Fawlty Towers

Firstly..Although all BBC and other news is banned/prohibited on this trip, details of the flu victim would be welcome Deborah!

We are currently staying at Fawlty Towers (Hotel Rocas, santo Domingo), by the noisy Pacific Ocean, south west of Santiago - just south of San Antonio. It's noisy because of the constant growling of the ocean and nighttime dogs (and occasionally me). It's out of season, so we're the only two guests in town and are being waited upon by Manuel and Basil - Manuel doesn't speak a word of English and does the cooking and lots of other stuff, usually wearing a white jacket. Basil is very very friendly (John Cleeselike friendly) and can't do enough to please us. They must have caught sight of my tiny travel kettle today (bulky 'stuff') and when we returned from investigating the coast in the rain (it's winter) this afternoon, there was a large new kettle in our room. Basil is particularly thrilled (and perplexed) that we have travelled all the way from England to experience the Chilean winter.

No effort is spared in the food department and this evening (although we had explained in advance) we were hovered over as a meaty lasagne was proudly presented to each of us - bearing in mind that I don't eat meat. Under the Fawltian circumstances, it is impossible to do anything other than 'tuck in'. I had already ingratiated myself with Manuel by praising him for the tomato soup - in spanish no less. Of course he didn't know that 'La sopa es muy buena' was actually down to iSpeak Spanish on the i phone - and was visibly thrilled by my sudden eloquence. This bond between us made it even more impossible for me to do any other than get stuck in to his meaty treat. I picked and pecked at it and would have looked up something along the lines of 'I only have a small appetite', except that during the repast the TV in the nearby reception/bar was switched off - with most lights and we were wished good night - phew! Bear in mind that it was only about 7.30 - and I thought English winter evenings were quiet.

Well - that's about it for now - after all the time is getting on and it's nearly 9.00pm! I'll sign out with the following sayings of the day:

"I didn't realise my longjohns would get so much wear"
Dinner quote:
"It's like being married to Henry VIII!"
Response:
"And you know what happened to his wives, don't you?"