Hi again,

We are back.. back in action, back in Amsterdam and back in touch for part two of our travel journal. After the Whitsundays and New Zealand we continued on for more adventure in Chile and Argentina, with Sven and Anna's wedding in Buenos Aires as the big highlight. Last time we reported we were just about to cross the Pacific ocean on flight LAN800 from Auckland to Santiago. We will continue our story at that very point.

Having just spoken to Gonzalo we now know that his cousin has still not confirmed that we can meet up with him as he himself has been on a holiday. Yet we now have his details and should simply give it a try when we arrive in Chile. Our last kiwi-dollars are spent on small souvenirs and a couple bottles of water. Soon we take off and after our meal Pascal quickly continues her typical plane-activity... sleeping. I try to entertain myself with the offer of moving pictures on the little screen in the chair in front of me. Whilst I am watching Timeline, a lousy movie based on the much better book about time travel, we cross the dateline and perform a quasi time travel ourselves of minus 24hours. How exiting this may sound I shortly after doze off to join Pascal in her dreams about dolphins, hob-goblins and New-Zealand ice-cream.

As we pick up our bags from the luggage belt in Santiago airport we realise that once again, we are poorly prepared and knowing that we only have 6 days before we have to continue on to Argentina we decide to do a loop southwards which will allow us to see the Lakes district and it's volcanoes and Indian people. Apparently the train is a very comfortable and affordable way to travel overnight so we leave our bags at the 'custadio' at the train station and head off for a bit of a walk through Santiago. The streets in this area are filled with people either browsing through little market stalls or trying to sell pretty much anything from little blankets laid out in the polluted streets. Without any real destination we continue on and soon decide that we should join the Santiago workers in their lunchtime break. We pick a small restaurant where the many locals are all watching a Chilean soap opera on one of the screens. Here we realise that some preparation in the Spanish language and local foods would have been helpful, so as the waitress asks our order we simply pick something that we can pronounce but have no clue what it is. When the two dollar meal arrives I find myself pleasantly surprised, a big plate is filled with 2 steaks, two fried eggs and a pile of fries and fried unions, and that is only one of the two meals.

Having fed and rested we hop up again to continue our exploration of Santiago by foot. The walk takes us through the many busy streets and beautiful parks filled with teenagers making out on any spot they can. We soon learn how friendly the Chilean are. When asking directions or when having a coffee in the lovely Barrio Santa Lucia one is met with friendly smiles and a helpful nature. The waiters for instance, many of whom could have played in an early 60s Hollywood screening, are ever charming to any female customer or by passer. As the day starts to come to an end we both realise that our feet are burning so we stride on to the nearest suburb known for its food and nightlife. Barrio Bellavista is already starting to warm up although we have been informed that nightlife in Chile does not really start until after 12. These streets are filled with bars who consume every square meter of the footpath with chairs and tables. We pick one of the tables and sit down to have a 'schopp', which is the Chilean word clearly as a result from the German influences for a draft beer. And again I am pleasantly surprised as the two dollar beer glass is put in front of us, containing a whole litre of cold pilsner. Skoll.

We decide to have diner before getting on the 11pm train southwards, and as we enjoy our tapas my phone rings and Mario, Gonzalo's cousin, friendly welcomes us to his country. A short chat result in change of plan, and after picking up our bags we meet Mario and Andrea at one of the metro stations and continue straight on to a party at Hernan's place, another cousin of Gonzalo. On the way we pick up a bottle of Pisco, the local brew that is either drunk with a citrus juice as an appetizer called Pisco sour, or combined with the globally ever present Coca Cola in a mix simply called Piscola. On Hernan's balcony we discuss Chilean lifestyle, culture and politics. A couple of Piscolas later we are all dancing and singing in the living room where the party has turned into a true Spanish tune karaoke.. with warm feelings for all these beautiful people we head back to Mario's place where he has invited us to stay for the night, it is nearly six o'clock when we go to bed and nearly noon before we open our eyes again.

After breakfast with Mario and his mother Mario offers to show us around Santiago a bit more. A visit to the huge modern mall and a drive through the different up market suburbs displays how cosmopolitan Santiago is. Not long after we are heading back to Mario's place again for lunch with the whole family. We thoroughly enjoy the superb local dishes and relaxed conversations, and join in the regular custom of having siesta after lunch. The quality of Chilean lifestyle and hospitable friendliness of Mario and family are an example to us and a privilege to enjoy. We could not have wished for a better start of our South American adventure as we thank Mario for everything and head off to 'Estacion Centro' to catch our 11pm train.

