Yes the Blog is Back!! I know its' been a while but lots of love and thoughts from Chile. Every church and virgen I visit I light candles for you all so you are never far from thought. I hope all your intentions are being looked after, at least some divine inspiration is coming direct from Chile which should help a little.

I have had this most wonderful relaxing day hiking around the National Park near Pucon. I came down yesterday to the lake district in Chile south of Santiago. This morning I caught the first bus at 8.30 after a mad dash to the bakery watching the sun rise high in the sky admiring the snow capped volcanoes as we proceeding into the wilderness. Pucon is incredible. If feels like I have shifted 5,000 miles back to Austria or Switzerland;Wooden house, Chocolate shops. All I am short is to be dragging my ski's and suffering with the dreaded ski boots. The temperature was fab today , sunny with a lovely breeze so I head off with such a spring in my step. You'd swear i'd never done it before. Its amazing the amount of things that pass through your mind when you walk. I'm on the own again but for some reason during the day you busy yourself with organising this or that bus, booking hotels but today felt like the first time in a while that I emptied my mind.It's seriously refreshing and the scenery was beautiful. There is a 17km path around three of the main lakes in the area so I walked for three hours before stopping near one of them to sit and have my picnic. As I sat there listening to the water gently lapping, the sun shinning I thought again just how lucky I am to be doing this. It is definitely one of the best decisions I ever made!!! I swapped my book in Santiago for 'In pursuit of happiness'. The tale is unfolding of life long love story, one night of passion together, a promise to come back from war after 9months and 4 years later she has just bumped into him in a park in New York!! Yes seriously deep stuff!! but I happily engrossed myself in the story for an hour and got carried into it. She is a writer and the image of her sitting in a little cottage by the sea typing sounds right appealing! I was blissfully happy until a group of loud Americans interrupted my tranquility! thank you very much! I got up in a huff and headed off again as if I owned the place. I finished the loop and got back in time to sit and read a little bit more of my book before catching the bus back at 5.30. Will she take him back remains the question? I have to admit my knees felt a little tight as i stepped out of the shower. God help me, I'm getting old!!

Yesterday evening I floated the night away in some nearby Hot Thermal springs. I have got partial to these over the last few months! I took a tour of the area with two Ladies from Santiago. As we floated around the pools they dutifully told me that Chilean Men are right ladies men so don't go near them! I think I have enough with Argentinians for the moment! Yes, Marcelo has been keeping me entertained and charmed for the weekends. It's been lovely to have company and he's the perfect gentleman wining and dining me. The two of us are far too fond of food and wine so we seem to consuming far too much of both but the food was great and the company even better. You might get to meet him as he is hinting incessantly that he is going to use some free flights he's accumulated to visit me during the summer. So much for ' What happens in Argentina stays in Argentina'!!

Its funny as I sit in this Internet caffe U2 are playing. As I passed though customs the guy searching my bag after asking me where I was from started singing of their songs to me. He also spoke about the problem in North and how he and his wife would love to come to Ireland. Chileans seem to identify with the problem in North given their history and three hours later the taxi driver in Santiago commented to me that he loved in the film ' In the name of the Father'. Irish and Chileans understand what is it like to suffer needlessly. Profound for 3 O clock in the afternoon in a taxi!

Santiago was a capital city but with it's vast array of parks and open spaces I found it quite pleasant. I alway find it fascinating the idea of the main square, no matter what time of the day you find a collection of people sitting watching the world go by. I always ask myself ' have they nothing better to be doing' but in hindsight its great that there's a central meeting place. This is what old people miss at home. Parque Metropolitian is huge, you take a funicular up and then a cable car across to different sections. Again at top there is a huge statute of the Virgen Mary guarding the city. Pope John Paul II came here so as you can see from the photos she has worked some magic. Another thing I love about the churches here is that they open and accessible to the people. Walking around the cathedral it was heart warming to see people , young and old, business men, grannies , young people sitting praying. I wonder how many churches in Europe are like that on a Tuesday Morning?

Tomorrow I head south to the Puento Mont and on the island of Chiloe. I have a sneaking feeling it's a bit like Cape Clear. From what I've heard its the nearest place to home I'll find this far south. I'll keep you posted.

Love and Blessings from Chile XXX