Today is a day with mixed feelings. We are tired and are ready to decompress in Buenos Aires and yet it is sad that this great experience is coming to an end.
We leave early this morning and fly from El Califate to Ushuaia on Tierra del Fuego -- the southermost city before Antarctica. The mountains from the air are spectacular.
Now we go from pristine natural wonders to the hustling and bustling of Buenos Aires -- what a shock to the senses.
Sharon and Arno were waiting for us in the lobby of the hotel. We went to their room and shared a bottle of wine.
We then had our farewell dinner with the group. Everyone but us and two others are going on the post trip to Iguasu Falls, Brazil. It sounds like a great addition to the adventure -- they will be staying in an eco-lodge in the rainforest. Santi had wine waiting for us in the lobby. He gave a nice little speech about the things he enjoyed on the trip and we all shared some of our most memorable moments. He had been taking photos all along the trip and he showed us a 15-minute slide show that he created. It was so nice and very touching that he was taking the time to capture these moments for us. He is going to email us all the slideshow. He also made up a few fact sheets listing all the birds we saw, the foods we ate, the "learnings and discoveries" we experienced, the controversial topics we discussed and gave us a list of movies that we can watch that pertain to Argentina, Chile and Patagonia.
We had a nice steak dinner and sat with Dennis (from CA) and Joanna (from WA). It was a very sad goodbye in the lobby as we bid farewell to some folks that we have become very close to and hope to stay in touch with.
Sharon and Arno have found some interesting things for us to do here in Buenos Aires. We are all looking forward to some laid-back time in the San Telmo district. We'll keep you posted.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Day 14 - El Calafate (2/23/13)
Today we go to see the Glacier Perito Moreno. The glacier was named after the discoverer Francisco Moreno (perito is an honorary term for "expert"). Unfortunately our luck has run out on good weather and we have to layer our clothing and get the rain gear out. Rainy weather in El Calafate is unusual as they get only 8-10 inches per year. I think they are getting most of it today. The mountains are covered in clouds and it will be a slippery walk to the glacier.
What a gorgeous sight. I only wish the photographs would convey the breathtaking beauty and size of this glacier. We are only a few minutes into our walk and we hear a loud CRACK. We are assured we will hear this sound throughout our stay in the park. There are metal walkways all the way down to the glacier. You can take many routes to see it from different angles. The glacier itself it 20+ stories high and covers more than 20 miles in area. We hear the cracks of the glacier calving and do manage to catch sight of some of the ice falling. This is one of the few glaciers that is stable. It recedes in summer, but is gaining the same amount of snow and ice during winter. This was truly one of nature's most awesome wonders.
Back to the hotel to take a hot shower, put our clothes up to dry and take a short siesta.
We met Santi for a talk on the Argentinian drink -- Mate. This is what I love about this trip. If you express an interest in something, Santi will do his best to educate you to the fullest of his ability. He is doing this on his free time. We had seen him drinking his mate and asked about making it. He gave us an hour-long lecture (which was really more like story-telling). Mate is not just a drink like having a cup of tea or coffee. It is a ritual. There is mate etiquette. It has a history. Again, like a lot of things in Argentina and Chile, it is almost a living thing. Mate refers to the herb, and also the cup you drink from, and also the act of drinking and sharing it. It is not a solitary experience. You don't ususally get up and make a cup of mate for yourself. It is to be shared with your friends and companions. It is not something you do in a hurry. One person is the servidor. He/she makes the mate and gives it to each person. You drink from the same cup and sipping straw. This was a great education and gave me a good insight into the "sense of mate."
Ron, Renate, Jim and I decided to walk toward the bay to the bird sanctuary, but it was raining so much that we gave up and went to visit some of the shops. Renate bought herself a nice mate cup. I think we will have to do the same thing. And, then you can come over for a mate experience with us.
We met Christy and Beth for dinner at a local restaurant, Pura Vida. We had a great dinner (all casserole type dishes) and really good wine.
Back to pack for our final flight. Fell sound asleep and did not hear the fireworks at 2:00 a.m. Evidently, they sounded like cannons.
What a gorgeous sight. I only wish the photographs would convey the breathtaking beauty and size of this glacier. We are only a few minutes into our walk and we hear a loud CRACK. We are assured we will hear this sound throughout our stay in the park. There are metal walkways all the way down to the glacier. You can take many routes to see it from different angles. The glacier itself it 20+ stories high and covers more than 20 miles in area. We hear the cracks of the glacier calving and do manage to catch sight of some of the ice falling. This is one of the few glaciers that is stable. It recedes in summer, but is gaining the same amount of snow and ice during winter. This was truly one of nature's most awesome wonders.