Perhaps because of our poor preparation it is that we are totally surprised by the level of comfort found on the Chilean transport system. We are welcomed by the train hostess and stow away our backpacks to then settle down in seats that could nearly be called sofas. Soon after we are handed a complementary pisco sour and lean back for a quiet night to wake up again in Temuco.

From here we had planned to rent a car and tour the Lake district. Yet the city of Temuco is absolutely quiet due to the fact that everything is closed on Sundays. Walking around with our backpacks in the rain we decide to find the bus station and try to get a bus towards Pucon, a town in the middle of the Lakes district known for its tourist role in the area. Again my rusty Spanish (which sounds more like a poor mix of French, English and German) does not get us any further and we have to rely on our guidebook to find the bus station. Thankfully buses run frequently and are of very good quality, so soon we arrive in Pucon, which appears to be the little sister of Queenstown. Amongst beautiful lakes and volcanoes one can organise pretty much any outdoor activity one is interested in.. hiking, rafting, horse riding, mountain biking and skiing in winter. So in our desire for more information on all these different activities and also to find out about accommodation possibilities we head down to the Tourist Information Centre. Soon our desire is diminished, not because we have gathered all the required info, but because we have been able to establish in no less than 5 minutes that none of the 5 employees of the Tourist Information Centre speaks a word of English. We know, our linguistic shortcoming, but we still leave the building in a chuckle of disbelief.

Thankfully we had already been tipped to go to the Hosteria L'Ecolé for a nice bed and meal. And because the Chilean weather-queen was still very busy shedding tears over the lakes and lands we decide to go and find the hostel and enjoy a beautiful vegetarian lunch, dinner, night rest and breakfast (in no particular order). The next morning brings a pleasant surprise, the sun. We had already scheduled to rent a car so we head of for a stunning drive towards National Park Huerquehue and from there spend a couple of hours hiking towards the Lakes. Amazing views of mountain ranges, steaming volcanoes and mirror like lakes are the playing ground of mating lizards and many other small animals. At Lake Verde we sit down for lunch and lean back to enjoy the warmth of the sunrays and the sound of nothing but some birds, soon to be joined by our own mild snores.

On our way out of the national park we are not only introduced to a hand-sized hairy spider crossing our path (we decide to give way) but also find a lovely lodge to have a cup of tea, owned by a nature guide who also showed Michael Palin around Chile. The book found on the coffee table with tales and many beautiful pictures of that trip make us wish we could cancel our other plans and continue on down to the far south and far north of Chile, both amazing landscapes, harsh but beautiful.

Yet with our limited time we decide to stay local and do some horse riding to see the volcanoes more close up. Jorn and Annelies, friends of ours, are also travelling through Chile and Argentina prior to Sven's wedding. They have already been to this area and recommended to stay in one of the homesteads, family homes that are partially run as hostels, which means you get to see more of how the locals live and often enjoy a lot better quality accommodation compared to the hostels. We decide to follow in their footsteps and that night we meet the family at Kila Leufu, a large farm making money on cattle, horses and hospitality. When we enter our room we know we have made the right choice, a warm wooden interior leads to a small window with a view of the hay-shed, wild sunflowers and the Villarico volcano smoking on the background. After a shower we head downstairs for diner, we meet the four other guests who have just returned from horse riding and also the rest of the family. The two year old girl looks very sweet, but I have seldom seen pet cats exposed to such tyranny. We start our meals whilst one of the cats shoots under the table followed by the little rascal at full speed, and we continue to introduce ourselves to the other guests. Within seconds we find out that one of the other couples, Rut and Tim, has also been lured here by the marketing powers of Jorn and Annelies. The rest of the evening is filled with fun stories of travelling and horse riding whilst sharing a couple of large local bottles of beer.

Unfortunately the next morning the weather has completely turned around again and horse riding is out of the question. So we decide to thank the family and head towards the coast. The main attraction at this latitude is Valdivia, an old city on the delta of three rivers with an interesting history where aslo the Dutch have taken part in a short episode. We combine a visit to the interesting museum of history and archaeology with an entertaining walk through the fish markets, where huge fat sea lions hang around waiting to be hand-fed the waste from the fish produce. It is time to have a bite ourselves and head back to Pucon for the night bus back north.

