Star tortoises and the roti man

As a child in Sri Lanka, I spent a lot of time playing outdoors - as it should be. The only indoor options were re-reading a book or watching a very poor copy of a movie. Outside was much more fun: scaling the drainpipes or the mango tree, peering over our neighbours' walls or sitting on their roofs, or playing with a ball up and down the long, dusty driveway. 

At one point, I had a beautiful, adorable, baby star tortoise, Aquila (a present from my astronomy-mad friend, Catherine who had managed to breed them - no easy task), who was no bigger than a golf ball. After school, I'd take him out in the front garden to wander around while I read a book nearby. I couldn't leave him alone or he might be snatched by a crow or stolen by someone wandering by - a baby star tortoise would fetch at least 50 rupees at the market (a sizeable amount in those days) and spend the rest of its days in a glass aquarium. Catherine had five or six big ones that roamed her garden freely but Aquila was too small for that yet. 

As soon as I put him down, he'd march off with enthusiasm but if I took my eyes off him for a moment, he'd disappear into the grass, perfectly camouflaged. Dusk would invariably find me on my hands and knees gently patting every inch of grass, trying to find him again, usually fast asleep in a crevice of rock.

Some evenings, playing outside, we'd hear the roti man making his rounds through the neighbourhood, banging a metal stick against the side of his stovetop. It clanked loudly like a goat's bell. He rode a bicycle with an aluminum gas stove in front. If Mum gave us a few rupees, we could wave him down and he'd cook us a fresh, hot roti, plain or with an onion sambol, or, best of all and for a couple more rupees, a cracked egg. 

 It's hard to find a photo of the roti man these days but this is a larger version of what it looked like

He'd ladle a spoon of oil onto the flat, shiny surface and then flip the dough round expertly until it was as thin and stretchy as a balloon skin. It cooked quickly as he flicked the edges over like an omelette, spooning the filling in last. Delicious.

A plain and an egg roti with chicken curry. Makes me hungry just looking at it

I don't know if the roti man exists in Sri Lanka these days. Probably not. The last time I visited my old neighbourhood in Colombo, so many of the big old houses were gone, replaced with boring, crowded apartment buildings. But Colombo still exists in my mind as it was 20 years ago. 

And with that thought, I'm making curry tonight! 

Travels with toddler: Uruguay

And so, we're back in Santiago and I'm classifying our Uruguay trip a success. When I said that to az he asked if we had been on the same holiday. 

Well, sure, we didn't get a whole lot of sleep, Maya was on one of her stressful fad diets and we returned to Chile weary and smelling of the strawberry yoghurt Maya had poured all over herself and our rented car. But we also saw a lot of things, went to two beaches, a shopping mall, a winery and several restaurants and I think that's a good effort when holidaying with a toddler. 

We rented a car for the last three days which was a great idea, not least because we could just fill it up with wet, sandy clothes and many bags of essential crap. Our hired black Chevy resembled one of Santiago's beaten up taxi cabs, even down to the wonky alarm system that went off at inopportune moments. 

So here's what we did. 

First stop, an afternoon walk round Montevideo. We had Maya in the stroller (which she hates after five minutes now) but the pavements were super-bumpy and cracked. On the other hand, there wasn't much traffic, perhaps everyone was having an afternoon siesta. Montevideo resembles its neighbour, Argentina, with similar style of architecture, interspersed with statues and plazas. It's all very pretty in a somewhat rustic way, quiet and easy to navigate. 

The following day, we drove down to the beaches around Montevideo. Summer is pretty much over so there are hardly any people but the water is considerably warmer than Chile's icy Pacific currents. The main thing is that Maya gets to spend some time with the sand and water, which doesn't happen as often as it should for a water-loving imp like her.

Maya chased three or four dogs down the beach and finally caught one for a quick cuddle. 

Persistence pays off!

On Thursday, we went further afield. Driving distances of more than an hour means the backseat passenger can have a nice long nap and recover lost sleep from the night before. The front seat passengers get a little well-earned peace and quiet. Uruguayan countryside is green and lush, the clouds are heavy and humid and a lot of the land seems uncultivated which is nice.

And as one of our aims in moving to Latin America was to drink wine, naturally, we went to a winery. Bouza Bodega has one of Uruguay's top-rated restaurants and beautiful grounds. 

The food was really excellent (though expensive) with interesting wines, particularly the Albariño, which tasted like a zesty Chardonnay. We bought a couple of bottles to bring back and drink at a more leisurely time (ie, minus child). 

