El Biógrafo

Base camp at Puerto Montt, and home again, 30.12.08

2009-09-14T03:40:00.000Z

This brave soul gave us all something to watch as he tried, single-handed, to tug his fishing boat against the tide. The locals near where we were standing were all in stitches, but to his credit the guy did get his boat where he wanted it.

Lago Todos los Santos and Saltos del Petrohué, 29.12.08

2009-09-14T03:22:00.001Z

Todos los Santos Lake and Petrohué waterfalls, 29.12.08

Puerto Varas, 29.12.08

2009-09-14T03:05:00.000Z

Pinguineras in Chiloé, 28.12.08

2009-09-14T03:01:00.000Z

This is one of the rare places in the world where Magallanic and Humboldt penguins can be seen together. People are not allowed onto the islands where they breed, and in recent years their numbers have steadily climbed.

Chiloé, 28.12.08

2009-09-14T02:51:00.000Z

Below is a cart being pulled by two cows. They're collecting seaweed.

Frutillar, 27.12.08

2009-09-14T02:44:00.000Z

Frutillar is a lovely German-like town in the South of Chile. Brightly painted wooden buildings, great beer, kuchen heaven, and a lake with a black sand beach and Villarrica volcano in the distance.

Christmas, 24.12.08

2009-09-14T02:36:00.000Z

Algarrobo, 21-23.12.08

2009-09-14T02:33:00.000Z

No holiday would be complete without a quick visit to Algarrobo!

Tren de la Ruta del Vino, 20.12.08

2009-09-14T02:26:00.000Z

On 20th December '08 we took a coach from the centre of Santiago to San Fernando train station (click here). There, we took a steam train to Santa Cruz. On the train we sampled various white, Rosé and Red wines with cheeses, fruit and Chilean pastries. We visited a vineyard (click here) and had more wine and a rather posh meal, then we looked around the town of Santa Cruz, with its museum and famous 5-star hotel.

We live here

2009-09-14T02:09:00.000Z

When my family came over to visit in December '08 we went for a walk up Santa Lucia hill. From there, I realised that we could see our building, just on the tip of my finger.

Emma and Seba's wedding, 22.11.08

2009-09-14T01:13:00.004Z

For those of you who don't know her, Paul met Emma in 2000 in Chile, and in 2002 she was Paul's 'best person'. She met Seba, a chef, shortly afterwards.

Barbara's birthday, 17.11.08

2009-09-14T01:11:00.001Z

October 2008

2009-09-14T01:01:00.005Z

31.10.08

Last Halloween we were invited to a party by the 'Gringos'. Paul and I went as ...

12.10.08

Every 12th October is a Bank Holiday in Chile, we celebrate el Día de la Raza, which is the anniversary of Cristóbal Colón's (Christopher Columbus) discovery of America. On that day, I also celebrate my Saint's Day: Pilar. My family and I went to the Estadio Español to celebrate and to see my brother Felipe play the bagpipes with the Galician group.

Sean's Visit, September 2008

2009-04-12T00:04:00.003Z

Lelo's Birthday, 19th September

2009-04-12T00:02:00.001Z

The Dieciocho Celebrations

2009-04-11T23:58:00.001Z

Santiago in September

2009-04-11T23:27:00.004Z

Our 6th Wedding Anniversary

2009-04-11T23:20:00.002Z

23rd August 2008

Santiago in August

2009-04-11T23:15:00.003Z

Muse! Raaaaaa!

2009-04-11T23:12:00.003Z

Winter Holiday by the sea

2009-04-11T23:00:00.007Z

Cynthia's 30th.

2009-04-11T22:33:00.005Z

On 18th July 2008 it was my birthday, the big three oh!! That day was quite normal, went to work etc. On Saturday 19th I had the celebrations. Lunch with my family, party in the evening with my friends.

