Being good in Pucon, Chile

The view from our hostel room, Villarica Volcano, Pucon

We took the new overnight direct flight from London to Santiago on 11 January, and spent the day loitering in the city, where a couple of ladies tried to have a go at dipping their hands into my handbag while we were at a café.

It was right next to me, so was quite flagrant. I spotted an odd movement, so checked, and kept a closer eye on it, which obviously stopped them. Then the waiter came over and suggested moving all of our bags, so clearly he had his suspicions too. They left just after that.

Emma and Olivia, Pucon

Aside from that, we had a pleasant enough day in a very hot Santiago, and then got an overnight bus down to Pucon. Having expected not to get much sleep on the flight, we had treated ourselves to a cama bus, which has seats that recline into a fully flat bed. We had a very comfortable night, and slept far better than on the plane.

Villarica Volcano, Pucon

In Pucon, we arrived at a hostel we had used before, where we were pleased to find that not only was our room ready for us, but they also had recently got two gorgeous little kittens, called Emma and Olivia. We soon settled in, and allowed ourselves to go out for a meal and a last beer that night, before starting our healthy regime in earnest the next day.

Fire Station, Pucon

In the morning, we hit the supermarkets, and bought ourselves plenty of healthy meats, fruit and vegetables, and set about planning our menu. We have opted to do the Slimming World plan, which is a little easier to do when you're on the move as we will be, and we know a few people who've had good results from it.

Not wanting to end up with any excuses for not sticking to it, we had made sure we were staying in places with decent kitchens, but we also supplemented this by bringing a few items that wouldn't normally be included in our travel kit. One is a large silicon collapsible microwave steamer, that can also go in the oven as a casserole dish; we have used that almost every day, and in fact we are considering making a regular part of our luggage. Another is a spiraliser, which is much less essential than the steamer, but it has encouraged us to eat more courgette in particular, as that works really well, and it has certainly been a talking point with our fellow travellers!

Olivia, Pucon

Then on Monday, we joined the gym in town and did our first session there. I knew I was unfit, but my goodness it was hard work. Still, we stuck to the plan for food and regular gym going, gradually increasing the time and effort spent there over the weeks.

We were both so exhausted after our gym efforts, and spending so much time cooking up healthy foods to try to keep things interesting, that we never really got around to doing anything much else. We concluded that taking bikes out wouldn't really get us that far and would just leave us too achy to do the gym the next day, and we were burning off more calories in there that we would have done cycling. So we decided to stick to the gym.

Emma, Pucon

We spent a lot of time semi watching the TV screens while we pounded away on the cross trainer etc, and one of the main things we were seeing was the horrific wild fires that were raging through the country further north. Whole towns had been destroyed in some cases, and it was heartbreaking to watch footage of people literally seeing the fire creeping up to their homes, doing everything they could to create firebreaks and divert it, but knowing that in all likelihood, their home would be destroyed.

When we saw the fire brigade in town doing a collection, we stopped and made a donation. The guy we spoke to was interested to hear we were from the UK, and quickly got his smartphone out to show us a photo. It was of him and his brother, as young boys, presenting flowers to The Queen when she had Prince Philip visited Pucon in 1968.

On our two days off per week, we walked into and around the town, and stopped off in one of the cafes for a well behaved cup of tea, virtuously resisting all of the rather lovely looking cakes.

And the good news is, albeit that it is slow, we are losing weight. I had hoped for one of those wonderful first weeks that you hear other people talking about, where you hop on the scales to find you've lost huge amounts. Sadly that was not to be, but we're not doing badly.

Aside from never-ending shopping and cooking, and being in the gym, we spent a lot of time enjoying the company of those two lovely kittens, whilst looking at the rather splendid view of the 2840m high Villarica Volcano, the closest of the three volcanoes in the area. It is an active volcano, and last erupted on 3 March 2015, albeit only a shortlived one. 

When we hit our first milestone target, we treated ourselves to a meal out at what we had heard was the best parilla in town, La Maga. We weren't disappointed. We treated ourselves to a fillet of beef, by which I mean the whole 1.5kg fillet, and it was delicious. We even had a drink to go with it.

We needed that treat, but we were right back on the straight and narrow afterwards.

If you're in Pucon for normal tourism, rather than chained to the gym, there is plenty to do here. Last time around we had a hike in Huerquehue National Park and went kayaking on the Lake. There are also plenty of bike rides out to waterfalls and other sites, there are thermal springs that you can go to, and of course, you can hike up the volcano if you feel so inspired.

We may not have seen much of Pucon ourselves this time, but it was certainly a good decision to come here to do this. It is working.