The weather and stories from several fellow travellers have made us decide to spend our last couple of days in Chile in Valparaiso, the harbour city about two hours west of Santiago and known as a centre of cultural and architectural richness. This is a magnificent city with colourful houses built against the surrounding mountains and winding streets take you down to the city centre where trolley buses still run and many different cosy plazas join the shopping streets together. After walking past all these little streets and having a pisco sour in one of the trendy and artistic cafes one is thankful for the many ascenseurs or escalators that take you back up into the suburbs.

Valparaiso, or the 'Pearl of the Pacific', is probably one of our favourite spots in Chile, it is both artistic and authentic, yet with very modern components like the nearby beaches of Vina del Mar. This is a city where the latest fashion is combined with traditional wear, where mobile communication is done through a handset or by whistling on your fingers and where buying goods can be done online or from a horse with wagon.

Our last day in Chile has arrived, from our bus from Valparaiso to Chile I organise to meet Mario again to collect the sunglasses I left behind and then we have to head of to the airport for our flight to Argentina. On the streets we see a couple kissing each other and we realise that to us that is quite symbolic for Chile, the people are warm and passionate. There is a lot of kissing and hugging going on between all sexes. Very likely the most common custom to the Chilean, to us it is something to appreciate. I now better understand a statement that one of Mario's friends made on our first night in Chile... he said that Chile had always been the last stop for colonists and immigrants.. there is no going further, and no going back. So you better make something of it. Our time here was way too short, but we made the best of what we had.

Filled with excitement about meeting all our friends again we arrive in Buenos Aires. Tonight everyone is meeting up in the hotel in the city for a pre-wedding diner with the happy couple. Pascal and I decide to take the normal bus from the airport to the city.. not very handy for a couple of reasons. First of all the notes I had taken from the ATM are laughed at by the bus driver. Too big! So after going back to the terminal to break it down in smaller notes the next bus arrives.. still no good, can't use notes. Thanks to a friendly lady we finally get or bus tickets organised. The next downside is that this bus does not use the toll freeway to the city and a 30 minute trip is turned into a 90 minute trip through the suburbs. Yet in a way this is a good introduction to Buenos Aires. You definitely know you are in Argentina if one out of ten shops is a sports store of which many carry more than real size pictures of Maradonna.

We arrive just in time for the rendezvous at the hotel lobby which is already filled with many of our friends and within seconds it feels as if the party has started. We quickly check in and head of with the group of 16 to one of the better steakhouses of Buenos Aires. This is where we meet up with Sven and Anna, and to the joy of all the male Dutchmen also a group of Ana's friends. The meal is a feast of meat in both quality and quantity.. after which we decide to help digest it all by joining the locals in their nightclubbing activities. Detail is not really required, because I believe that everyone knows how well the Argentinean party. And hey, we played our part as well.

The next morning we have breakfast with a small group in Tortoni, one of the old cosmopolitan restaurants where the waiter has a grand moustache and appearance that matches his arrogance. A great ambiance and great location make us forgive the lousy food. The rest of the day is spent exploring the centre of Buenos Aires. That night we all meet up again for dinner at La Corta and explore more of the nightlife afterwards. To someone's surprise (not ours) we bump into Anna's friends again and with this local support we are able to see many of the Buenos Aires hotspots for Friday nights.

The next day we choose to have a bit of a sleep-in. Even though the wedding does not start until 9pm we spend the day preparing for it, shopping for shoes and ties and collecting the suit and dress that needed a bit of dry-cleaning after sitting in a backpack for 4 weeks. Soon it is time to head back to the hotel and get ready for the festivities. An hour later the lobby is filled with beautifully dressed girls and sharply dressed 'kawanakis' (don't ask), ready to roll.

Several taxis take us to the street in the centre of town where the church is to be found. A large crowd is already gathered outside and we all hop out to join the queues. With a loud laugh we are met by Omar and Robert, they have just spent ten minutes talking to some people in the crowd and taking pictures of the event. Not until they actually spotted the bride and had a good look they realised that we were at the wrong wedding... and at the wrong church... oops. Quick analysis makes us realise we still have a couple of blocks to go. With time running out the high heels of the girls are given an early test, but soon we arrive at a lovely old church and monastery, nearly hidden by the surrounding city centre buildings. We have still made it in time and we all settle down on the church benches awaiting the arrival of the bride, nodding hello to those people we already have met during the last couple of days. But soon all eyes are pointed at the large doors as Ana enters the church, looking absolutely stunning and showing the biggest smile ever, a smile duplicated by her father who is walking her through the corridor with pride. Their smiles are returned by Sven awaiting her near the altar, looking surprisingly comfortable and very South-American for a Dutch boy ;)

