12^th December

Cont….. We arrive in Santiago, check into our hotel and as usual, we go straight out to eat, as it’s getting late.  We go straight into the nearest restaurant……   as we are sitting down….  Feeling slightly underdressed, we have a sneaky read of the lonely planet…  only to find out that this is probably one of the best restaurants in south America!.....  7 courses and 7 different wines later, we roll out of the restaurant and stumble back to our hotel!

(OOOHHH!!!!    I just remembered a funny thing happened in Bolivia!!   Please go back and read what happened on the bus in Cochabamba on the 5^th of December!!)

13^th December

So, up we get, ready to check out Santiago!!!.....  only to find the entire city has shut down…..  its election day!!!  (in case you haven’t been following, this is a little tedious as we have had election days in Uganda, Bolivia and now Chile!)  after wandering around the deserted streets, we decide that it is a little rubbish, and make our way to the beach……  only it’s a 2 hour bus ride away……  to the seaside town of Valparaiso.

 We arrive to find a town bustling with life (finally!)  and make our way round the popular sites, including loads of 1900s funicular trains, running up the sides of the steep hills in the town.

Once we have ticked off the beach and the local markets, its back on the bus, for our trip back to Santiago, but not before an altercation with a taxi driver (he charged us 4 times the going rate for a fare!!!.... tourist rates!)

By the time we got back to hotel, it was getting late, but all the bars are shut, so we grab an early night! (boring!)

14^th December

After a long sleep, we jump out of bead and head back into the city.  Its bustling and full of life, a complete contrast to the previous day.  I FINALY get my haircut, as Lorraine gets a pedicure!  (Oh the luxuries of city life come flooding back!)  after much wandering the busy streets, we go up the “Santa Lucia” hill for a view of the city. 

This looks like the place, all the young couples of the city go to……  chat?....  we weave our way through the amorous couples to get a view from the top…..  tick….  It’s then back down for a King Crab dinner at the fish market, before catching a cab to the airport….. 

That’s it…  our south American leg is over.  L And on top of that, today is officially the halfway point of or tripL L.  Never mind…. Australia next!!!.... we just have to get there first….

15^th December

 Flying…….

16^th December

Flying!!........................  at 7am we arrive………..  quite tired……  but ready for some Ausi action!

We Check in, ditch the stuff and head straight out for some brekkie.  Then the beach!...... here we stay for the rest of the morning, relaxing in the surf and sand!.......  not for long though!  After a quick lunch we head off for a costal walk from Coogee beach to BONDI Beach, a 5 mile walk.  2 hours later we arrive…  go for a swim and jump into a cab, back to the hotel.  We can’t mess about tonight, as we have to get ready for the Ballet.  That’s right folks…. 

The ballet!!!  We managed to get the last 2 tickets to “Sleeping beauty” at the Sydney Opera House!!  

The show was amazing, those ladies spent the entire time on their toes!!... the only criticism we both had was that the story was over very quickly, and the dancers appeared to have a “dance off” for the last 30 mins….  “look at how great we are!!!”  anyway, it was surprisingly enjoyable!

17^th December

After brekkie, it’s off to Sydney harbour bridge to climb to the top! It’s pretty touristy, but good fun, and the view is great (oh my god, the heat!  40 degrees!... quite warm!).   There is a group of 12 of us, who hike to the top, at the back there is a young couple…..   and he proposes to her!!!.....  She said NO, which made the 1 hour walk back somewhat awkward……  only kidding!!!!  She said yes!.... thank goodness!

The only bugger is that they don’t allow you to take your camera…..  why, because of safety…..  or is it that there are photos available for you to buy after the walk, yours for a bargain £15 each…..  hummm, begrudgingly, we buy ONE. 

After a look round a couple of shops (Lozza buys a nice dress and I buy a shirt!)and taking in a drink round Darling Harbor, Lozza has her hair done!   This give me the time to buy a new filter for my camera, so I leave her to it.   2hours later…. She is still having her hair done!...  so I sit and wait with her… for another 1hour!... bloody women’s hair, always take forever!  (although I have to say, she looked stunning afterward…  I reckon it’s the best cut colour and style she has ever had!.... BLOODY should be for the cost and time, let me tell ye!!!)