Buckingham Palace

It is a known fact that even people who are the most avid sightseers on holiday rarely have visited all of the attractions that are closest to their home.  And sure enough, despite our having lived in London for years, we had never been into Buckingham Palace.  So we decided that while we were in the UK, we would put that right.

The Palace only opens for a few months each summer, while The Queen is staying at Balmoral, and you do generally need to book your timed ticket well in advance.  We decided just to go for the State Rooms, but you can also visit the Royal Mews and the Queen's Gallery if you feel like doing the full set.

Sadly you don't get to make your entrance through the front gates, but after going in through the side way you do still get to go in the main door that the family and guests use on official occasions.  And straight away, you get a real sense of the grandeur of the place.  In the internal quadrangle there are additional information boards explaining when and how the Palace was extended to look as it does now, and letting us know what the different wings are used for.
 

You get an audio headset, so you can take the tour at your own pace.  It takes you through the State Rooms, and gives you some interesting commentary on the decorations, furnishings and works of art.  The rooms are magnificent.  They have managed to strike a good balance of ornate opulence and tastefulness.  Too often these grand residences, whether in the UK or abroad, have gone for such flambouyant displays of wealth that they can look a bit gaudy and overwhelming.  They sometimes put me in mind of Del Boy let loose with a big budget.

But here, even though it is clear that the intention was to impress the visitor, it has been done in a rather more elegant fashion.  Of course there can be no doubt that a lot of money has been spent, and the place is full of fine antique furnishings, paintings and sculptures, but somehow it just seems to look more refined.

Perhaps in part this is helped by the fact that these rooms are in regular use, rather than just being show pieces.  This is where Her Majesty receives and entertains her many official visitors, so the space has to be welcoming and practical as well.

Many of the art pieces weren't really to my taste, but I loved the chandeliers.  I like chandeliers generally as I think that combination of crystal glass and light is beautiful, and these ones were especially good.  Again, they weren't overly showy, but fitted the rooms perfectly, and looked stunning.
 

In the state dining room, I was a little disappointed that the table was not fully laid as if or a meal - or should I say banquet - as I would have liked to see that, but I guess it isn't really practical, and perhaps all of the pieces make some people too tempted to try to take a more exclusive souvenir.  But you could still get an idea of how grand these occasions must be.  Nic was a little concerned to learn that when The Queen, who doesn't eat all that much anyway, finishes eating a course it is immediately cleared away, regardless of whether others were still going.  I am sure that as a good host she would take her time, but still I think that Nic will be taking along a chocolate bar as insurance in the unlikely event that he ever gets invited to dine at The Palace!

 One of the highlights for me was the temporary exhibition because in this year of the Diamond Jubilee, they were displaying some of Her Majesty's fabulous diamonds.  As a child, I remember seeing the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London and liking Queen Victoria's tiny crown, perhaps because it seemed just the right size for me back then.  But my favourite this time was probably the Durban Tiara.  It is a simple deco style, but it looks absolutely stunning.  Not sure where I would wear it though, and I rather doubt that our backpacker insurance policy would cover it!

The tour ends in the Palace Garden, which you walk around the edge of, past the gift shop and ice cream stall, to get to the exit gate.  There is a cafe on the terrace, which we might have tried out had we not had to rush off to meet someone.  I was a little disappointed to see that they were using paper cups though - I would have thought that even we mere tourists should get a proper china if we have tea at Buckingham Palace.

Overall we quite enjoyed the tour.  It was more relaxed than I thought it might have been, and certainly impressive.  I would happily recommend it to anyone who likes a bit of how the other half live.

The Braemar Gathering

I have always quite fancied seeing some of the highland games, so when we knew we were going be in Scotland for the Fringe, we decided to go.  The best known is probably the Braemar Gathering largely because, being close to The Queen's summer hideaway of Balmoral Castle, Her Majesty pops in for a while each year.  If it's good enough for HM then it must be good enough for us, so this is the one we chose.

There was no mega bus to Braemar, so we paid quite a lot more for our bus journey here, but at least the scenery was nice as we passed through the Cairngorms.  Being used to city living where public transport has standing room if you're lucky, we got a reminder of how different it is to live in a sleepy rural place like this.

The coach we were on must have seated around 55 people, and because a number of other people were heading to Braemar for the Games too, it was busier than usual.  The driver was getting terribly worried because she had to pick up some schoolkids and wasn't sure she'd be able to because the bus was 'really busy and almost full'.  In fact there were at least twenty seats still available and plenty of standing room - let's hope she never has to drive a London bus in rush hour!

After a quick shop for food and wine at the little Co-op, we walked the short distance to the hostel.  We had booked months ago, but some were turning up now on the off chance - which turned out to be no chance within about a forty mile radius.

