22 January
Initial thoughts of the group
I thought it was a Toucan tour not a Saga tour
There are a lot of rules
Either me or the tour leader might not finish the tour
There were a lot of rules
They were not going to like me
There were a lot of rules
If I'm on holiday with older people I would prefer it if they were related to me.

The average age of the tour group is 48, Lisa and I are the second and third youngest. I'll be honest it was a bit disheartening, we are currently 10, 3 pensioners, 2 fifty year old Germans, a forty year old German, a forty two year old guy from Hull, us two, and a twenty nine year old girl from Burton on Trent who must be wondering what the hell she'd paid for.

And the rules, geeze. We were met by our Australian tour guide, a bespectacled redhead, who could be as young as twelve and as old as forty. We sat down, and then the rules started, seventy minutes of rules. I have no idea what the rules are but I know there are a lot. A lot a lot. Be here at this time, do that then, Alvoro she was not. We sat there, she spoke, we listened, and listened, and listened.

What the rules should be;
Have fun
Try not to die
If you do die call this number.

Then tea, leaving my bank card in a machine, and bed.

Early start the next morning, then a long day on our chariot, a charming truck called Peggy. A big converted Mercedes truck, in gloriously bright yellow. Fast and powerful, she motored through Chile from Santiago to Pucon. It was a fairly uneventful journey, but through some spectacular scenery.