Last Day in Lake Country

This is the view from the patio of the little hosteleria where we are staying. The sun is still out and that's the lake in the distance.



More adventures today in the direction of Pucon. We started out by visiting a small private museum of Mapuche artifacts. There was virtually no signage so it was really up to us to guess the story of the pieces we were looking at.



From there we went in search of Laguna Azul y Los Ojos de Caburgua, a beautiful waterfall dropping into a small dark blue lake.



Once again our find of the day was totally unexpected. We were looking for a place to have a quick lunch when we came upon the above sign. The promise of boeuf bourguignonin the middle of the Chilean countryside was just too tempting to pass up. So we followed the gravel road and ended up in front of this lovely restaurant with a padlock on the front door.



I heard music inside and roused someone from the kitchen in the back. He unlocked the door and welcomed us in for lunch. We had time to look around while they prepared our food. The walls were tastefully decorated with colorful artwork.



We had raspberry juice along with a sauté of their organic garden vegetables and mushrooms as an appetizer. This was served with mini-biscuits.



The boeuf bourguinon exceeded our expectations. I am sure they used local beef, which is all grass-fed.



I neglected to take a picture of dessert, a small papaya stuffed with lemon mousse and served with lemon sorbet. However, as we drove away I managed to harvest a second dessert of wild black raspberries growing by the side of the road.



Our final destination was the thermal baths of Huife, naturally fed by volcanic waters which are approximately 110 degrees F.



The rains are supposed to come in earnest tomorrow, but we have made a lot of hay while the sun was shining!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Avenida Juan Antonio Ríos,Villarrica,Chile

Sweet

The sun has been out from time to time today. We had a chance to have several adventures between showers.

 

We first set off toward Lican Ray with the intention of taking a lovely walk around a peninsula out into the lake there. One thing we have found is a scarcity of signs, so it was no surprise that we had trouble finding the peninsula. From this beach we started walking down the beach, fairly sure we were in the wrong place but following the sounds of music and laughter somewhere up ahead.

We ended up crawling through the hole in a fence to find ourselves on the grounds of a Baptist camp. We had been hearing the sounds of teenagers doing some sort of musical activity. No one asked for our credentials as we made our way through the camp in search of our car.

But the real adventure of the day was inspired by a sign for "Miel" or honey , which we had seen on the way down. We ended up having a long conversation with Alejandro, the proprietor who was Chilean-born, had been kicked out of Chile in 1972, and then spent 18 years in New York.

We ended up buying honey and bee pollen which is supposed to have wonderful health benefits.

Tomorrow we are hoping to go to a thermal hot spring, of which there are many thanks to the volcanoes in the area.

 

But for now I am enjoying my daily pisco sour!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

 

blog feed

 

Gone Fishing

My last attempt at recreating the past was to go fishing on the river that runs out of Lake Villarica. I had done this with my own "botero" 35 years ago and had always wanted to share it with someone else.




So today before the rains started in earnest this afternoon, we went fishing. The morning was sunny with blue skies and a slight breeze. This time we were both in the same boat with our botero Juan, who was hard at work harvesting tiny crabs to use as bait when we arrived.




The lazy trip down the river was beautiful, with birds like the Martin Pescador soaring overhead and an occasional bit of white water adding some variety.




I am sure it was immediately clear to Juan that we know nothing about fishing. However, with his expert help we managed to catch 3 fish and let 2 other big ones get away. Here he is cleaning our fish at the end of our 10 km. river trip before we and the boat got picked up in a truck for the ride back to town.




The best part was actually eating our fish for lunch. We think they were red-meat trout or something similar. There is nothing like fish only hours out of the water.




This afternoon we hiked to a couple of impressive waterfalls.



On the way back home we came upon this Chilean version of Zorro, who looks an awful lot like someone I once knew.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

blog feed

Location:Avenida Juan Antonio Ríos,Villarrica,Chile

La Lluvia

We actually had quite an adventure on our last night in Santiago. We took the funicular up to the top of Cerro San Cristobal to see the sun set. Upon learning that the last trip down a very big hill was a half hour before sunset, we decided to take our chances on getting down some other way.



After a spectacular sunset, it became apparent there were no taxis up there. I asked the only person driving down if he had room for us, but unfortunately his SUV was quite full. So we started off walking. A few minutes later they passed us and rearranged everyone so we could ride down. Not only that, this kind Argentine family took us to our hotel. I refer to them as our "Good Samaritans."

After a wonderful dinner in a Peruvian restaurant, we got to bed early since our taxi to the airport was coming at 6:30 am. It was such a pleasure to go through Chilean security, where we could leave our shoes on and our water bottles filled and they actually believed me when I said it was my metal hip setting off the alarm.

It turned out the band who play with Marc Anthony were all on our flight going to Conception for a gig tonight. Seated next to me was Alexandra Taveras, the lead female singer, who was simply delightful. In addition to hearing about her glamorous career in the music world, we exchanged pictures of children and dogs. She comes from a long line of strong Dominican women. Even though I know little of salsa music, I am determined to go see them perform the next time they are at the Nissan Pavilion.



We rented a car under sunny skies, but soon after we arrived in Villarica the clouds moved in and it started to rain, leaving the volcano totally obscured. We can hardly complain after the last few days of warm sunshine, but we are both wondering if we are in for 40 days and 40 nights. It's that slow sort of rain that seems like it might never end.



So this afternoon after a long nap, we are siting next to a warm fire, drinking tea and eating homemade banana bread, reading on our iPads, watching the rain fall into the garden, and listening to music by Barroco Andino, a Chilean group started in1974 and now defunct, like several other things I remembered from that era.



