SANTIAGO

WEDNESDAY 1st JUNE

  Well I was fairly knackered last night and after a bath adjourned to bed about 9.00pm.  However sleep did not come easy.  Initially I kept getting cramp in the leg which necessitated getting up and stretching it.  Then I kept waking up until about 5.00am, but then nodded off until 11.30am.  It was another sunny day, and after about an hour's work on the computer I went out for a walk.  I strolled down the opposite side of the main drag going down various side streets, looking for a shop that sells bags or rucksacks but failed to find one. My appartment is located near one of the main thoroughfares entitled:

  The man was the illegitimate son of an Irish emigre, Ambrosio O'Higgins who had become the Viceroy of Peru and a wealthy landowner.  He only officially recognised his son on his deathbed in 1801, and as a result Bernado toobecame a wealthy land owner, having spent several years in London with his mother, far from wealthy.  However back in Chile, he got drawn into the struggle for Independence from the Spanish and

led the ragged rebel army. Despite having no formal military training, he commanded the army with valour and bravery between 1810-1818, when Chile finally achieved Independence.  He is recognised as the liberator of Chile.

  Further down the road is the goverment palace, which I think is called Palacio de Gobierno. Viewed here from front and rear:

  Just a tad further down the road is an enormous tower, the Chilean version of the Post Office Tower:

  I crossed over the road and walked back towards my residence.  I stopped off at the "Indianoplois" Fuente de Soda and looked at the menu in which I recognised several words such as "Cerveza", "Vino" and "Cafe con leche" but not much else.  I took a plunge and ordered a "Lomito Italiano" and a "cafe con leche".  I got a big bun with slices of meat, tomatoes, mayo and guacamole.  It was quite filling and should do me for the day. The turning of the main street is a cobbled road called "Londres" that leads to the appartment, and it has several cafes and a bar that I have yet to explore.  There is also the Plaza Londres.

Right at the end of the street is no 840 Padre Alonso de Ovalle.  You would never know it was a residence for hire, unless the big red sign at the top is a clue?  I got back to my rooms with the back still very stiff and

sore, despite the fact that it had felt fine all through the night.  I indulged in a couple of pain killers in the hope that it would ease matters.  I'm having problems with the lifts here.  Not only do you have to press the floor number, but you then have to confirm it.  If you do the confirmation too quickly or too slowly it ignores you.  On average I reckon I have about five attempts to get it right!  Last night I dropped a Coke in the lift in my agitation to get the poxy lift moving and it spilt all over the floor.  In the end I went to a different lift to get upstatirs.  I was glad to see that the lift was clean today, with my Coke having been suitably mopped up!

  I am trying to reserve a double room in Canoa for Alex and I am having problems, because they only seem to accept PayPal payments as a deposit for the room.  My PayPal refused to accept both my credit card and debit card for payment and has asked me to set up a payment through my bank account.  It then tells me this will take 3-5 days and I will need to fill in cash transfer.  I can see it coming, Lloyds will send confirmation on my mobile phone, and I haven't got network access with Vodaphone here in Chile, so I will never get their request and be unable to confirm it.  It's one thing after another!