Ana's 50th

2009-04-11T22:31:00.000Z

Ana's birthday 2008

2009-04-11T22:19:00.003Z

On 12th July it was my Mum's 50th birthday. We were very lucky because it was a Saturday, so we were able to celebrate properly. That afternoon, before the party, we had a lot of rain. That meant we could see the city and enjoy this view from our new flat.

12th June: Felipe’s Birthday!

2009-01-27T00:40:00.001Z

June 2008: Still at Como Agua Para Chocolate

2009-01-27T00:36:00.001Z

Lelo took us to Como Agua Para Chocolate

2008-07-12T22:41:00.001Z

The Photographer's Muse - and she wasn't even posing!

Santiago in May, after the rain.

2008-07-12T21:52:00.001Z

I can't remember exactly which day I took these pictures. I did it because I wanted to have some evidence of how beautiful Santiago can be, but to do that you need to catch it right after it has rained, when all the pollution has been washed away.

Well, it had rained for a couple of days, so I thought it was the perfect time to get my camera out and wander around one of the nicest areas of the city, which happens to be right where I work. The romantic twist of the story is that while walking and taking pictures, I decided to start asking in the different buildings if they had anything for rent - Paul and I had been looking since March, and we really wanted to move near work - and in one of the buildings they told me they had a flat available that ticked all the boxes. I decided to have a look at it, and when I walked in and saw the view I thought "I've found us a flat" which is exactly what I said to Paul 5 minutes later over the phone, when I asked him to come and see the flat.

Anyway, here's Santiago...

Cyn

Bandera con Agustinas

Something old, something blue.

Probably la Iglesia de Las Agustinas

Paseo Estado

Triciclo

Museo de Bellas Artes

Outside the Museo de Bellas Artes

Estatua al frente de Bellas Artes

Entrada al Museo de Bellas Artes	Parque Forestal
Forestal / Bellas Artes area	Man over the Mapocho, with Telefonica building and the Andes in the background.

Transantiago buses over the Mapocho

Parque Forestal y Museo de Bellas Artes

Mosqueto con Monjitas

As it turned out, Mosqueto is our road, and this is our Metro stop.

Working out at Pudahuel

2008-07-12T21:00:00.001Z

Waiting for the company bus at 07:30 in the morning

It had rained recently, so the mountains are quite clear. This was taken from my taxi on the way back to the centre.

Until yesterday, I worked one-to-one with a student at APL Logistics on Wednesday and Friday mornings. Pudahuel is in the middle of nowhere, but the English Connection paid well. The student had good coffee too.

Paul

Phone pictures, April-May 2008

2008-06-08T16:29:00.001Z

Natural Urban Art, in the concrete pavement near Santa Ana metro station, in the morning sunlight.	This sign in the metro reads 'Do not sit on the floor'

This sign reads 'For sale'. I thought it was a bit optimistic.	It rained, and for a few days the underground became the underwater.

Barbecue, 16th March 2008

2008-06-08T16:18:00.001Z

This was the day after we saw Jarvis Cocker!

Santiago Marathon, 6th April 2008

2008-06-08T15:44:00.002Z

Sunday 6th of April was a very special day for me: it was my first competitive run. I took part in the 10K segment of the Santiago Marathon. I enjoy running very much, and for a while I'd wanted to take part in an organised run, so I guess I can say it was a small dream come true. Another reason why it was special was the fact that my Dad joined me! Paul and my sister Barbara came to support us, which was fun. It was nice to run in Santiago, I never thought that would happen. Until then, I'd done all my running in other cities because Santiago is so polluted; I never imagined it would feel right to run here. However, shortly after we arrived I saw the ad for the Adidas Marathon, and I thought 'why not?'. Anyway, it was fun, and now I'm looking forward to the next one. Will keep you posted.

Watch this video to see Cynthia & Roberto setting off.

First Big Update from Chile

2008-04-12T03:53:00.001Z

(This is taken from a letter that I sent. I decided to post it here too, as it sums up quite nicely what we've been up to so far!)