The church ceremony, mostly performed in Spanish but with parts in Dutch or English, is lead by the same father who married the Dutch heir, Willem Alexander with the Argentinean lady Maxima. The ceremony is smooth and graceful, and within the hour we are outside in the monastery patio congratulating the couple and family. From here we transfer to a colonial mansion nearby where a beautiful buffet of foods and drinks provide a warm welcome and starting signal for party time. Thankfully the majority of the people at the wedding speak quite a bit of English which allows us to join in and get to meet the family and friends of Ana and Sven. By now we have worked up a bit of an appetite and start digging into the buffet, yet the chatter and clatter is silenced by the musical introduction of the entree of the couple.

As Sven and Ana make their way down the stairway and through the crowd we are informed that dinner is just about to start, many of us now startled that the buffet was not dinner, but just an appetizer. With a slight feeling of guilt for eating so much already we make our way into the immaculate garden which has been transformed into a festive dining-room. After taking place at one of the many round tables the bride, groom and family are seated and the next episode commences. This is where we learn what Argentinean weddings are really about. After the gorgeous entree, the bride, groom and family get up and move to the ball room, followed by all the guests. Soon the first dance commences and within 15 minutes everyone, and when I say everyone I mean everyone, is dancing and partying as if there is no tomorrow. The bride and groom are carried on shoulders and thrown in the air as they are celebrated by everyone. And when it comes to celebrating and dancing, the Argentinean know what it is all about. We feel quite modest and incapable as we see the passion of the local guests throwing body parts in all kinds of directions. This is party to the max! The different courses are interlaced with partying, dancing and celebrating. And the clock has already gone past 2am as we have the last bit of our dessert and coffee.

So ordinary mortals like ourselves would then expect the wedding to come to an end. Well, the Argentinean thinks quite differently. Having returned to the ball room our expectations are met by the fact that the lighting has been turned on. Not until several waiters arrive carrying bags full of party hats, masks, instruments and other attributes do we understand that we still have quite a bit of partying to go. The DJ has been given the green light again and soon the boys and the girls, the young and the old, the Dutch and the Argentinean, and the happy and the equally happy are mixed up in large polonaise hopping around like children at the start of Carnival. It is not until the clock has gone well beyond five and Ana is sitting on the stairs having her feet massaged, that the last guests including ourselves say goodbye to the couple and parents. My goodness, what a night that was.

Of course, such a night encouraged me and some fellow kawanakis to honour the nature of Buenos Aires and give in to a couple of extra hours of carnival like scenarios. But sometimes it is good to save a part of the tale for when it can be told at full strength, at the bar with each of us present. I will save it for just that.

So what do you do the day after such a wedding.. exactly.. you get the groom to take you to a match of his favourite soccer team. But not until after we have a steak breakfast, hey, this is Argentina after all. The girls have decided to take it easy and stroll around St Elmo's antique markets. We head of to the suburb of Boca to see the Boca Juniors trash Racing Club. These are two big teams in Argentina and it is incredible to see how many people show up for a soccer team representing one of the many suburbs in Buenos Aires. Though the game is of absolute top quality, most of our time we spend taking in the atmosphere and watching the supporters use every swear word and gesture known to mankind (and several we did had not thought of yet) to clarify to the supporters of the opposite team what they think of them. Though rough and rude, it is done quite jokingly and at no time does it feel violent. To be honest, it is done with such passion (again) and expression, that is has a very high theatrical value. We are very pleased to see the Boca Juniors win 4-1 and to have experienced this event. An absolute must-do when travelling through South America in my opinion.

That night we have a last dine as a group and the day after we fly out to the Iguazu falls with Jeroen, Egbert and Marije. We cross the Brazilian border to take in the amazing views of the Iguazu falls, they are the second largest falls in the world and an absolute highlight, inevitably also turning it into one of the most touristic features. The falls are located on the border of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay and are a lot more than a set of falls. The area covered with cascading water stretches several kilometers and is a display of tropical forests, islands, birds, butterflies and waterfalls ranging in size and shape, and its epicentre named Devil's Throat causes such a powerful sensation that all senses are overwhelmed by its force.