Maya wasn't really eating much, again, and so we had to take turns eating and playing with her. We are finally succumbing to the ipad craze in the hope that we might enjoy a more leisurely meal out one of these days while Maya can sit still for 20 minutes and watch her beloved Playschool.  

Until then, at least we can eat at places where there are fun things to do outside. 

 Maya chasing a chicken and a peacock. She caught neither. 

Then we fed some lovely, friendly donkeys with beautifully soft noses

Post lunch, we headed back into Montevideo to a shopping mall, determined to buy some food that Maya would actually eat. I'm not sure why she wasn't eating much but it was certainly stressful, especially being away from home. 

After an extra long trip of closed roads, detours, navigating the back streets of Montevideo and another nap for Maya, we made it to the Montevideo shopping mall. It's fairly small - compared to Santiago's giant complexes but they actually had a lot of good shops in there, and better ones, to my mind (not including this clothing shop of which az made me take a photo).

The best thing about this mall, I found, were all the book shops and that they had English books. This is a rarity in Santiago (I say 'rare' because I'm sure there are some somewhere though I've never seen any myself). One place had the entire Usbourne kids range with board books, bath books, cloth books, sticker books, it was amazing. They also had great quality board books in Spanish and young adult fiction. And they weren't very expensive. Good to know.

Friday was our last day and we were flying out in the evening, so there was time for one last road trip to Punta Este, Uruguay's famous beach district. 

A long, long beach with highrises and hotels at one end, it reminded me of Vina del Mar or the Gold coast in Australia. Not really my scene but again, the beach was empty and the water clean and warm. Maya had a ball splashing about and making sandcastles. Then we had a simple but very tasty lunch at one of the local restaurants on the beach. 

And headed back for home. 

Holiday troopers

I've been thinking of late of holidays without children and reminscing about some great holidays we've had in the past when we just carefree, untroubled souls and holidays were about, oh, I don't know, relaxing and seeing somewhere new.

And I've had these daydreams before we came on our present holiday, to Montevideo in Uruguay. 

I wonder how many years it will be till we can leave the kiddywinks with Granma and take off on a week's well-earned rest. When my mum visits us in Chile in May, we'll go on our first overnight without Maya... though I haven't let my mum in on that plan yet. Apart from the fear of impending earthquakes, I'm looking forward to it. 

I read a blog a few weeks ago by this woman about my age who is a travel writer and flits from city to city unhindered by children or boyfriend or dog or anything it seems. It's not the life I would want personally but for a moment just imagining that kind of freedom took my breath away.

Anyway, back to holidays. The only thing harder than a holiday with a toddler, I reckon, is a holiday with a sick toddler. Or a holiday with a sick toddler when you too are sick. And then your partner, the lifeline that you've been depending on to get you through the illness, catches the bug as well, and soon everyone's coughing and sneezing and wheezing and snoring and you're wishing you had more tissues and maybe a tranquiliser gun.

Maya and I have had colds for about ten days now, which to my mind, is a mighty long time to be sick. And that's proper sick - sleepless, headaches, runny noses, sneezing, aches - the works. Maya picked it up at daycare; her first day there she came home with a runny nose. And then she gave it to me. I thought we could battle it out for the standard 5-7 days with the usual medicaments, and as she never really went off her food or had a fever, I didn't think was too serious. But now, it's been 11 days. Which is just crazy.

She's not eating much now and it's of course harder because we're not home and the food is different, etc. And since we've been here, three nights now, her sleep is really off. She's started waking around 12-1am every night and wanting to stay up and play for three hours. Three fricking hours in the middle of the night. In a hotel. Az and I are like drowsy bees, half asleep but trying to be calm and collected, offering her milk, water, food, panadol... anything to settle down and get her back to sleep. Nothing works until the three very long hours pass and she finally knocks out from exhaustion.

And then she likes to catch up on lost sleep with a four-hour nap in the middle of the day. Or, to keep you on your toes, no naps at all. I am reminded of az's wise words from about a year ago - Don't go on holiday. Do stay home. 

It seems today is a non-nap day so we are getting into the rental car and going for a drive. Either to a winery or a beach or just a shopping mall. We're holiday troopers, after all, if nothing else.

