The photo is one of our neighbours here in the Cabaña (un saltamonte is what they call a grasshopper: this chap was about 10cm long and when he flew lazily around in the evening light he dragged his legs). There is a distinctly unchristmassy feel here, largely due to the 40 degree temperatures and the lightning storms at night (although today it´s much cooler and raining).

We had a day swimming in the river a couple of days ago so now both of us are a little pink, and not because of the leeches we had to pick off when we got out.

At the moment there are huge thunderclaps and torrential rain, so we´re sitting here in an internet cafe hoping it goes away before we have to walk back up the hill to the cabaña which will take us twenty minutes.

The landscape here is granite hills, like the lake district but not glaciated so the valley are all sharp v´s. The place is very green now, the rains fall in summer not winter here, and the majority of trees are spiny. Flaco (Heather´s husband) said we´re on the same latitude North as Algeria is South. So we´re spending the afternoons inside and the early evenings watching the hundreds of swallows,parrots and other birds, not to mention the guinea pigs (Conejillas de India) playing on the garden, although they may have drowned by now.

Have a good Christmas everyone.
  ¶ 2:45 PM