Quill's Tour - Crossing the Andes

Alright chaps,

We´re in Pucon, Chile, now. Arrived today.

Everything is all good, we´ve been doing large amounts of walking. 8 hours one day, 5 the next, 5 the next and so on. Walking up punishing 1400m mountains on hangovers all in training for the inca trail. Altitude sickness is meant to be like an hangover so best to get twatted the night before walking.

In Pucon we will climb a volcano as well and then do some trekking in Peru before the inca trail which is in about two weeks time. You need walking poles to do it because you have to climb hundreds of large steps and after a while it gets really tough on the knees.

I tell you what there´s loads of stray barking dogs in Argentina and Chile. I got barked off a fcking mountain the day before yesterday. We´ve got one outside our hostel now that never gives up.

Asking for things in Argentina can also be frustrating. The people here are sound and don´t give you a hard time, they do their best to communicate with you.. but sometimes it seems like you´ll say the right word in spanish and they still don´t get it. Becky asked for a coca cola yesterday and the waiter didn´t understand, like manuel out of faulty towers. Becky repeated it again"coca cola" and he didn´t understand and then the third time the penny dropped and he said "ah.. coca cola" which leaves you wondering where you went wrong.

The hostel we´ve just left (hostel Puma in san martin de los andes) is clean and cheap about a fiver each per night, but loads of lame rules everywhere, its like being back at boarding school. Here are only some of them:

"please leave your room by 10.30 during the day every day so we can clean your room"
"don´t touch anything thats not yours"

"please respect other peoples stuff.. if you´re not sure then ask us."
"be silent after 11pm"

"check out at 10.30, NO EXCEPTIONS"
"cooking between 7 and 11 only, NO EXCEPTIONS"

and my favourite... "your mother doesn´t work here, please wash up after you and put dishes in their right place"

today we left the place. They provide breakfast included by the way, which we didn´t have time for, but as i walked out i saw a sign above the breakfast table saying "Please be moderate, this is your breakfast not your lunch!".

We crossed the andes today at 6 in the morning. The bus I have to say was full of the biggest bunch of smelly border-crossing invalids you can imagine, all with bad colds and on their last legs. More like a chicken bus in Delhi than trans-andes coach crossing. All coughing away and spluttering, sneezing - all in a big chorus together... gobbing and splotting, phlemming, honking, hacking and hawking.. it was absolutely fcking disgusting. This wretched lot need to get some more vitamin c inside them, I tell you. Maybe they´ve run out of oranges in Chile.

Anyhow, we are now in Pucon, Chile now, and this is a cool place. On driving into it it looks a bit more third world but thats not really so. The chileans by the way are not european-looking like the argentinians, they are a bit darker, more like indians some of them. The sun is shining and there´s no wind... and its nice just to get some sun, pure and simple.

Hostel here is very nice rooms, looks like good vegetarian resturant and only about 10 quid a night for the room. Don´t speak great english though and the woman at reception is a sour grumpy old thing, no speak english and face liked smacked arse.

Tomorrow we are up at 6.30 to climb this volcano called Villarica, ice picks and all... and then to the hot springs in the evening, what a day!

Its 9 pm now, and I´ve just had my head shaved. Yes, finally - I´ve done it. To be fair it looks alright... the hairline and shape of head was better than I expected, I thought I might have pinball head or bean head.... obviously it is quite a shock to the system though... I look like a proper nutcase actually, like the neo-nazi bloke out of Romper Stomper. I´ll try and get you a picture when I can. Good job I never liked going to Brixton anyway. I´d best start doing some swimming or weights or something... if I rock up somewhere funny I´m gonna get the sh1t beaten out of me.

Laters.