three tales of Ro and Lion

Alrighty, this post has been on the backburner a while, and we are currently hanging in a very quiet desert town with little to do while we acclimatise to the altitude... so it seems like a good time to finally write it.

Maybe some of you have wondered whether Lion and I still get on after 2.5 months of travelling together, or whether we would rather see one another burn in hell than suffer through another day? Well, (although Lion is of course the worst human being I have ever known... but the finest lover... JUST KIDDING GUYS) it turns out that we actually have a pretty good time!

So to prove it, here you are: three tales of Ro and Lion.

1. Valparaíso, Chile : the popcorn tale

Lion and I decided to go to the cinema. Just the old Hoyts, nothing special.

The english-film selection being a bit thin on the ground, we chose ¨Loca por las compras¨*, grabbed an enormous box of popcorn and headed on in. Surprisingly this movie was super funny? Or maybe it was just the novelty of seeing a movie that wasn´t a) in Spanish, b) dubbed in Spanish or c) dubbed AND subtitled in Spanish (the latter actually being quite good for learning Spanish, FYI).

So, after our hilarious movie-going experience, we were on a bit of a high (too much cocacola perhaps). We headed to the supermarket and we were still being pretty silly, racing around the aisles and singing to the PA-music. Then all of a sudden, Lion stops dead next to me and grabs my arm, points to the floor and orders, ¨Hey Ro, look just down there at that spot on the ground okay? Keep looking, don´t look up,¨ and then she lifts up her jumper and shakes about half a ton of popcorn from her shirt onto the supermarket floor.

...then we both collapsed into laughter like little children, and ran off to find the pasta aisle.

* literally ¨Crazy for the shopping¨ (WHAT? who translated that?!) but known as Confessions of a Shopaholic to the english-speaking world

2. Santiago, Chile : the piropo tale

Lion and I usually get a lot of whistles and comments from men on the street. This is fairly normal in South America when you are a) young b) female and c) clearly not local (this last is not strictly necessary but it helps). Generally it´s just along the lines of, ¨Muy bonitas chicas¨ (beautiful girls) or ¨Linda!¨ (pretty girl) Sometimes it´s annoying, occasionally it´s gross and/or offensive, but every now and then... it´s hilarious. Observe.

We were walking back from the Lavandería (laundry) in Santiago carrying our deliciously freshly laundered clothing (I cannot explain this feeling unless you, too, have ever worn the same pair of jeans for ... let´s not get into how long exactly). I saw a guy notice us from the next block, so I knew it was time for yet another comment, but I wasn´t really caring about it much.

But imagine our surprise! ...when this man suddenly leapt artistically and dramatically in front of us, spreading his arms wide and waving his hands and fingers as though he was performing in a jazz dance, and with an expression of utter amazement cried (quite musically) at the top of his lungs, ¨OYE, BEEEAAAUUTIFUL WOMAN!!¨

We sauntered on past and ignored him as we normally do... but half a block later, we suddenly stopped. ¨Hang on... WHAT the HELL was that? That was really funny!!¨

Lion attempted to recreate the moment later in Vicuña by leaping out when I didn´t know she was there and shouting the same line. I got such a fright that I cried out, thinking she was a mugger, and she nearly got a punch in the snout for her trouble.

But the old man walking on the other side of the street sure had a good, long chuckle.

3. Santiago, Chile: the funicular tale

Lion and I made two visits to Santiago, and on the second we finally got around to going up the funicular to get the classic ¨view of Santi¨ (one of those touristy things). We got a bit bored on the way down and decided to take a bunch of photos trying to get the perfect shot. ¨One for Mum!¨

After a while I was getting a little tired of the whole thing: ¨Geez Caro, what is this... finicky funicular fotography?!¨ There was a pause, and then we looked one another and in unison added, ¨DOT COM!¨ ...and then collapsed laughing.

Soon after this, I decided to stay in Santiago an extra day while Lion headed to Mendoza to meet our English pals Rosie and Anna. So for one day only, the Ro and Lion team were not together... and that morning, I awoke from a vivid dream and straight away burst out laughing. I looked around to tell Lion all about it, because I knew she would love it... only to realise she wasn´t there! What a heartbreaking moment!!

The dream went thus. I was in a grand house, owned by Bruce Springsteen (currently Lion´s favourite singer), who was showing me around. We were walking down a dangerous-looking winding stairwell, each stair more rotten through as we descended, and Bruce was talking, telling me, ¨Yeah, I really love this house.¨

¨It´s just so incredible. It´s like the first time someone tells you that the world is round, you know, and you just have so much trouble believing them? It´s the same thing, the same feeling for me in this house. I´m actually writing a thesis about it at the moment. I call it ´Rickety Railings... DOT COM!´¨

(Don´t worry folks, the story has a happy ending. Lion and I were reunited soon afterward, and she did think my dream was truly hilarious.)