Sleeping with Saturn

Last week, we were treated to a surprise visit from Ministry of Education to check we weren't teaching the kids bad words and the like. Both of us were incredibly lucky in having a class of angels during the visit and were duly awarded "Excellent". Bravo! And what better way to celebrate than a weekend away into the hills.

After a curvy bus ride, we arrived (a little queezy) at our retreat...an isolated hacienda in Rio Hurtado. Our camping spot was hidden away down by the river, and with only us, the fire and the stars, we pitched up for the night, red wine in hand and a smile on our smug little chops. It wasn't until about 3 hours later that we realised we were not the hardened campers we thought, and after squabbling over blankets and sleeping bags, the freezing high altitude temperatures got the better of us.

Despite the sleepy start to the morning, we set off confidently on a hike to the local village for supplies. Although not 100% sure of the route, we picked our way through stunning pastures, woodland, vineyards and mountains. We'd heard stories of condors, mountain foxes and even the Chilean Lynx, but the only wild guy we ran into was this little sausage....

The weekend was topped with a trip to the private observatory. Lucky enough to arrive at new moon, we were treated to a spectacular view of some of the clearest skies in the world and shown the tricks of the trade by the Hacienda's astro pro. "Everyone has a sweet side" he told us as we learned to focus our eyes on the many wonders of the Milky Way. And sure enough, the sweetest star of the sky was not a star at all, but seeing Saturn for the first time....yes it really does exist, yes it does look like they told you in science class, and if you want to see why we were so flippin amazed, imagine seeing this with your very own eyes.... http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saturn,_through_82%22_telescope,reprocessed.jpg