The England and Jones squads are announced…

Harry Mallinder after the Champions Cup qualifying final, May 2017

Here is the squad that will leave for Buenos Aires next Saturday – three Saints are in the squad with Tom Wood unavailable for selection after Friday’s match.

Forwards
Don Armand (Exeter Chiefs, uncapped)
Will Collier (Harlequins, uncapped)
Ben Curry (Sale Sharks, uncapped)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, uncapped)
Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 3 caps)
Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 1 cap)
Dylan Hartley, captain (Northampton Saints, 84 caps)
Nathan Hughes (Wasps, 8 caps)
Nick Isiekwe (Saracens, uncapped)
Joe Launchbury (Wasps, 42 caps)
Matt Mullan (Wasps, 15 caps)
Chris Robshaw, vice captain (Harlequins, 55 caps)
Nick Schonert (Worcester Warriors, uncapped)
Tommy Taylor (Wasps, 1 cap)
Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, uncapped)
Harry Williams (Exeter Chiefs, uncapped)
Mark Wilson (Newcastle Falcons, uncapped)

Backs 
Mike Brown, vice captain (Harlequins, 60 caps)
Danny Care, vice captain (Harlequins, 71 caps)
Joe Cokanasiga (London Irish, uncapped)
Ollie Devoto (Exeter Chiefs, 1cap)
Nathan Earle (Saracens, uncapped)
George Ford, vice captain (Bath Rugby, 36 caps)
Piers Francis (Northampton Saints, uncapped)
Sam James (Sale Sharks, uncapped)
Alex Lozowski (Saracens, uncapped)
Harry Mallinder (Northampton Saints, uncapped)
Jack Maunder (Exeter Chiefs, uncapped)
Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby, 25 caps)
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 5 caps)
Denny Solomona (Sale Sharks, uncapped)
Marland Yarde (Harlequins, 11 caps)

As for the Joneses, the team selection is:

DrT (Northampton Saints, Tetley Stand)
MrsJ (Northampton Saints, photographer N1 and S1)
Cedric Bird (Northampton Saints, DrT’s pocket)

Thanks for the lovely feedback, it’s time to say farewell…

All good things come to an end and today is our last day in Argentina. This country has been a complete surprise – its scenery is stunning; its people so friendly and welcoming and its history so fascinating. It’s a country with some serious challenges but it faces them with passion, determination and a refusal to give in. Where have we heard that before?

As for the rugby, we were privileged to see two very entertaining test matches and an England team that is set fair for the future. I loved the crowds, I loved the rugby – I was less convinced by the moat and the barbed wire.

And it’s been great sharing it with you via this blog. Thanks for the lovely feedback- it’s been great to hear you have enjoyed mine and DrT’s posts and pictures of our adventures.

See you next season,

Toodle pip,

MrsJ (and DrT and the Red Hat)

Day 8: The second test between Argentina and England. And we make many new friends…

Match day arrived and this test match build up felt quite different to the previous test match in San Juan. The town was covered in pale blue and white and there were clearly a lot of people who had come to Santa Fe for the game. Our tour guide, Brian had to stay in a different hotel from us because our hotel was full.
It even started at breakfast when we had a brief chat with John Lacey, the match referee. John is a very approachable guy who we had spoken to before at breakfast in a hotel in Clermont. He mused about about the game at the Gardens against Stade Francais, almost telling himself off for missing the sending off of Rory Hutchinson and marvelling how the Saints had won having been down to 13 men.
En route back to our room, we were greeted by the sight of Nigel Owens getting out of the lift with three of our party. “That’s a bad way to start the day, being trapped in a lift with three Englishmen, Nigel!” I quipped. “It can only get better” he replied, smiling.
We wandered into town and en route spotted Los Pumpas. They are a mixed abilities rugby team who had been featured in the local paper the day before. They were delighted that we recognised them. There were many handshakes and hugs and a team photo with the two English visitors. I should say that DrT and I were appropriately dressed in our England shirts.
We headed further into town causing much interest amongst the locals. DrT was approached by the local radio station for an interview but his Spanish wasn’t quite up to it. Instead we sat in a local coffee shop drinking the best coffee we had had in days and listening to the locals passionately debating something. We had no idea what.