In the morning we had a good Scottish cooked breakfast to fortify ourselves for the day and then headed off to the show ground where the pipe bands and Scottish dancers were already in full swing.  Whilst these were good to see, especially when the six pipe bands massed together and paraded around the arena, they weren't the main draw for us. Somewhat predictably, I wanted to see the heavy weights, and in particular the tossing of the caber.

There are no Olympic standard bits of equipment for the weights throwing here.  The hammer really is a huge Thor type hammer.  There is a big old fashioned weight with a ring handle, and the stone is exactly that - a big lump of rock weighing 12.7kgs. Some of the throws were pretty impressive, although one cameraman was nearly rueing the day that he left a large and presumably very expensive lens near the edge of the field.  The hammer just missed smashing it into pieces.

One man did very well in the throwing events, walking off with three trophies.  I guess at least he wouldn't have found them too heavy to carry!

Kilt wearing is compulsory for the throwing events, and with all that twirling and the gusting of the wind, it is just as well that the men are allowed to wear a pair of shorts underneath!  Perhaps this was a special request from Prince Phillip because he doesn't want The Queen getting an eyeful!

And it is all men in the heavy events; women are only allowed to compete in the light events such as the running and jumping.  Most running events are also handicapped, which can make it a bit confusing to work out who is doing well when there are such big gaps in their starting positions to reflect their various genders and ages.

 But the main running event had no handicaps and was certainly not for the feint hearted.  The 5.3km hill race did allow women, and had its fair share of somewhat older competitors, but everyone started together.  And it wasn't joking about being a hill race.  After a lap around the arena, they set off on the 390m climb up the Morrone hill behind the show ground, disappearing into the trees at the base and reappearing some ten minutes later as little specks halfway up.

When the first person made it to the top, they set off a beacon and then turned around and ran back down, with one final lap in the arena before they could finally finish and collapse in mud splattered exhaustion.  The arena lap was good as it meant everyone got a good cheer for their efforts, wherever they finished.  Some seemed to be far too fresh long, as if they hadn't really tried hard enough, while others clearly had legs that had long since turned to jelly and were lucky to make it across the line.

The winner finished in around 28 minutes, some way behind the under 25 minutes record, but then there had been a lot of rain this year which had made the trail pretty even rougher going than usual.  Some of the stragglers were still finishing around 20 minutes later.  Personally, I think I would still have been trudging my way up that hill as everyone was leaving in the evening.

But it's not all hard work.  There was time for a bit of light entertainment when the drum majors competed to see who could be the best at throwing the mace over a twenty foot high banner.  Some showed off their twirling skills on the walk up, but the real test was to get it over the banner and catch it again without breaking time with the marching step.  The wind wasn't on their side at all, and there were a few drops and running catches, but one emerged victorious with all but one of his catches just about making the grade.


A surprising favourite of the day was the inter services tug'o'war.  Various military teams from the area made strenuous efforts to win this event and whilst some ties were over very quickly, others were a real battle.

The royal party turned up at about three o'clock and stayed for about an hour. Prince Philip had rallied from his recent illness to make it here with The Queen, and they brought with them the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and Princess Anne.  All seemed to enjoy the event, and like the rest of us, they weren't able to prevent themselves from laughing at the atrociously bad childrens' sack races.

You would think that, knowing that they would be racing in front of royalty, press and 20,000 others, they would have had a bit of a practice first.  But no, some of them clearly idea at all how to race in a sack.  Some tried a little shuffle, others went for huge leaps and fell straight away, while one reason did lots of tiny hops that at best moved them forward a few millimetres at a time!  They were truly terrible, but at least it was funny.

And then we got to the main event of tossing the caber.  For those that don't know, the caber is a huge wooden pole that is about nine inches at one end tapering down to about five inches at the other.  The famous 6m long Braemar caber is a relative lightweight at only 59.9kgs.  They tend to be on average slightly shorter, but around 8kgs heavier.



Competitors hold the caber upright, with the smaller end down, take a run up and then throw it.  The aim is to have the top end of the pole hit the ground with the pole vertical, and then for the pole to fall in a perfect straight line.  Imagine that the pole is thrown from the six position on a clock face, the tip of the pole when it falls should be at the twelve.

This is much easier said than done.  Many don't even manage to flip the pole over, let alone hit the right position.  But some did very well, and when they did, they got a huge roar of approval.

We thoroughly enjoyed our day at the Games, and we also managed to meet up briefly with one of our fellow Antarctica shipmates who happened to be over from the States visiting family in the area.

Olympics 2012 -The Opening Ceremony

So I guess I won't need to tell you about the opening ceremony as over one billion people watched it.  But I figure that I can comment on it.