So, the dust is as settled as it's going to be for a bit. When we arrived in Chile in January we had a flat to live in, organised by my in-laws. It's well located in a quiet cul-de-sac near the underground and a shopping centre with a large supermarket, cinema, a department store, and various other shops and services. It's also across the road from my in-laws, which has its benefits. For the first month we didn't even have a cooker or fridge, so we ate at theirs!

All our stuff arrived intact from the UK, on my birthday! The only casualties were two champagne flutes, and considering the amount of things we shipped, that's a miracle. It was a bit weird as when it all arrived here I had to do all the paperwork and sign documents in the warehouses, which saved money, but wasn't normal practice. When I got to the warehouse on the coast they wanted to know if I had brought a hard hat, reflective jacket and reinforced boots! Luckily they had some to lend me.

I couldn't find any suitable jobs in private 'British' schools, and the pay is way too low in the disturbingly under-funded state sector. Both Cynthia and I are working at the same place, and it's the same place where Thom Kiddle (Barbara King's cousin) works, and Barbara (Cynthia's sister) studies and works!

Cynthia is teaching translation, oral English and British Studies to translation students and trainee teachers at the Instituto Profesional Chileno Británico. I am teaching methodology and technological (IT) pedagogy to trainee teachers there too, and I have some English classes in the University and Institute branches of the same organisation. I'm also designing an Interactive Whiteboard course with Thom.

http://www.britanico.cl

The academic year begins in the middle of March, so we had some time to go on holiday to the coast. Santiago can get a bit too hot in the summer (yes, I am gloating), and the coast is always more manageable.

Unfortunately, the government’s latest project to sort out public transport (Transantiago, a.k.a. Transanfiasco) failed miserably. They reduced the number of buses by at least 60%, and, unsurprisingly that meant the Metro suddenly had a ridiculous amount of extra demand, and at times collapsed altogether. Some mornings if I have a class at a peak time, it’s best for me to go to one end of the line on an empty Metro, to be sure I can actually get on the Metro going the other way. So, considering our landlord also wants to sell our flat, we’re moving again (I’m really looking forward to being settled at some point). The plan is to move to the centre, so we can walk to work or a great selection of bars, depending on the time of day. This is where we want to live:

One of the things we were looking forward to about moving to Chile is the fact that it is possible and affordable to see musicians play live. Sure enough, last month we easily found tickets to see Jarvis Cocker (previously the lead singer of the band Pulp) live in his first concert in Chile! We turned down the chance to see Bob Dylan. There are even rumours that Radiohead are coming to Chile in August. All very exciting!

So, that’s where we are at the moment. Things are likely to look a little different in a month or so, but I’ll let you know (eventually) how it all works out. The temperature has dropped, but it’s still around 30 degrees at the hottest point of the day. They say La Niña means we’re going to have a particularly dry winter, after what has been a very dry summer. Considering the high proportion of hydroelectric energy sources in Chile, that could be a big problem. To make things worse the Argentinians, Peruvians and Bolivians are reluctant to supply Chile with Gas for a variety of reasons, so we’re all being urged to save power. Hmm, we’ll have to see how the winter pans out. At least if we move to the centre, the chances are any scheduled power cuts should take place in the middle of the night.

2007-02-20T00:15:00.003Z

It snowed!

2007-01-07T22:37:00.000Z

Damas y caballeros, les presentamos Cachito.

2007-01-07T22:32:00.000Z

Happy Birthday Jo!

2007-01-07T22:31:00.000Z

Le Rhône

2007-01-07T22:28:00.000Z

Vieux Lyon et la Basilique.

2007-01-07T22:26:00.000Z

Lyon visto desde el parque zoológico.

2007-01-07T22:25:00.000Z

The water jet from lake Geneva, seen from high up in the old centre.

2007-01-07T22:24:00.000Z

Lake Geneva, Switzerland

2007-01-07T22:22:00.000Z

Vieux Lyon, Rue St Jean

2007-01-07T22:21:00.000Z

Vieux Lyon

2007-01-07T22:17:00.000Z

Dans une Traboule.