By this time we decide it will take too much time to nip back (20 mins) to the hotel in a taxi, to get changed and come back out.  Besides, for the money it will cost, we can buy Will some new trousers and Lozza can buy some nice shoes, to go with her dress! 

After getting changed in the changing rooms of Sydney equivalent of Debenhams (classy!) we hit the town for a drink overlooking the bridge and the opera house (during a Thunder storm) then go for another 7 course tasting menu from a restaurant overlooking the same view.   Sometime later, we roll out and into a cab!

18^th December

Our plan is to hit the beach, thwarted somewhat by the rain.  Never mind, we will head on back into town, thwarted somewhat by the bus strike.  We try for ages to get a cab, no luck.  (we meet a guy who has been trying for 2 hours….. to get to his graduation!.... bugger!)  so we figure we will walk it…. 

To bondi to get the train.  2 hours later, we arrive…..  wet, that’s right, it’s still raining, as it will for the rest of the day.   After wandering round the sights of Sydney, we get a 30 min ferry to Manly beach, to watch the surfers…. in the rain.  Then head back into town to catch the sing along carol service next to the Christmas tree (to try and get into the Christmas

spirit)…..  but because it’s raining, no one shows up.  After a seafood dinner, its back to the apartment.  Despite the weather, we had a really nice day, it kinda reminded us of home?...

19^th December

Get up early (the sun’s out!!) have brekkie and hit the beach for one last time, before heading off to the airport. 

We arrive after a short flight in the Whitsundays, our home for the festive season!   We pick up our sailing boat (a 40ft 6 person yacht…  quite big really!) unpack and settle in.   Turns out the owner of the boat is about 6’7” so the Bed is MASSIVE!!!  Much bigger than we have seen in any other boat! Great!

Once we have settled in (we can’t leave until tomorrow) we wander into the town for a bite to eat and send a last email to our mates wishing them a merry chrimble. (this will be the last time we have any technology for at least a week!) then off to the pub for a drink… which we can’t do as we don’t have proof of age ID!!!.....  WHAT????...  (Lozza is quite happy about that!)…  so it’s back to the boat for one of our own drinks.

20^th December

Up early, as we are having a delivery of food to last us the week.  We ordered it in Sydney, and figured, as its Christmas, we would go for the luxury, platinum option with lobster etc (we didn’t really read what came with it!) the guy turns up with a palate truck full of boxes…. TONS of food…. There isn’t a chance we will get through it all….

Once Jeff (the salty sea dog, complete with massive beard) has gone through the basics on the boat, we are given the all clear and off we go, completely alone, to sort ourselves out and decide our own route!!!...  as well as figure out the tides and navigation of the treacherous Whitsunday islands…..  GREAT!...

First, we stop off for lunch and a beer!.... Done, we then navigate across a large stretch of water, before we drop anchor in Nara Inlet, a quiet spot, with no one else around, to read our charts and plan

tomorrow’s sailing.   For our first dinner, we tuck into our luxury Mud Crab, fish platter and have 1 glass of wine…..  maybe 2?

21^st December

Off we go,  after a quick trip to the beach for a photo.  Our next stop on our tour is Langford Island, a beautiful spot, complete with sand spit like you only see in photos!.... amazing!  During lunch we spot a turtle coming up for air…. Then another and another…  5 in all!  

Outstanding!  Bit gutted we don’t have our underwater camera anymore. (we sent it home??..)  After snorkeling we set off for another snorkeling spot further round the coast.  In case you’re wondering, the ridiculous suits we are wearing are not wet suits, but Stinger suits….  They stop the DEADLY jelly fish from stinging you. (why does it seem like all animals kill you in Australia??)  This has taken a little getting used to, and is a bit of a pain!  Its 40 degrees, all we want to do is jump into the perfect emerald green waters…. But we can’t….. Arse.