En route back to the hotel, we bumped into a family from Córdoba. They were much taken by meeting two England supporters – the three young lads and Dad all sported their Jockey Club Rugby team shirts. Cue more handshakes and hugs and of course a photo.
Soon it was time to head to the ground. After the travails of getting to the match the previous week, our hosts had arranged hospitality. However, it was still a trauma getting to the ground and we ended up walking some distance to our destination. But it did give us a chance to see how the locals were getting ready for the game. I wish we had tried the local sausages but hospitality beckoned.

Where there had been nothing but the game in San Juan, in Santa Fe there were the usual merchandise shops, silly games and a band at the ground. This game was a much bigger deal.
Hospitality meant a lot of alcohol, some food and to my relief seats in the shade. The ground is the home of Colon Football Club and featured a moat to keep the supporters away from the pitch. That and yet more barbed wire as we had seen at the ground in San Juan.
The first games featured our new friends from Los Pumpas. The skill levels were actually very high – kids and adults of all ages played a good game which the enthusiastic crowd appreciated. We think Los Pumpas ran out winners but nobody really cared, it was just great to be playing on such an important occasion.

The main event was just as hairum scarerum as the first match. First up was the warm up when we spotted Harry Mallinder running around the edge of pitch. Cue much shouting to Harry from the stands which caused several of the locals to join in and a grin and wave from Harry.
Piers Francis looks the real deal and paired up well with George Ford and despite his gaffe in the second half, I thought had a really good game. Chris Robshaw had a great game, he worked exceptionally well in both the lose and set piece. Danny Care was busy and his pass from the base didn’t involve the Mothers meetings he can be guilty of. Dylan was less vocal this week – maybe his team needed less guidance? We all spotted that Mike Brown had rediscovered his ability to pass such that two of the tries came from his breaks and passes. The Argentinians played well and are clearly happy with broken, fast paced rugby but aren’t quite accurate enough which in Test rugby is fatal.

England won the game and yet more trophies were handed to Dylan. We ambled our way through the crowds with yet more handshakes and photos – the locals were just as happy to meet us as before the game.
Time for some beer and a celebration of the series win which is exactly what we did.

Day 7: Mas Turismo, Mas Tango

Claire has a rule about taxis in foreign cities – if the driver is happy with the situation, then she’s happy. Well, when I asked for Gallerias Pacifico our driver was not happy! Much tutting and shaking of heads. I have no idea what he was worried about, and he crossed himself at least three times on the way, but he seemed much happier when we arrived. Perhaps it was just because it was Thursday.
In ersatz Paris, Gallerias Pacifico plays the role of Galleries Lafayette. Several malls of small shops on three levels meet in a central plaza with a grand domed ceiling covered with murals.

Microcentro is the shopping district of the city and is largely pedestrianised, so it was a pleasant amble down Avenida Florida, towards Plaza de Mayo. Pleasant, though punctuated by regular offers of black market currency exchange (“cambiocambiocambio”) or invitations to Tango shows.
Approaching the La Catedral Metropolitana we saw that one of the diocesan seals near the door had been daubed with red paint. Clearly not everyone in this Catholic country is a fan of The Church. Inside the church was as ornate and decorated as you might expect, with a magnificent altar screen. In a side-chapel guarded by two young soldiers in ceremonial uniform, is a monument to the dead of the wars of Independence.

Leaving the cathedral we crossed into Plaza de Mayo, which is an open square with some small trees, a monument currently undergoing renovation and a bloomin’ great anti riot fence straight across the middle!
Thursday is, apparently, the favoured day for protest and Plaza de Mayo is the best place to do it. The Mothers of the Disappeared gather here regularly and other protests too. To ensure the protesters can’t get too close to La Casa Rosada, the police can close the roads and fill in the gaps with the mobile fencing that we saw earlier in the week. Well this was Thursday, there were a lot of police on the streets and an air of tension and expectation.

We crossed through one of the gaps in the fence to get a decent view of the Casa Rosada and Evita’s balcony to the left of the arch. We passed the Ministerio de Economica, which has fabulous metal used doors, and the Ministry of Defence. At this point a community patrol officer warned Claire to keep a hand on her camera. We walked a little further along Puerto Moreno but it was a lot less inviting on a windy grey morning than it had been in the sun earlier in the week.