So lets start with the negatives.  There were some things that I didn't like.  I didn't really get the music and technology bit.  The use of Tim Berners-Lee at the end was good.  He showed that, far from being relegated to a nation that lost its influence and importance a few centuries ago, we can still create something that has had a major impact on the world.  And surely the fact that he didn't patent it to earn himself a fortune, believing instead that it should be freely available to everyone, is a perfect display of the kind of ideals that the Olympics stands for.

But sadly, while the idea of showcasing some of the vast and varied music from British artists over the decades was OK, I felt that the music and choreography didn't hang together as well as it could have done.  I don't think most of the international audience will have understood the various TV clips etc, and I'm not sure that even the UK audience would have caught enough of it to make it really effective.  I could see the point about the technological generation with mobile devices and social networking, but it felt a little contrived to me.

And then there was Sir Paul.  Mixed feelings there.  His voice is no longer that good, and Hey Jude has never been a favourite of mine as it is very repetitive and goes on for too long.  But... he is, or at least represents, a genuine icon of British pop music, and that fitted perfectly with the theme of the ceremony. And as we saw when we were there for his show in Montevideo, Uruguay, he remains very popular.  So maybe it was OK.

But those are really my only criticisms.

Now to the more positive.  I thought the 'green and pleasant land' to 'dark satanic mills' scenes were excellent.  Technically and visually it was amazing, and I thought it had a great story to tell about our past.  And the forging of the Olympic rings that then had the fireworks dropping from them looked fantastic on TV and must have been truly amazing in the stadium.

The involvement of real people was lovely.  Using NHS staff and patients was brilliant, and perfectly demonstrated that this was supposed to be for everyone.  The scene itself worked well, but what made it great for me was the fact that it looked like people were really enjoying themselves, rather than just performing.  It wasn't a highly slick and polished show, but it showed real enthusiasm and commitment from thousands of unpaid volunteers, who genuinely wanted to be involved.  Amateurs dedicated to doing their utmost to achieve something amazing - exactly what the Olympics is all about.

And I just loved the use of humour.  There was a danger that we could be a bit too serious about this and come across as arrogant, which is a charge that has often been levelled at us internationally.  But we showed brilliantly that we can laugh at ourselves too.  The Rowan Atkinson bit to Chariots of Fire was great, but James Bond collecting the Queen and 'parachuting' her in was just brilliant.  I think showed what a wonderfully human woman the Queen really is, that she was agreed to do it.  And enough of the gripes about the fact that she didn't look excited.  She almost always looks serious - it is an essential part of the role, and it was probably well past her normal bedtime.  And I was so pleased to see that she did, as she so often does, take care to have something relevant in her outfit; she wore a brooch that was given to her in 1948, when the Olympics was last held here.

Now maybe it's just my HR background coming out here, but I thought it was fabulous that we incorporated people with disabilities into the ceremony.  The drumming was lead by someone deaf, the national anthem was sung by children who were signing, and they included people with disabilities throughout.  This not only gave a great pointer to the Paralympics, which are often badly overlooked, but it also was another way that we celebrated the huge diversity of our population.

And then we get to the torch lighting.  So most people wanted to see a role for David Beckham, and he got it, bringing the torch to the stadium dock in style.  Sir Steve Redgrave was the favourite for the flame lighting, and for a while it looked like he was it.  But then the secret that had been kept so well was finally revealed.  There was to be no one Olympian lighting the flame, nor a royal, nor some other established and worthy person.

The use of the young aspiring athletes, nominated by our most revered British Olympians, was inspired.  Was it a cop out to avoid making a decision on which one Olympian we value the most?  Possibly; Sir Steve was clearly in the prominent role bringing the flame in to the stadium, but this way they could involve more of our Olympians in this symbolic moment.  Was it a fabulous approach that was totally in keeping with our motto of 'Inspiring a Generation'?  Absolutely!  We promised an Olympics that would encourage a new set of athletes and this was a very high profile way of showing that we meant it.

And that cauldron; it is truly beautiful.  Whether on the ground for the lighting, rising up, or in its final position, it looked stunning. I am really looking forward to seeing it for real when we are at the stadium for the athletics in August. The idea of using 204 individual copper petals, brought in with the individual teams, to make up the one whole cauldron is excellent.  Pulling it off so beautifully was just brilliant.

Overall, I thought that this was an exciting and interesting opening ceremony.  It didn't try to 'outdo' Beijing.  It did something different, that celebrated the United Kingdom, but with a touch of self deprecation and humour thrown in too. It showed us as a great nation, reminding the world of just a few of our peoples' great achievements, but avoided any hint of glorifying past imperialism.  It demonstrated that from Her Majesty down, we can laugh at ourselves and like a bit of fun.

So the Opening Ceremony got my seal of approval.  Let's hope the rest of the Games is equally good.  And of course, the very best of luck to Team GB!