This will have to be my last letter from South America as I now have only a couple of hours before my final concert of the tour and we are leaving at 8am tomorrow morning.

Thinking back to the beginning of last week when we arrived on this great continent feels like an eternity away, as we have packed such a lot in to our 12 days on tour. The pace has got faster and faster so I am looking forward to a quieter few days at home when I complete my long journey tomorrow.

Last night's concert was another triumph and, although our audience were not quite as noisy as the one in Porto Alegre, we received three more standing ovations and played two encores! I must say, it will be somewhat strange to do a concert and not receive a standing ovation as I have grown to rather enjoy them!!! There was a post-concert reception and John and I were both thrilled that our wonderful hosts, the Baumgarts, had come to listen and had brought a most promising young pianist, Pablo. We met many other members of the audience and it was obvious how much everyone had enjoyed our evening.

This morning I had my first lie-in for ages and spent a relaxing morning in the hotel before being treated to another slap-up lunch courtesy of Sergio. He is terrific company and John and I have really enjoyed getting to know him, as he is not only a very warm person but has such sane ideas about music as well as some great stories! He took us to another barbecue restaurant and this time we knew to pace ourselves a little bit more - nevertheless I have no doubt that my concert dress will be feeling a little tighter than usual tonight after all this fabulous cuisine.

After lunch I went to the hall to listen to a few violin students and give them some masterclasses which was enjoyable, if a little difficult because of the language barrier. However, they were very keen to learn and came on in leaps and bounds.

So, now it's time to think about tonight's performance and to give our final concert of what has been a truly enjoyable tour. I have so many good memories to take home with me and it is with some sadness that I will head for the airport tomorrow. But John and I have made some wonderful friends here and I can't help feeling that we will be back before too long... I am looking forward to it already!

So, it's Goodbye from me until next time!

Tasmin