  

On hotels, greenery and holiday rain

Sorry to have neglected you peeps while we've been in Uruguay - and we're still here. It's nice. The hotel is outside of Montevideo and much like a country club with a big expanse of greenery, a pond, lots of birds, a couple of nearby restaurants and a big swimming pool. Perfect for a toddler really, or small kids.

All the greenery reminds me of a hotel I once stayed at in Hue, in Vietnam. For a reference point, Hue is about mid-way down Vietnam's long coastline and not so far from the famous (infamous?) Da Nang and China Beach, a big US military base in the Vietnam war. Anyhow, I was there for a work conference, in the spirit of so many organisations that like to attend work junkets in exotic locations. Hue isn't particularly exotic (to my mind) but a horde of my Vietnamese colleagues were happy to attend and then complain that the Hue food/weather/accommodation was sadly inferior to that of Hanoi. Hue, by the way, is known for its traditional, delicate cuisine, food of kings etc. But they don't make pho (noodle soup) just right so get the thumbs down from fussy Hanoian pho-eaters.

Our hotel had been enthusiastically designed in one singular theme - a hot, humid, green rainforest. Which perfectly suited hot, humid Hue. In the centre of the lobby a mini rainforest was artfully arranged with ferns, a water feature and (in lieu of actual living creatures) piped bird song and croaking frogs. The outside of the hotel was painted green and inside, the carpet and elevator were green. You were tucked in at night under a green bedspread. Oh, and the name of this memorable establishment? The Green Hotel. 

A couple of oceans lie between me and the Green Hotel now but I think the Vietnamese would appreciate all the greenery here at the Regency though quite possibly not the food.

But I don't mind it at all. Today we rented a car - as taxi prices here are quite ludicrous - and drove down to one of the local beaches. Tomorrow, we're heading across country to a winery. Maya is napping well though not sleeping so great at night. Oh but did I mention it rains here? 

Which is all I need on a holiday anyway. 

Blame it on the weather

Is it just me, or has this week been especially long? I can't believe its still only Thursday. It's not as though I'm not busy either; I realised on Tuesday that I have an assignment due this weekend - 3,500 words and worth 50%. Whoops. So, I've been working furiously on that since then. 

But I'm still feeling out of sorts.

In Vietnam, it's customary to blame the weather for any grievance related to your personal wellbeing. Feeling tired, stressed or unusually hungry? It's the weather.

And I think that applies perfectly to Santiago. 

I'm so tired of these endlessly sunny, hot, dry days. The light is so bright it hurts my eyes. My skin is parched and I'm always thirsty. There's no cool wind to provide relief at night. It's unnatural and I'm over it. 

If I were in Vietnam, any person on the street could tell me with complete confidence when this wretched weather will change. It is supposed to be autumn, after all.

Which is why I'm very glad to be going to Uruguay next week. A semi-holiday in a small, humid, coastal country with normal weather patterns and even - dare I say it - the chance of rain. Maya and I can swim in the hotel pool, wander round Montevideo and maybe even get to the beach. I have no ambitions beyond that. If we can all get some good sleep at night, it will be a bonus. 

What I'm not looking forward to is the actual journey there. Travelling with a small child is never a fun experience. Add to that the logistics of travelling from one foreign land to the next with limited language skills. Az has gone ahead with most of Maya's luggage. All I have to bring is my clothes, the pram, the stuff I forgot to send with az, Maya's bucket and spade, food, water, several dummies, Puppy, three or four Hairy MacClary books, all the paperwork for getting out of the country, some currency, entertainment for the plane and ourselves, properly clothed, shoed and in reasonably good spirits. 

I look forward to that happy time one day when I travel without a child. What bliss to sit down on an airport lounge with a book instead of a sippy cup, half-eaten sandwich, bib, stuffed toy, crayons, board books, dropped dummy, tissues, pram, luggage and a cranky child who has to be restrained from sprinting off to the other end of the terminal when we're waiting to board. 

But it will all be worth it in Uruguay for a little rain. That's all I ask.

Chilean winery: Vina Indomita

On Sunday, we had lunch with friends at Indomita.

A big white castle sitting atop a hill with views out over the valley. Very pretty. When we arrived, it was overcast and foggy. I love how different the weather is on the other side of the coastal range. But by the time the food arrived, the skies had cleared and we could really see the view. 

Indomita is known for its restaurant, its views, and less so, its wines. I thought the wines were alright actually but didn't rate the food so much. The service wasn't bad either, in a country where good service is rare and therefore memorable. Overall, we thought Morandé was much better value. 