The city of Port Iguazu on the Brazilian side is very disappointing though and of no real interest to us. And as Egbert, Marije and Jeroen will be travelling on through Brazil where we have to get back to Buenos Aires for our trip to Amsterdam we decide to spend one more day together on the Argentinean side of the falls with a guided tour. In our opinion the Argentinean side is a nicer experience, with many different views of the falls and more variety as a whole. We finish off our tour by taking one of the jet boats up the river towards the falls. This is an experience in itself. We had been warned of course, and had been given plastic bags to store our stuff in. Yet neither of us had expected more than spray from the falls. So after a bit of a joyride zigzagging through the rapids, quite exhilarating in itself, we ended up in front of one of the falls. We are given a couple of minutes to enjoy the view and take pictures and then asked to put away our cameras, the boat then moves into the fall and we are given the best shower I have ever had.. tons of water is coming down on our faces and heads.. quite refreshing indeed. This was one angle from which we had not expected to view the falls. All good until we arrived back on shore and I found a couple of litres of water hovering in our plastic bag, patiently soaking our belongings including less resistant items like my phone/pda. May it rest in peace with its many predecessors.

That evening we decide to have a typical meat fest in one of the better restaurants. Again, these restaurants resemble many establishments found in Germany yet with an obvious big difference, the room size roast oven where many kilos of meat are being grilled continuously. One by one the waiters come by your table with a large pin loaded with a single type of meat, from which he then slices you a serving. In this place you can eat as much meat as you like, so we decide to try a little bit of everything. The steaks and roast beefs are of amazing quality and happily we move on to next set of meats. After about 8 different varieties one waiter pops up with a set of small medallions, they are chicken hearts. Ah well, why not.. and though a little tough they are very nice in taste. Several dishes later the two girls at the table next to us start giggling as they chow away a coupe of small bean shaped meats.. our curiosity is noticed by the waiter and soon we have to decide whether he can land some ''testiculos de toro" on our plate.. suddenly some of us have appeared to have had enough, so it becomes Jeroen and my job to check whether bull's balls are as chewy as they look. The waiter explains that they are supposed to be very good for your potency, after which we can't help throwing a concerned glance at the table next to us.

That night we say goodbye to Egbert, Marije and Jeroen as they have to get up at 5am to catch their flight. Pascal and I have decided to not hang around Port Iguazu and cross the border again to find a nice little hotel on the Argentina side, a lovely place where we spend our last day by the pool, the same way we started out trip in the Whitsundays. Having totally given in to the fact that we have completed our journey we sit back thinking about the things we have done.. and then a little leaflet catches my eye. "Horseback riding in the Jungle", finally, after missing out in NZ and Chile we are going to ride horse in the land of Gauchos. Though a lot of fun for beginners like us, this is not a challenge to any real rider due to the density of the forest which keeps you from going faster.

That afternoon we head back to Buenos Aires for our last night in Argentina, browsing the streets of St Elmo, one of the areas where the Tango was born. The next day we spend some time at the cemetery at Ricoletta, an impressive site firstly because it seems the rich have gone into a competition of who can build the biggest and most impressive grave, but also because every day still many admirers come to visit the grave of Evita Peron.

From newspapers we know how hard a time it is for Argentina economically. And still today on a daily basis people are demonstrating because of the current political situation but even more so because of the consequences of earlier political situations. Maybe because of this knowledge we were thoroughly impressed about how upbeat the people were and how everyone we met was not trying to gain from you or rip you off, but was showing us how honest and proud they are. Again, we are sad that we are not able to spend more time in this part of the world.

But very glad we are to be heading of to the airport. Because the next flight takes us back home. The whole flight I have a smile on my face.. it could be for many reasons.. maybe the smile is because of all the fun things ahead of us like Ellen, Pascal's twin sister, her wedding or simply catching up with friends and family. Or maybe the smile is because of all the great things we have done in the past six weeks.. it feels like six months. Or maybe it is because I am 30,000 feet high, sitting here chatting away with Pascal in the chair to my left and a lovely Argentinean photo-model in the chair to my right, on her way back to Milan :)

We have now settled down in Amsterdam again and could thank many people for many reasons. But I resist and would just like to thank Pascal for making this trip together and making this trip another fabulous experience. One travels to learn, and if anything I believe we have learnt a known lesson so we remember it even better: Change is good!