After a more leisurely return to Cementerio de la Recoletta it was time to put on our glad rags and hit the town for a Tango show. We went to the Esquina Carlos Gardel at Chanta Cuatro. Dinner wasn’t great – we actually had poor steak – but the wine was good and kept flowing which made up for a lot.
The show was great though. The curtains opened to reveal a balcony with a small orchestra of piano, two accordions, two violins, a cello and a double bass. As they played their opening number, four couples filled the stage with artful dancing full of fast spins, lifts and intertwined legs.  We were then treated to some singing as a man, clearly made up to look like Gardel, sang “Buenos Aires mi Querido” and tried gamely to get some audience participation going but with little success. There were more dances including a particularly spectacular one involving a large glass of wine. The glass was carried throughout the dance by one or other of the dancers, and was finally dashed over the prostrate body of his partner by the male dancer having flung her across the stage in a final act of defiance and rejection!

Returning to the hotel at around midnight we saw on the news that the Avenida 9 de Julio had been shut at the Obelisco due to a protest. Well it was Thursday after all!

DrT

Don’t worry we’ll be back…

We’ll post more about our trip when we are back in Buenos Aires tomorrow – the wifi here in Santa Fe is intermittent at best 🙂

MrsJ

The England team for the second test is announced and it’s time for Tango…

Eddie Jones has picked two Saints to start this week. Skipper Dylan Hartley and Saints new signing Piers Francis are both starting. I’m not surprised to see Piers start. He had a big impact when he came on last week.

I’m sad to see both Harry Mallinder and Jamal Ford-Robinson miss out. I’m sure both will have their time.

Now it’s time for Tango – DrT and I will be watching rather than participating. Anyone that knows me, knows I have two left feet and no sense of balance.

Oh and this week I will be drinking red wine.

Toodle pip!

MrsJ

Day 6: A Day on the Pampas

Argentina’s economy is largely agrarian. Of the 45 million population, 14 million live in Buenos Aires and the remainder is spread very thinly, one person per square mile across the vast expanses of flat open country.

As a bit of as touristy treat, we were to spend the day with the gauchos at Estancia Santa Susana, a ranch about 40 miles outside BA (as we locals call it). As the bus pulled off the main road and into the ranch, we could see a number of low buildings in the rose terra-cotta color that seems to be traditional here.

We were met off the bus by a welcome of red wine (chilled, in polystyrene cups) and delicious empanadas. It was then time to sit down, relax and take in the scene. The scene is flat and enormous – grassland as far as the eye can see in all directions, punctuated with a few trees. There were lots of birds too. Some small hawks, smaller that a buzzard but bigger than a kestrel, and some bright green birds some of the party identified as parakeets.

And so I suppose it is time to confess the shocking truth. Whilst Claire and some of the other girls went on a very bumpy carriage ride, I went on a horse! We rode very gently in a group round a couple of fields. My horse clearly knew far more about what was going on than I did and treated me very gently. I can only comment that getting on and off a horse gracefully is clearly a skill, one I do not possess.

The sound of a clanging triangle called us in for lunch. We started with various lovely fresh salads of peppers and tomato, potato, shredded cabbage and lettuce. To these were added grilled meats, chorizo sausage, black pudding, chicken and steak. The consistency of the black pudding startled a few in our party as it is a lot less solid than UK varieties. This was all washed down with plenty of Norton (!) Classico vino tinto.

After lunch a short entertainment. We had some music, accordion and guitar, a (mercifully) short tango demonstration, then some gaucho dances. Particularly impressive was the bollas twirling dance where the sound of the bollas hitting the ground provides the rhythm.

All the visitors were then invited to join in with some very jolly dancing, and our group together with others from Poland, Australia and New Zealand joined with much enthusiasm and laughter.

Returning outside we were treated to a display of horsemanship as the gauchos showed us how to round up and control herds of horses and then finally a game where the riders would try to catch small rings suspended from a frame whilst riding at full gallop.

We drifted slowly back to the coach after what had been a relaxing and slow-paced break from the rest of the trip so far.

As a footnote, we passed Ford’s Pacheco Argentina assembly plant on the way back into the city. It was big and looked like every other Ford plant I have ever seen!

DrT

Day 5: Buenos Aires pt 2 – What Shall We Have For Dinner, Then?

JPs tweet came in whilst I was having my power nap (you have to work hard to maintain this level of performance).

Our Argentinian correspondent, Senor Estelles had promised to make some recommendations before we left home, so we were pleased to get a tip.

