High Season and the End of a Neverending Story

The finally finished sauna and cafeteria

High season was intense, hard work but funny and succesful. This year I learned to raft with oars (two big paddles assembled by a metal frame to the boat - a very different kind of manoeuvring the boat)and guided a lot of canyoning so that I consider myself to be a real canyoning guide now. We had some tasty 'asados', a few good parties, fantastic summer weather all the time and lots of fun. Nevertheless at the end of the season all were happy that it had ended because it was daily hard work for almost two months. Everybody was eagerly awaiting quieter times but for Inés and me they had not yet come. We still had to repair our sauna to finally get it started. After intense, long searching we finally found a ´maestro´ who seemed to be able to do it well. We contracted him and indeed he did good work and finished all within ten days. Now we just had to organize all the final cleaning, permits, design, papers and so on which kept us three more weeks very busy. At the end we could happily celebrate inauguration on 15th of April. We did it inviting some friends to an 'asado', showing them everything and heating the sauna. Now just the grass of the lawn we planted has to grow and people have to frequent us regularly to make the business a success. We are very, very happy that we finally could finish that long and annoying chapter of the construction of the sauna. It really had reduced us to despair several times and had led more than once to discussions and arguments. So to terminate with all that was a big step forward.

Another one was that in February I finally got my permanent stay permit for Chile. The official channels had lastet half a year but it was worth waiting. With getting the permit there is another worry less. No more disillusioning administrative paperwork and barriers. No more deadlines to be missed. So now I can stay in Chile as long as I want to but nevertheless will spend the next months in Austria. Unfortunately Inés has to get the sauna started on her own now and I will just be informed about anything that happens with it. It´s a pity that I can not work in my own businnes now that it had costed me so much of nerves, time, afford and money but I already had decided to come back to Austria for work once more due to the insecurity of a future income before we had found the 'maestro' who finally repaired the roof of the sauna. Bad luck but nevertheless I am going to enjoy my time back home.

Besides the self-styled architect who had betrayed us with the construction of the sauna was sentenced to a fine and six months of social work in the penal trial. This is also a success for us because now everything is free for a most probably successful civil action which we already started.

Those were the last things that had happened in Chile. A few days ago I already arrived in Austria. I will be working on the river Salza in Upper Styria in May and June, have holidays in July and fly back to Chile at the beginning of August. I hope to see as many of you as possible in the next three month and all of you keep your faith in reading my Chilean adventures from august onwards.