We met Santi for a talk on the Argentinian drink -- Mate. This is what I love about this trip. If you express an interest in something, Santi will do his best to educate you to the fullest of his ability. He is doing this on his free time. We had seen him drinking his mate and asked about making it. He gave us an hour-long lecture (which was really more like story-telling). Mate is not just a drink like having a cup of tea or coffee. It is a ritual. There is mate etiquette. It has a history. Again, like a lot of things in Argentina and Chile, it is almost a living thing. Mate refers to the herb, and also the cup you drink from, and also the act of drinking and sharing it. It is not a solitary experience. You don't ususally get up and make a cup of mate for yourself. It is to be shared with your friends and companions. It is not something you do in a hurry. One person is the servidor. He/she makes the mate and gives it to each person. You drink from the same cup and sipping straw. This was a great education and gave me a good insight into the "sense of mate."
Ron, Renate, Jim and I decided to walk toward the bay to the bird sanctuary, but it was raining so much that we gave up and went to visit some of the shops. Renate bought herself a nice mate cup. I think we will have to do the same thing. And, then you can come over for a mate experience with us.
We met Christy and Beth for dinner at a local restaurant, Pura Vida. We had a great dinner (all casserole type dishes) and really good wine.
Back to pack for our final flight. Fell sound asleep and did not hear the fireworks at 2:00 a.m. Evidently, they sounded like cannons.
Day 13 - Torres del Paine and El Califate (2/22/13)
Last day in Torres del Paine. We did a scenic drive around quite a few of the lakes. It is interesting that each lake's water is a different color. We were so fortunate yesterday to have a clear and sunny day, because today it is very overcast and the cloud cover is low. The mountains are only half visible and it looks like a window shade has been pulled down. Yerko talked about the forest fire that occurred in 2009. Most of the beech trees were destroyed. It is a shame, to lose these trees, but it also gives the area a very distinct look with the burned out tree trunks. The fire was started by careless campers. There is no evidence of a fire ever starting with lightening here. The camper who started the fire, even though it was an accident, was fined and had to lead a campaign back in his home to raise funds to buy and replace a huge number of trees (I think it was 50,000). We saw some areas that have been reforested, but it will take over a hundred years for them to get to full growth. Because of this accident, campers are no longer permitted to camp anywhere but in park-sanctioned campgrounds. They must be in the campground by 6:30 p.m. The park is patrolled by helicopter and if a camper is found out of the camping area, they are arrested and expelled from the park. They take this very seriously.
There is a very exclusive hotel in the park and it is another controversy. The hotel is on an island in the middle of a lake. The minimum stay is 4 nights; the cost is $4,000 for those four nights. If you want to stay longer, you must commit to another 4 nights. The controversy is that there is a beautiful waterfall on this property, which used to be open to the public, but when they built the hotel, the waterfall rights belong to the hotel and no one other than guests can visit it.
Chile and Argentina share the border at this point in Patagonia. Park rangers not only act as rangers for the park, but also as border patrol.
The roads throughout the park are gravel and not quite 2-lane. Our bus must stop if a car is coming from the opposite direction. The winds are so strong here that a few months ago, two tour busses overturned.
We finally have seen our first guanaco. There was one lonely guanaco on a hill. Yerko told us that this was a dominant male, looking after his territory. A dominant male will have a harem of 20-25 females. Young males are kicked out of the group at around 2 years of age. There are about 8,000 guanaco in the park. They let us get fairly close to photograph.
There is a very exclusive hotel in the park and it is another controversy. The hotel is on an island in the middle of a lake. The minimum stay is 4 nights; the cost is $4,000 for those four nights. If you want to stay longer, you must commit to another 4 nights. The controversy is that there is a beautiful waterfall on this property, which used to be open to the public, but when they built the hotel, the waterfall rights belong to the hotel and no one other than guests can visit it.
Chile and Argentina share the border at this point in Patagonia. Park rangers not only act as rangers for the park, but also as border patrol.
The roads throughout the park are gravel and not quite 2-lane. Our bus must stop if a car is coming from the opposite direction. The winds are so strong here that a few months ago, two tour busses overturned.
We finally have seen our first guanaco. There was one lonely guanaco on a hill. Yerko told us that this was a dominant male, looking after his territory. A dominant male will have a harem of 20-25 females. Young males are kicked out of the group at around 2 years of age. There are about 8,000 guanaco in the park. They let us get fairly close to photograph.