2007-01-07T22:04:00.000Z

En las ruinas romanas de Lyon.

2006-12-30T21:23:00.000Z

Where we feed the ducks, in the sunlight.

2006-12-30T21:21:00.000Z

Where we feed the ducks, in the fog.

2006-12-30T21:15:00.000Z

Cynthia's duck (named 'Blanco' by Ben) by the Thames when it was foggy for 4 days in a row.

2006-12-30T21:13:00.000Z

It's Christmas!

2006-12-30T21:09:00.000Z

A thatched cottage at Clifton Hampden. We stay in this village every summer on our canoe-camping weekend.

2006-12-30T21:07:00.000Z

Wittenham Clumps and Didcot Power Station

2006-12-30T20:29:00.000Z

The Poem Tree

2006-12-30T20:04:00.000Z

This is the 'Poem Tree' at Wittenham Clumps. On it is carved:

As up the hill with labr'ing steps we tread Where the twin Clumps their sheltering branches spread The summit gain'd at ease reclining lay And all around the wide spread scene survey Point out each object and instructive tell The various changes that the land befell Where the low bank the country wide surrounds That ancient earthwork form'd old Mercia's bounds In misty distance see the barrow heave There lies forgotten lonely Cwichelm's grave. Around this hill the ruthless Danes intrenched And these fair plains with gory slaughter drench'd While at our feet where stands that stately tower In days gone by up rose the Roman power And yonder, there where Thames smooth waters glide In later days appeared monastic pride. Within that field where lies the grazing herd Huge walls were found, some coffins disinter'd Such is the course of time, the wreck which fate And awful doom award the earthly great.

— Joseph Tubb, 1844–45

2006-08-06T02:34:00.000Z

Wow - The Cajon de Maipo.

2006-08-06T02:31:00.000Z

Aaah.

2006-08-06T02:27:00.000Z

La Nueva Casa

2006-08-06T02:23:00.000Z

The Party begins

2006-06-25T10:03:00.000Z

Symbolic huh? This is the school crest on a pullover that was thrown on the bonfire after bog hopping.

2006-06-25T10:02:00.000Z

Bog Hopping

2006-06-25T10:00:00.000Z

The intrepid explorer in deepest Wales.

2006-06-25T09:56:00.000Z

The farm my school owns, where I spent 4 days with my tutor group.

2006-06-13T21:09:00.000Z

From Lis with love!

2006-06-13T10:22:00.000Z

Canoe camping for a weekend in glorious sunshine, From Abingdon to Clifton Hampden to Wallingford.

See my space for more images.

2006-04-11T16:00:00.001Z

This is our new flat, taken from the bedroom (before we got a bed) looking out at the living room.

2006-04-09T20:56:00.000Z

Por favor, dejanos tus 'comments'! Leave us your comments!

2006-04-09T20:38:00.000Z

Paul's birthday at our favourite cinema - the Phoenix

2006-04-09T20:35:00.000Z

Paseo dominical por el Tamesis en Abingdon

2005-12-04T20:16:00.000Z

Erase una vez, una linda noche de invierno, tres hermanos caminaban por las calles de Abingdon. De pronto, se les apareció el Pizza Monster!

2005-12-04T20:13:00.000Z

Un vaso de vino chileno, buena música, excelente compañía: mi noche ideal!

2005-12-04T20:11:00.000Z

Music by the sea in Brighton

2005-12-04T20:08:00.000Z

Dew and mist over the river Ock at midday

2005-12-04T20:03:00.000Z

The view from the Chiltern Hills

2005-12-04T19:57:00.000Z

Have I changed?
Me veo distinto?

2005-12-04T19:53:00.000Z

Mi pie derecho en todo su esplendor

2005-12-04T19:28:00.001Z

Well, this is our blog. Feel free to wander about and make yourself at home. Mi Blog es tu Blog.