I wrote the address of La Carneceria on a piece of paper and after a fortifying drink at Buller home brew pub, I showed the paper to a taxi driver and we were off! At night the traffic is slightly less manic, though no less random and we got across the city in about 10 minutes.

The restaurant is tiny, snuggled away on a little back street. As we approached I noticed that you had to hang around the front door and wait for someone to open it for you.

A charming girl did that for me and when I told her that we had no reservation she asked if we would like to come back at 10.30! I must have looked a little crest-fallen as she went on to suggest that we came back in 20 minutes to try our luck. We retired to a cafe across the street and resolved to reserve for Monday if we couldn’t get in.

When we went back, the same waitress apologised and said that unfortunately all the reservations had arrived and that therefore there was no room. I was just about to give up and make that Monday reservation when an argument broke out amongst the waiting staff. Apparently one table was just signing the bill and they could fit us in when they left! We were handed a couple of menus to peruse, whilst still waiting outside before being ushered in to the small, brightly lit and bustly restaurant.

The grill made up one end of the room whilst the other featured a wall sized picture of carcasses hanging in a warehouse.

Our starters soon arrived together with a bottle of Malbec. Claire had black pudding and I had Chorizo sausage with fried eggs and peas.

The mains consisted of half a cow each. Claire’s parrilla cut was a huge rib of beef cooked rare. I had a smoked cut, a similarly sized slab of meat, lightly smoked with a consistency similar to (proper) corned beef. We had roast cabbage with broccoli and a stuffed baked potato as sides.

Finishing that lot we agreed that there was no need for pudding. All up the bill came to around 1900 Pesos, which we thought great value.

As we left we thanked the staff for a great evening and for managing to fit us in. Smiles, handshakes and “Buenos Noces” all round together with flagging down a taxi for us, ensured a great end to a memorable experience.

La Carniceria, 2317 Thames, Buenos Aires.

Thanks to Juan-Pablo – a top recommendation!

DrT

Day 5: Buenos Aires pt 1 – Death, Politics and an Introduction to Tango

Our guided tour of Buenos Aires started on foot as our hotel is situated next door to one of BAs top visitor sites.

This single block is home to the most expensive real estate in the city, where annual rents are the equivalent of buying a two bed apartment elsewhere. There are two qualifications you have to pass to get in here. You have to be filthy rich and you have to be dead! This is the Cementerio de la Recoletta, the most extraordinary graveyard I have ever seen.

The great and the good of Argentina have their family mausoleums here, each one fighting for space and fighting to be more ornate than the last. Even here there is a pecking order, with wealth and power bringing you closer to the central plaza.

Many of the plaques on the tombs show two dates. The first is the date the person died, the second, generally about a year later, is when the family came to the cementerio for a memorial. Remember the coffins are in the open air and the bodies are not embalmed, so a respectable pause is required.

Down one little side alley we came upon a monument covered in fresh flowers. Under her family name of Duarte, is the tomb of Eva Peron. Although she came from humble beginnings, her popularity and power grew such that she was able to command space in Recoletta cemetery. Since her death, her remains have suffered many indignities, mainly at the hands of the military juntas, but she now rests in peace in a crypt twenty feet below ground.

At this point, our guide Elizabeth, started to give us an insight into the political story that has shaped Argentina’s recent history. The advent of frozen shipping for food exports and the fact that Argentina remained neutral in both World Wars resulted in Argentina becoming the second wealthiest economy in the world. But as ever, that wealth was not evenly spread and Juan Peron and particularly Eva championed the needs of the working class and poor. The military and other elites hated them but couldn’t move against them largely due to Santa Evita’s popularity.

After her early death, the military seized power and Juan Peron went into exile in Spain. This was followed by twenty years of military rule, a disastrous and brief reflowering of democracy with the return of Peron and his new wife Isabel, another military takeover, devaluation followed by closure of the banks and government theft of all savings, the dirty war, the Falklands war and the end of military rule.

Leaving the cemetery it was onto the bus for a tour of the city.

The Spanish arrived and established a settlement on the River Plate in 1536. However Puerto Nuestra Senora Santa Maria del Buen Aire did not flourish. Hungry and hounded by the local Querandi Indians the settlers returned to Spain in 1540.

Much of the modern city’s architecture has a European flavour, as the wealthiest families looked particularly to Paris for inspiration. Travelling through Recoletta, many of these great houses have become embassies or swish hotels.