The highlight of the meal was the arrival of the saxophonist. Not because we enjoyed the performance so much, in fact, the acoustics were all wrong and we were forced to shout our conversation across the table - but because Maya started dancing. 

Oh, she's a card. I haven't laughed that hard in ages. I love her lack of inhibition and enthusiasm for all things musical. She took to the centre of the floor and boogied away. She waved to everyone. Tourists came and took photos.

She entertained us all, and herself in particular, then it was time for home and a snooze in the car.

Thanks for the tips!

Amigos,

Thank you for the great tips and inspiration for my cake making efforts. I'll certainly put them to good use for this week's cake. Cream cheese icing - there's certainly no shortage of that fine product in this country. I'm not entirely sure what a ganache is but it sounds tasty...

Meanwhile, our super-efficient Internet provider, VTR, has once again pulled the plug due our tardiness paying the bill. In fairness, I think they extended the leeway period to a whole day, nicely timed to coincide with a weekend. Thanks dudes. Don't they realize people have serious online commitments? I had to get my sister to play my online scrabble turns.

On the bright side this weekend, we're off today to Vina Indomita in Casablanca for lunch with friends. It's supposed to be beautiful with great food. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow.

Hasta luego.

Birthday cake attempt #1

Hard on the heels of my last post, I went into the kitchen and promptly made a cake. I found a chocolate packet mix in the cupboard which I'd bought on an indulgent impulse months ago. It turned out well, though it doubled in size in the oven and I had to level the top. Then, yesterday, I iced it.

I've been on a cooking frenzy this week. Partly because I like cooking - and eating - and partly to get Maya to consume something other than peanut-butter toast with any degree of enthusiasm. She is fairly small for her age and a bit rundown from this year's travel, jetlag and illnesses. Daycare is already providing its share of colds but I don't want her to pick up anything worse. So I have to get her eating better and eating lots. Luckily, she still consumes her veges every day - the saving grace of her diet. 

 Yummy zanahoria (carrot) and broccoli

So, this week, besides all the usual Maya meals of porridge, scrambled eggs, steamed veges and peanut-butter toast, I've made a beef curry, eggplant curry, banana, strawberry and blackberry bread, vegetable lasagne, carrot cake, and the piece de resistance, my practice birthday cake #1.

It's a butterfly - on the off chance you're wondering what it is

When I triumphantly showed az my masterpiece, after my labourious efforts, there was a long silence. 

"What is it?" he eventually asked. 

 What it's supposed to resemble, from the great Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake book

"To be fair" he added, "the original doesn't look much like a butterfly either".

Hmmm. Encouraging words. 

It's difficult to resemble an insect without the antennae but I've not seen licorice here. That's beside the point anyway. The cake tasted great and I'm pleased with my first effort. It was a good experiment and for next time I'll remember a few things:

- The icing was very sweet. I wonder if there's a substitute for icing sugar? 

- It was also a little too runny, perhaps I mixed it for too long?

- I'll need a decorating alternative to smarties or small sweets for a toddler's cake

- Because I levelled the cake, the surface wasn't smooth and a lot of crumbs got into the icing

- Getting a smooth finish on the icing was the hardest part

I wonder what I'll make next week...

Oh, and if you're wondering, we didn't eat that whole thing ourselves. Neither did Maya, in fact she didn't even realise it was edible. Jenny got the monster share to take home. 

jardins and birthday cakes

I may have to retract my previous disparaging words on Maya's jardin. I can see now the logic of a quick and simple farewell and not prolonging the inevitable goodbye tears. I just wish the jardin had told us about this policy beforehand instead of springing it upon us on her first day.

I took Maya in this morning and she howled when I left but was fine an hour later when I picked her up, smiling and blowing kisses to everyone. Thank goodness, it's a big relief. Tomorrow, I'll leave her an hour and a half and see how that goes. I think the novelty of being around so many other small people is quite mesmerising for her. And the carers are very generous with the cuddles and attention. 

Maya's happy enough when I'm not around, and is fine if I leave the house but is very clingy when we are together. If we are both home, she'll check on me every five minutes. Apparently this separation anxiety is fairly normal and should dissipate of its own accord. I find the attention both endearing and a little frustrating. It's near impossible for me to get anything done at home if we're alone together. Except for cooking. I give her a bowl, a spoon and some water and she's content "helping mama cook". By age 3, she should be cooking dinner for us.