Still we anchor up and don our tight outfits for a dip.  Lozza jumps in… whilst waiting for me to put on my fins, she sees a jelly fish…. Then another….  Then another  EEEECKK!!!  (she then swims up and leaps out of the water like a dolphin through a hoop and lands on the deck… somewhat distressed… understandably!)  after watching the swarm of transparent critters we conclude that they must be harmless, as they don’t have tentacles and there are plenty of other people swimming about….. and they look in reasonable health!   Once back in the water, somewhat nervously we snorkel round the reef and see loads of fish and the coral looks amazing.

Safely back onboard, we go to our overnight anchorage at Butterfly bay, where we have Steak off the Barbie at the back of the boat and watch the stars before bed.

22^nd December    

This morning we sail up to Hayman island, to meet a dive boat!  We’re off to do a little dive to see all the coral up close!.... needless to say, it was pretty special!   The rest of the day is spent sailing round to secluded coves and snorkelling…… ohhh it’s tough!   At one particular place I jump in and leave Lorraine to add more colour to her already golden tan!!!  I'm lucky enough to find a turtle and we spend 5 minutes swimming together, only an arm’s reach away!!!!  AMAZING!!!  Lozza is a little jealous!

At another spot, our dive master from the morning, suggested we go and snorkel round a red marker pole, just off the beach.  We duly abide and wait for a minute, bobbing about in the water, when a HUGE Green fish with Mick Jagger lips swims over….. it’s a monster, at least 4ft long!!!  (grrrr  really want that underwater camera now!!)

We stop for the night at a place called stone haven beach for more luxury food goodies!!!

23^rd December

More snorkelling, more beaches…. Oh, this is the life!  Whilst heading over to a cove for lunch we get into a deep discussion about how gutted Lorraine’s family will be to not receive a phone call till the evening of Christmas day, a problem, as we don’t have any phone reception….  Until the morning of our boxing day.   I try to reassure loz that I'm sure everyone will understand….as we are on a boat in a far flung place, on the other side of the planet……. 

Never the less, we have to figure out a way of sending some kind of message etc etc… change our plans etc etc…..  as we are chatting away I'm not paying any  attention to where we are going….  Look up and realise…. With INCHES to spare that we are about to plough straight into a coral reef at full speed!!!....   MASSIVE EVASIVE MANOUVRE  90’ right turn……  and we skim past the edge of the reef, boat listing dangerously all over the place…….  We stop talking about it…..

After lunch we set sail for a quiet island quite a few miles out.  On our way, we see a commotion on the surface of the water, fish splashing about.  We sail on past and see…… it’s a load of SHARKS chasing fish!!  Hopefully they won’t interfere with us!!   On route, amazingly, my phone gets a signal for…. A micro second…..  we then sail around in circles trying to find the sweet spot in order to get a text out to the family….  Hopefully we managed it!

Once we arrive at our secluded island, we spend ages trying to anchor up…. As the boat is swinging around in the swell, after much faffing and the anchor getting stuck on a rock, we finally manage to get set up and settle in for the night.

24^th December, Christmas eve!!!

Back home, I would be running round like a headless lunatic, trying to buy last minute pressies for….  well, everyone!  Not today though, toady we set sail for Whitehaven beach!  The sailing is good, so we sail straight past, checking out the helicopters and seaplanes, dropping off the ludicrously wealthy for beach picnics!  We spin back around and anchor up to get that Whitsunday View, from the top of a little hill overlooking an inlet.   AMAZING emerald water…. Well you can see….

We overnight ½ an hour past Whitehaven beach (our plan was to stop here but the weather is against us, so we go for a more sheltered spot) at Chance bay.   Now, we’ve been saving this moment for the entire trip…..  we bought some Christmas decorations in Sydney! 

As well as a singing Santa, bought in Chile.  (now this is the most tacky Santa money can buy… Lorraine took one look at it, on a market stall and balked at

how awful it looked….. so I bought it!....  he he!) so we gleefully enter the Christmas spirit and put up the decorations around the boat!

25^th December, CHRISTMAS DAY!!!!

We awake to the sound of Santa dropping his presents through the open skylight into the other bedroom…. Oh no, it’s our alarm clock?......   We get up and set sail, straight away, to get to the beach and mark our territory. 