Avenue 9 de Julio is reputed to be the widest street in the world at 140m and has a similar feel to the Champs Elysee. The obelisk at one end is dominated by a huge mural of Eva Peron on the side of the Ministry of Labour.

At Plaza de Mayo we saw the Casa Rosa or Pink Palace, the President’s official residence and site of Evita’s famous dying declaration to her people. Just round the corner, a sharp reminder of the continuing turbulence. There is a permanent stockpile of moveable fences and other riot gear stored on the street for rapid deployment in case things get ugly in the square – which they do regularly apparently!

On to La Boca the site of the original port and the immigrant quarter. La Bomborenita, home of Boca Juniors forms one edge of the Barrio and sets the tone as the team’s blue and yellow colours are everywhere.

La Boca is a bit of a tourist trap, our coach was one of several queueing to drop off or pick up with street hawkers and people trying to get you into their particular cafe. However it was all very good natured and worth the visit. The brightly coloured buildings often made from materials salvaged by new immigrants from the ships they arrived in are the birthplace of tango. Originally a working class pastime, tango was made respectable by Carlos Gardel who added bittersweet lyrics to the accordion tunes. The place is practically a shrine to Gardel, “El Caminito”, and his face is everywhere.

Back on the coach, another sharp contrast as we passed a shanty town (apparently one of the safer ones although Tomas our driver didn’t stop to check) right next to Puerto Moreno, the newest and trendiest part of town.

On the way back to the hotel, Elizabeth explained that as a result of government policy to try to develop the economy there are no restrictions on immigration. With free education through university and free healthcare, Argentina is a bit of a magnet for immigrants from across Latin America. On the flip-side indigenous populations are pretty much marginalised and have no statutory protections. Laws are being considered by the new government, but its primary focus is to bring the rampant inflation under control.

Buenos Aires is a fascinating, contradictory city, with much more to see!

DrT

 

Day 4 – On to Buenos Aires and even more meat

Day 4 was another traveling day. We flew back from Mendoza to Buenos Aires. The airport in Mendoza was chaotic. My bag suddenly became 8 kilos heavier than it was in Heathrow. Or rather that’s was the check-in gauge said. When I explained this to the check-in agent, that the bag had the same items in it as we arrived, he accepted my explanation and my bag despite it being supposedly 5 kilos over-weight.

There was much confusion about which gate to go to and the plane was late. But we are remained relaxed, realizing that there was nothing to be done but watch the chaos unfold.

So we were all relieved to find ourselves back in Buenos Aires airport. A coach was waiting for us. We somewhat surprised to be strongly encouraged to put our seat belts on. This wasn’t something that had happened at all in Mendoza. But soon we understood why. The traffic in Buenos Aires is mad. All the drivers seemed to treat it as a race. Our driver was not going to be beaten by anybody and definitely not any of the local buses. It was interesting to see how small a gap a coach can fit through!

We did get to the hotel in one piece and soon headed off to find something to eat and drink. Tim was keen to find a local type of restaurant called a parrilla. A couple of blocks away from the hotel we found La Coqueta. And it didn’t let us down. We had a local style of mixed grill and lots of beer. It was all delicious and served by an enthusiastic waiter who was keen for us to try his food.

It was perfect and yes, it was yet more meat.

Hey ho!

MrsJ

Condors and Other Flying Objects

The Sun was shining in another cloudless sky as we mounted the coach bright and early, for a whistle-stop tour of Mendoza.  Emilio who has been our guide on this leg of the tour, introduced us to the history of the city at Plaza de Castillo.  The city was founded in 1561 by Pedro de Castillo next to a settlement inhabited by the indigenous Huarpes.  The Huarpes were masters of irrigation which, in the desert landscape (more of which later), the Spanish were happy to “learn” from.

On to Plaza Independencia, and a chance to get off the coach and wander about a bit, or for some of us to take photos.  This is the main square of the modern city with a central fountain, backed by bronze friezes depicting various stages of the struggle for independence.

Back on the bus and off to Parque General San Martin, a huge public space to the west of the city.  The park is generally flat, expansive with wide tree-lined boulevards and open spaces.  It is home to the National University de Cuyo as well as a zoo (in the process of closing down), a velodrome, a large amphitheatre and a modern multi-sports arena.

