On his first trip to Chile, Derek Paterson fell instantly in love with the people and the country. On was ready to leave when the b;oozy coup of 11 September 1973 slammed the borders closed. Three days later he was thrown into a police cell and then taken to the infamous, notorious National Stadium in Santiago. He was one of thousands of Americans, Canadians, Europeans and Latin Americans, many of whom did not survive.

He came back to live 36 years later to find a vastly different land economically and politically. In the three years he lived there, Chile celebrated 200 years of freedom from the Spanish yoke and the country voted in its first democratic, right wing president in decades. The country was also shaken by one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded with huge loss of life. He travelled the country from north to south, reaffirming his love of the people and the country.