I last saw someone put a thermometer under the armpit. Everything they used came out of a sterile bag but the place was dated. We’re used to stainless steel and plastic, not steel and chipped paint.

They realised that the problem wasn’t pregnancy related and wheeled Talluah to Triage where we had progressed to the 1950s. I’ve only seen glass vials with snap off lids in war movies but once again the staff were helpful and the doctor spoke slowly, for a Chilean. That’s an average of 37 words a minute. At this point I was doing the paperwork and Talluah was being examined.

And cue power cut. Ten seconds of darkness before the generators started up. One piercing scream echoed through the hospital as a surgeon gave a push on Talluah’s appendix. Thirty minutes later she was in surgery.

Two hours later the surgeon came out and gave me two thumbs up. The first doctor came out and we spoke, mimed and clarified what had happened during the surgery. Talluah had a perforated appendix and they removed it. They let me go in and see her. Talluah gave me a full recount of the operation. They couldn’t use gas because she is pregnant so they gave her an epidural and she watched the whole thing in the reflection of the lights. At around 12:30 a.m. she was put in the maternity ward where she has to stay for the next few days.

On Sunday morning I took the girls over to Viña so they could see Talluah and we could drop off some supplies such as tea bags and sugar. Apparently it’s a bit of BYO. I showed my visitors card that I’d been given the night before at the entrance of the hospital. The security guard told me that the girls couldn’t go in. I looked around at the car park behind me full of people smoking. This is when I used the ‘B’ word but I don’t know if Chileans understand Bugger off! A nice chap pointed me to the security office and I had a chat with the boss there who escorted us into the maternity ward where another guard told me the girls couldn’t come in. I can imagine the tea break for the security guards while they chat to each other. “¿Que es bugger off?”

There is a policy that children under 12 can’t enter the maternity ward. Everyone but us knows this. Apparently it’s because of the risk of infection being spread. The number of adults we see here sneezing and coughing into the air is phenomenal. We taught our kids from a very young age to cough and sneeze into their elbow.

Indiana was in tears. She misses having mum around and she’s got the mother hen gene. Talluah is in a ward by herself and a nurse smuggled the kids in for a few minutes and closed the door. Indiana clung to Talluah while Truce in her four year old nonchalant asked about a breastfeeding poster on the wall. All kids react differently.

Talluah will be in hospital for a few more days to recover. She’s very happy with the staff and is in good spirits. Donations of Spanish Villas, Learjets and holidays in the Virgin Islands shamelessly accepted.