Let's hope the clinginess wears off a bit by her second birthday - only two months away. I should say "time flies" but I really don't think it does. It seems years and years ago that we left Hanoi, instead of 18 months. If you add on all the hours I should have been sleeping, it amounts to at least another year. I'm not sure that extra year was particularly fruitful.

Anyhow, speaking of birthdays, it dawns on me that I only have two months left to prepare for Maya's birthday cake, last year's being fairly pathetic, despite my best efforts. In my defence, I was trying to make a vegan chocolate cake in a country with few if any vegan baking products. This year, there aren't any guests with weird dietary needs (I hope). And I'm going to start practicing soon! 

Too bad, Maya, if you thought you were getting a fancy number from some fancy cake shop. It's Mama's funny creations till you're old enough to bake your own.

Social life in Santiago or Hanoi?

Az and I went out last night for a drinks thing. It was at a friend of a friend's house and the main reason was to get more social events happening in the expat community. Hell yeah, we said. Most definitely. 

Though I've learnt to keep my expectations fairly low in Chile, I admit that I was kind of excited to get out and meet people at this spirited community shindig (see how well I've assimilated into Chilean society, eh?).

So, it was a little bit weird to arrive and be greeted by... no one.

We paused a moment at the threshold and surveyed the scene. A few groups of people standing about and a drinks table. Nobody came over to us or even glanced in our direction. So, we wandered in, said hi to a few people and they nodded at us and returned to their own conversations.

It's not the first and won't be the last party that az and I spend mostly talking to each other. Makes us sound like big dorks, doesn't it? Well, we're actually really cool people. But that's beside the point. 

Eventually, at this soiree, we nudged our way into a few polite chitchats. We smiled and nodded and listened to life stories. And I was reminded afresh how much harder it is 'being sociable' in Santiago. Compared, for example, to our experience in Hanoi. 

We had a great social life in Hanoi. In between making rounds at endless house parties and dinners, there were brunches and lunches and drinks and functions for az's work. I had to get several suitable outfits made from Hanoi's 10,000 tailors to keep up with the demand. Tough life.

While we didn't have Maya then, I did spend most of our last year there pregnant with her. Hanoi, with it's heat and humidity and bumpy roads, is not the funnest place to be pregnant but I could still make good use of lunches and dinners out. And mocktails. Then once baby came along, we had so many babysitters I had to invent outings to give everyone a turn. 

One of the reasons Hanoi has such a bustling, social community is that there are a hell of a lot of Australians there, bless their fun-loving hearts. As well as Americans and Brits and Euros. And the Vietnamese are no strangers to raucous nights out with bia, ruoi (rice wine) and karaoke, of course. A lot can also be attributed to a great community forum called the New Hanoian, which organises events and meet ups, as well as listing just about every restaurant, bar, spa, hotel, shop and other essential locale in town. Sorry Santiago but it's about a hundred times better than anything going on here. And the NH was just started by a couple of guys who arrived on short stints and ended up marrying Vietnamese and settling down in Hanoi permanently.

Were I staying here longer and spoke much better Spanish than I do, I'd try my hand at something similar. It's a simple yet brilliant site. 

And helpful. If nobody talks to you at one party, fear not fellow dork, there's always next month.

First day at jardin!

So, yesterday was Maya's first day at jardin. A little place in which she can grow and learn and all those good things. And love, very soon I'm sure. 

True to form, we were running late in the morning with az dressing Maya and me hastily marking her name on a plethora of stuff we only just realised we needed. There's still a list of more crap to collect for next week, including photographs, hair bands, some sort of dermalogical cream... Oh, and not five, not ten, but one hundred plastic A4-sized zip-lock bags to put her dirty clothes in. You can't use the same one? I couldn't find them, anyway, in the supermarket but then if this stuff was easy, it wouldn't be Chile. 

Then, finally, she was dressed, hair done, shoes on and ready to go. First day of school! 

By the time I got the camera, the clip was gone and her hair stuck out like duck feathers

We arrived at jardin in the midst of singing time. Maya perched on a little wooden chair and watched everyone with great interest and I sat on a chair in the corner. I was feeling all positive and buoyed by the moment. This will be great!, I thought.

Five minutes later, they called me out of the room, said I had to leave and could pick Maya up in an hour. What? I didn't want to leave her there alone but apparently (as translated by az) that's their policy. Tough love. 

