Penguins!

Boulders Beach is home to a colony of African Penguins. From just two breeding pairs in 1982, the penguin colony has grown to about 3000 penguins today.

Cape Town

We spent a lovely few days in Cape Town, revisiting old haunts and soaking up some sun and sunsets along the coast.

Our favorite beach, Llandadno 

Table Mountain from Signal Hill 

Table Mountain from the Waterfront 

The Waterfront at sunset 

The Waterfront at sunset 

The Waterfront at night 

Hout Bay from Chapman's Peak 

Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens 

Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens

Walker Wedding

On 16 December, my brother Gavin married Debby in a beautiful, fun ceremony in Cape Town. The groom and groomsmen were dashing, the bride and bridesmaids were gorgeous, and all the guests had a wonderful time. Here are some pictures of the special day.

Congratulations, Mr and Mrs Walker!

4ta Corrida Familiar

Once again our local park hosted a family event over the weekend, this time a family race around the neighbourhood. We entered the 5km race and I was very proud of myself for running the whole way! Daniel, of course, hardly even noticed that we were running...

Parcela

Some Chilean friends of ours invited us to their 'parcela', (plot of land) in Limache, about 100km from Santiago on the way to the sea. The area is known for its fruit trees, especially avocados. 

We spent a super weekend with Manuel and Andrea, hanging out by the pool and soaking up some sun. 

We even went avocado-picking and we came home with a goodie bag full of avos!

On Sunday we stopped off for lunch at Concon, a beachside town for Santiago's rich and famous. The weather was beautiful and the seafood and pisco sours finished off a perfect weekend getaway.

Mercado Paula Gourmet

Last weekend our fantastic local park hosted a food market. There were stalls with samples of cheeses, spices, spreads, and breads, as well as wine and beer tasting, ice cream stands, bonfires to huddle around late into the night, and live music after sunset. We went with some friends and enjoyed an impromptu picnic of salmon carpaccio starter and lamb-on-the-spit main course, accompanied by a refreshing French Champagne!

Cerro Pochoco

On Sunday we went for a lovely hike to the 1800m summit of Cerro Pochoco, a hill in the foothills of the Andes. We climbed high enough to see the snowcapped Andes in the distance, and we enjoyed the beautiful summer flowers and birds. Thanks to our guide, Fede, for showing us a new trail in Santiago!

Cascadas Las Animas

We did some exploring over the weekend and headed down to Cajón del Maipo, a canyon southeast of Santiago. We spent the day at Cascadas Las Animas, an adventure resort that offers all sorts of activities. Our first stop was a delicious three-course meal overlooking the river - we had the best table in the house!

After lunch, we went for a casual zip-line, 30m above the Rio Maipo. The longest wire was 170m across the river and my squeals echoed around the canyon!

To end off the day, we walked to the famous waterfalls, where the fairy spirits are said to live. According to legend, they are benevolent to children, but mischievous to adults... Fortunately they did not stir while we were out and we enjoyed the beautiful scenery and cascadas.

Festival de la Rosa

Our local park hosts numerous events throughout the year. The big spring event is the Rose Festival, a combination of a garden expo and the unveiling of the year's new roses. We spent a lovely Sunday afternoon strolling along the paths and through the gardens. Our prize purchase was a new hammock, which we look forward to testing out over the summer!