Once anchored, Lorraine presents me with a stocking (Christmas variety!) filled with presents…..  from around the boat…. Including…  some individual portions of jam AND marmalade, some of the VERY BEST chocolate from the Cadbury roses chocolate box,  Almost ALL the ingredients for a pancake breakfast and a full box of the finest Almonds……

That’s a pretty tough act to follow, so I present Lorraine with a diamond necklace and set about our luxury breakfast of pancakes and bacon with maple syrup!  Hmmmm!.......  (followed by a Cadbury chocolate…. Well, it is Christmas!...) 

So our Christmas day starts here!....  no one for miles, on a pristine white beach!  After a little snorkeling we get straight into some Christmas day tanning!  (we shan't be able to say that too often!) after 36 seconds, I'm burning in the sun (I also don’t really do sitting down for too long!) 

so decide to whittle up a sun shade from some branches, rope, a bed sheet and an anchor?!  The result, I'm sure you will agree, is an impressive erection!!!....   Before we know it, it’s time for Christmas dinner.  

NO Turkey here!, its Champagne, lobster, mud crab, chilled meats, avocado salad, cheese, crackers and....., we can’t have Christmas without a Christmas cake!!! 

I should take this opportunity to explain, before we left, way back in October, Hilary made us a Christmas cake so that we can enjoy a little bit of home on Christmas day…..  So we have been carrying this “little”   (2kg?...)  cake for three months, halfway around the planet, through deserts and lakes, in tents and hotels.  Amazingly, it has survived incredibly well…    (this is despite a little trimming in the Galapagos…..  we were well over weight for one of the small plane flights, so the cake had to lose an inch off the bottom……(don’t we all!)…. which we had for breakfast and shared with the hotel owner (he’d never had Christmas cake before!)……   well, it was quite heavy!) 

Needless to say, we almost finish the lot, and like a typical Christmas, we settle down for an afternoon of digesting, snoozing, boozing and snorkeling….    Well….  maybe a typical Christmas afternoon doesn’t have the snorkeling!

After a walk up the beach, we wander back to the boat and have some of my Mum’s Traditional soup….  (I made a stock from the remains of a chicken a couple of days ago and chucked in whatever leftovers I could find!!!) ….  It was very nice!  The rest of our Christmas day is spent looking at the stars and finishing the 3^rd bottle of booze, Great!!!

26^th December, Boxing Day

Bleary eyed…. We wake to the SCREAMIN alarm………sshhhhhh…….

We are getting up, super early today.  For the last 4 days, we haven’t had any phone reception (we knew this would happen) as we have been on the “Dark side” of Whitsunday island, so we haven’t been able to speak to any of the family for Christmas….. L  But due to the time difference, our Christmas morning is still the family’s Christmas day night!  So, as per our plan, we wake up early and head on round the coast for about 5 miles, till we are in sight of the mainland. 

Wayhay! We have phone reception!   We set the boat into a 100m turning circle and set about calling the Phillips.  First we try to do a video call…. After a few false starts we manage it and fill everyone in on our day!...  apparently its very cold and snowy!

We then try the hutches…..  no answer on all the phones for 10mins!... but finally we get through.

Great, we feel like our Christmas is as complete as it can be!....

So, it’s back to sailing and snorkeling and generally chilling out.

Today is our last full day on the boat, so once in our overnight anchorage, we give the boat a clean and try to finish the last of the beer.

27^th December

(oh my god, with the early starts…..  it’s supposed to be a Christmas holiday!)….  Up we get….  to drop the boat off at the marina next to the airport.  Today is our longest days of traveling yet…… 5 flights in all….  Whitsundays – Cairns – Darwin – Singapore – Bangkok – Koh Samui.  Fortunately, we have an overnight in Singapore, so it’s not all that bad!......  so that’s where I am typing this from, the Darwin-Singapore leg.  So, that’s the end of our brief stay in Australasia,……   Australasia, tick…..   South east Asia next!

Until next time see ye!

Will and Loz