The park is named after Jose de San Martin, a key figure in the wars of independence from the Spanish and local hero.  After leading the Army of the North, San Martin moved to Mendoza, raising the Army of the Andes, made up of Argentinian regular soldiers, emancipated slaves and rebels from Chile and Peru.

At one end of park, the flat open spaces give way to some very steep, very tall hills (for those that are interested in such things I thought they were glacial moraines).  A road winds up the tallest of these hills (quite exciting in the coach) to the Cerro de la Gloria a monument to San Martin’s crossing of the Andes in 1814.  The Army suffered huge losses in the crossing which took more than a month, but was able to surprise and defeat the Spaniads in Chile, moving north to liberate Lima and establish an independent Peru.

The monument designed and built by the sculptor Ferrari, depicted the General on his horse, with Liberty breaking her chains amid the chaos of battle, flanked by a giant Condor, wings spread wide. The viewpoint provides some spectacular views of the Andes and gave us a chance to appreciate the size of the city itself.

Back on the bus and it was finally time to learn more of what the Mendoza region is most famed for today.  About thirty minutes drive south of the city and we were in Lujan de Cuyo, just south of the Mendoza Rivera which is the heart of wine country.

 

Bodega Norton is the home of one of the oldest wineries in Argentina.  Established by James Norton, a British railway engineer, and his long-suffering wife Juanita, the estate has uninterrupted views across to the snow-capped Andes and Aconcagua.  Wendy, our winery tour guide, explained that the area only receives 200mm of rainfall per year and thus relies on meltwater from the mountains to support growing the vines and making the wine.

We were greeted with a class of sparkling rose Casecha Especial and after that things became a bit fuzzy, but I do remember that the family sold the winery in the 60’s and it is now owned by the Swarovski family of crystals fame.

On into the winery, past the gleaming fermentation tanks, for a glass of King Malbec, a young wine marketed to millennials (who else).  It has a funky label and relatively simple taste.

Some of the original ferementation tanks from 1919 are still in use today for storage prior to barrelling and bottling and it was here that we tasted Norton Reserva Malbec.  Now we are far from connoisseurs, but we know what we like and we liked this one!

Finally winding through the caves with rows of bottles laid down for ageing, and out into the shop for our final tasting.  This time one of their premium, single terroir Malbecs, Lote.  An amazing deep colour, this was full-bodied and long in the mouth.  Initially this seemed a little bold for my taste, but Claire and I agreed that once you got over the initial slap in the face, it really started to make sense… or it could be that we were just drunk!

Lunch was a mixed empanadas, served with a nice crisp Chardonay, beautifully cooked steak and a selection of Argentinian deserts, served with a nice with lots more of that Reserva Malbec.

Having returned to the hotel for a well-earned siesta, we ventured out again at about 7.  In Mendoza, deep gullies run between the pavement and the roads to channel water away on those occasions that it does rain.  Generally these are covered over, but are occasionally open, particularly where trees are planted which would make for a nasty surprise if you’re not concentrating.

We found a little bar that was open on Avenue Sarmiento, and ordered “Dos cervezas grandes, poor favor” and were rewarded with two, one litre bottles of Stella Artois and the local brew Andes. We also had the strangest pizza ever, which was made up of a rather grey bread-base with some tomato sauce and grilled cheese, then a few cold toppings of ham, shredded boiled egg, peppers and olives. It met the need though!

Walking home we gained a friend, a really skinny black street dog with a beard. Moments later we had two as a gold-coloured dog joined us! They were definitely following us, sometimes in-front, sometimes padding along behind, stopping patiently with us at every crossing. We even crossed the street at one point to get away from them, but to no avail: the foreigners were clearly cool to hang out with.

Approaching one corner I spotted a fluffy cat being petted by a family. Goldie had spotted him too and sneakily got round the back using a tree for cover. The cat finally saw Goldie, as he made a grab for him and he was off straight towards us with the dog in full pursuit. Just as it looked as if the cat’s number was up and without breaking stride, he made a dive down into one of those gully openings I mentioned earlier. It all happened in a flash. Goldie had no idea where his supper had gone and looked very confused, but not dispirited.

Cat escape tunnel the following morning

Arriving back at the hotel it was time to say goodbye to our new friends, and mull over an excellent touristy Day over a couple of whiskies.

DrT