With any luck we may get a brief respite from the rain in the morning. If so, we will be heading down the Torten River, each in a small boat with a fisherman (botero) who will guarantee us a good catch, which our hostel will then cook up for us.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Avenida Juan Antonio Ríos,Villarrica,Chile

La Paloma Escondida

Inevitably I seem to always be searching for something. Today's quest was for a replacement of the small ceramic bird from Chile broken by our cleaning woman years ago. When I was here before I had my choice of so many artesenias in ceramic or copper. But that turned out not to be the case today.

My little bird started lots of conversations today but was not to be found anywhere. Instead we enjoyed another day of walking and eating.

There are beautiful old churches like this one on Merced all over the city.



Close by was the remains of a public telephone, with the phone replaced by graffiti. As in most of the rest of the world, mobile phones are the main source of communication.



After lunch in the neighborhood of Barrio Lastarria, we spotted this excellent graffiti and I immediately thought of my friend Steve.



By late afternoon we are now accustomed to a tea break called "onze". I bring my own tea and order a cup of agua caliente and we split dessert, which today happened to be a delicious crepe with what appeared to be Nutella (manjar) inside.






We are resting up before venturing back out to see the sun set from a hill overlooking Santiago.

Tomorrow we leave at the crack of dawn to fly south.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Pedro de Valdivia,Providencia,Chile

Inevitably I seem to always be searching for something. Today's quest was for a replacement of the small ceramic bird from Chile broken by our cleaning woman years ago. When I was here before I had my choice of so many artesenias in ceramic or copper. But that turned out not to be the case today.

My little bird started lots of conversations today but was not to be found anywhere. Instead we enjoyed another day of walking and eating.

There are beautiful old churches like this one on Merced all over the city.



Close by was the remains of a public telephone, with the phone replaced by graffiti. As in most of the rest of the world, mobile phones are the main source of communication.



After lunch in the neighborhood of Barrio Lastarria, we spotted this excellent graffiti and I immediately thought of my friend Steve.



By late afternoon we are now accustomed to a tea break called "onze". I bring my own tea and order a cup of agua caliente and we split dessert, which today happened to be a delicious crepe with what appeared to be Nutella (manjar) inside.






We are resting up before venturing back out to see the sun set from a hill overlooking Santiago.

Tomorrow we leave at the crack of dawn to fly south.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Santiago Day 2

My first real shock came last night when we went to eat at my favorite restaurant El Parron only to find it boarded up. What can you really expect after 35 years? Apparently it only closed recently. We had a very acceptable dinner elsewhere without the ambiance of a grape arbor inside a restaurant.

Today we started out at the Mercado Central, which carries just about any sort of seafood you could imagine eating. We settled on a paella for lunch which was chock full of shellfish. One of us loved it.




Then we headed over the river to the fruit and vegetable market called Vega Central. Along the way I finally got my jugo de tuna, or cactus fruit drink. I have managed not to get sick yet despite the fact the woman making it added water out of a pitcher.




We went to the Museum of Memory on the way back to the hotel, where we learned more about what happened starting on September 11, 1973, and including the ensuing years of torture. It was a difficult time for many in this country.

Tonight I reunited with my friend whom I haven't seen for at least 25 years. She is now married to an American and they share time between Houston and Chile, where they continue to grow plums on her family's farm. We had an elegant dinner in the Prince of Wales Country Club.
We are both exhausted after another full day of walking around exploring punctuated by food breaks. We must sleep well in order to be able to do it again tomorrow!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

blog feed

blog feed

Location:Pedro de Valdivia,Providencia,Chile

Santiago Day 1

We spent much of today walking through beautiful Santiago in search of the city I last saw in the '80's. Unfortunately it turns out my main landmark, the Hotel Sheraton Carrera, disappeared 5 years ago.





We started out at the Plaza de Armas, which was the scene of some sort a chess tournament today. I asked several older people about the regal old hotel, but no one seemed to have a clue as to where it was. In desperation we stopped for a dessert and coffee and I called an old friend who sent us walking in the right direction.




It turns out the former hotel now houses the equivalent of our State Department. Across the street is The Moneda, the main seat of government. It was along this street that I used to walk when I was working in Chile.




At my friend's suggestion, we hopped on a metro line and went to Los Dominicos, the last stop and the site of a strange mixture of exotic birds and Chilean art.
We are resting up before heading back out to dinner, which never begins before 8:00 pm in this part of the world.
The weather in Santiago is picture perfect and we seem to be making ourselves understood in Spanish. I am really encouraged by being able to walk long distances without a lot of effort.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

blog feed

blog feed

Location:Orly Hotel, Santiago, Chile

Spring

As we left home today in our quest for summer in the middle of winter, I noticed our front yard is full of blooming crocuses who think it is spring. It suddenly seemed pretty silly to be traveling thousands of miles in search of warm weather when it is getting up to 65 degrees at home tomorrow.

But alas we are under way. We are right now sitting in the immense Atlanta airport waiting for our night flight to Santiago. They have conveniently installed lots of charging stations so our batteries are being saved. But our bodies are freezing as cold air seems to come from all directions. My old gray hoodie fromTarget feels quite good.

I brought lots and lots of snacks, in an effort to use up our remaining food so it won't rot while we are gone and because I knew I would be lucky to get .42 ounces (yes, that's less than 1/2 ounce) of peanuts on our Delta flight. I have polished off the raisin bread with almond butter and the carrot sticks. I still have a small can of tuna and some random cheese and crackers and dark chocolate to tide me over until we board at 9:00 pm. Hot tea, even at $2 for a cup of water, is warming me up.

Let our Chilean adventure begin!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Atlanta,United States