Maya waved cheerily to az as he kissed her goodbye, then reached out her hand for me. "Mama, aqua", she said, patting the seat next to her. Then her little face fell and she started to cry, realising that I wasn't staying either.

I walked home feeling wretched. I hadn't even brought a book to sit in the park nearby and mull over this injustice. I had plan to stay with Maya for an hour or so, and gradually build up her time there over the next couple of weeks. Which is what daycares at home do. In fact, they say it's very important that a parent not leave their child too abruptly. I felt quite cranky that I hadn't insisted on staying but it was all so confusing with the Spanish and the translating and the rules. Chileans do love their rules.

What to bring, to wear (a little apron thing over their clothes) and to do. Attendance every day is expected (though I've insisted on only four mornings a week). When to arrive and when to leave.

"The day finishes at 12.30", the director said.

"Oh, well, that might be difficult as Maya is used to a nap around 11.30", I replied.

"She'll get used to the new routine", was the response. 

And I'll get used to an over-tired and cranky child, I guess. 

I have no doubt that they are a nice and loving bunch of people. When we arrived, the kids were singing songs and then they had a snack. I'm sure Maya will slot in and love it eventually. She's a pretty easy-going and sociable child. The routines are normal and will be good for her. There are ten kids in her room and lots of toys and a nice outdoor area.

But I don't agree that leaving a toddler with a group of strangers on her first day will settle her faster than a slow transition. I want the whole experience to be a positive one from the start. 

When I picked her up, she was crying. I could hear her howls as I stepped through the front door. Apparently she'd been fine for a while and then had started crying for Mama. They had changed her nappy and done her hair and someone was holding her but she's a stubborn little monkey and once the tears start, she works herself up easily. As soon as I held her, she rested her head on my shoulder, her body relaxed and the tears dried up. She was quite cheerful again. She chatted happily on the way home and we've since been talking about los otros ninos a la jardin (the other children at the jardin) and how we'll see them next week. 

A work in progress, eh? 

At last: toddler zapatos!

I confess that the title is somewhat misleading - one might think that I found said toddler zapatos (shoes) in Santiago, which, sadly, I did not. Not from a lack of trying however. I searched high and low for summer sandals for Maya and have failed dismally. 

It's more than a fashion statement - Maya's feet grew over the summer and her toes are currently right up against her one remaining pair of shoes (not sandals). Luckily they're made of soft leather and are stretchy but I feel quite the neglectful mother. 

The problem of finding toddler shoes in Santiago seems to be two-fold. 

Firstly, I don't think really like any of the toddler shoes here. The girly ones are either glittery pink sandals [the boy's are brown hiking-type sandals], pink flip flops or rubber crocs in an assortment of cheery summer colours. 

 The kids' zapatos aisle at Jumbo

But I could get past the ugly factor, as long as they fit her properly and don't have a sole an inch thick. Little feet are supposed to wear little shoes with supportive heels and flexible soles. This I know from too much research. 

 Two pairs I bought in desperation - a pair of boys' sandals and pink 80s-style sneakers - very much in vogue (for kids and adults) in Chile

  

The second, and main reason for my despair, is that nothing fits. Maya's feet seem to have walked into a black hole of shoe sizes. She's no longer fitting into the Chilean baby sizes that go up to size 23. One aisle over and the shoe sizes change completely - what should logically be 24 is now a 21 (or so I've deduced) and there are no 21s on the shelves. Nor could I find 21 or 22 in a few other kids' shoe shops when I came across something that met my exacting standards of support and non-ugliness. 

And she can't very well go barefooted. 

So... finally I bought shoes online at home and had my sister send them over - a convoluted and not inexpensive process but they have arrived now and I love them. 

Have you ever seen anything so sweet? Yet practical and stylish. I only wish that I'd found this brand, See Kai Run, last year before summer and made the most of these shoes. They are beautifully made with soft leather and a thin but supportive rubber sole. I also have another pair one size up for winter. Not cheap, granted, but I figure I've saved some money in the past by buying her baby shoes from Jumbo and online at ebay. 

 She'd rather wear my shoes anyway

Speaking of endlessly cute things for kids, I finally tracked down a Maya-sized table and chairs for her room, from my favourite Santiago shop, Casa y Ideas. 

And I bought this online too from Skip Hop - Maya's first school bag, for jardin - which starts tomorrow. She loves owls and her little face just lit up when she saw it. 

And jardin is the manana de aventura (tomorrow's adventure). I'll report back.