Next we spotted some Andean Condor. They need wind to fly because they are so big; which is why you usually find them in mountainous areas over a river, to catch the wind currents. They look like airplanes flying! We were lucky to see quite a few on ridges and did see a couple of them flying. Hard to get a close photograph though.
We stopped to see another beautiful waterfall called Cascade Paine.
Then we pulled over at a gorgeous lake with a perfect reflection of the mountain behind. The lake was absolutely still and the sight was breathtaking. We were told that this can be seen only 20-25 days out of the year. We have been so fortunate to be able to see this.
We spotted two gray fox hunting in the brush. One of them saw something good to eat and took off -- they are really fast.
We came across an overturned truck on the side of the road. We stopped and Yerko got out to check to see if anyone was in the truck. These roads are so desolate and untraveled, that you cannot assume someone else has taken care of a rescue. Thankfully, the truck was empty. It was a very sobering sight.
The terrain is so different here from Torres del Paine -- there are rolling hills here and the terrain looks like the velvet on a deer's antlers.
Now we have reached the Chile/Argentina border and must leave Yerko and Roberto behind. We have lunch in one building and then walk to the customs office, which is next door. Climb back on the bus and travel in no-man's land again for a few miles and see our next bus waiting for us in an open field.
We meet Alisa and Juan, our El Calafate guide and driver.
Now for a five-hour ride to El Calafate. This is probably the most desolate land we have traveled yet. We stop for a banos break and a coffee at another oasis. It is two hours away -- and then it will be another two hours before we come to civilization again. Only 0.5% of Argentinans live in Patagonia. There are 23 provinces (states) in Argentina. El Califate is a city in the Province of Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz is the 2nd largest and only has 230,000 inhabitants. There is 3 sq. miles per person.
The ranches here support cattle and sheep. The smallest ranch is 25,000 acres; average ranch is 40-50,000 acres. Gauchos still move cattle and sheep from field to field and mend fences, etc. The sheep form circles in winter, but unlike penguins, those on the outside do not rotate to the middle, so the gauchos have to move them or they will freeze. The life of a gaucho is not easy.
We stop at a roadside shrine. It is covered in red flags and the shrine is painted red. It is a shrine to Gaucho Antonio Gil. This is a rather long story and so you will have to come to our house to hear the story over a Pisco Sour.
This week is a festival week in El Califate. How fortunate for us that we have hit many festivals in Chile and Argentina. This is the "Week of the Lake." Because of the festival our hotel has been sold out and we are being upgraded to another hotel. We are met with a glass of wine and small bouquets of fresh flowers.
There are music concerts in the evening, food and handicraft booths. Santi offered to accompany those who were interested to go to the festival. He helped us to order the local treat called a lomito. It is a steak sandwich, grilled on an open fire and then covered with onions. We then headed to the gelato shop for some califate gelato. They say if you eat califate (which is a berry from the califate bush), you will return to El Califate some day.
The concert started in earnest at about 11:00 p.m. Not much sleep tonight.
We stopped to see another beautiful waterfall called Cascade Paine.
Then we pulled over at a gorgeous lake with a perfect reflection of the mountain behind. The lake was absolutely still and the sight was breathtaking. We were told that this can be seen only 20-25 days out of the year. We have been so fortunate to be able to see this.
We spotted two gray fox hunting in the brush. One of them saw something good to eat and took off -- they are really fast.
We came across an overturned truck on the side of the road. We stopped and Yerko got out to check to see if anyone was in the truck. These roads are so desolate and untraveled, that you cannot assume someone else has taken care of a rescue. Thankfully, the truck was empty. It was a very sobering sight.
The terrain is so different here from Torres del Paine -- there are rolling hills here and the terrain looks like the velvet on a deer's antlers.
Now we have reached the Chile/Argentina border and must leave Yerko and Roberto behind. We have lunch in one building and then walk to the customs office, which is next door. Climb back on the bus and travel in no-man's land again for a few miles and see our next bus waiting for us in an open field.
We meet Alisa and Juan, our El Calafate guide and driver.
Now for a five-hour ride to El Calafate. This is probably the most desolate land we have traveled yet. We stop for a banos break and a coffee at another oasis. It is two hours away -- and then it will be another two hours before we come to civilization again. Only 0.5% of Argentinans live in Patagonia. There are 23 provinces (states) in Argentina. El Califate is a city in the Province of Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz is the 2nd largest and only has 230,000 inhabitants. There is 3 sq. miles per person.
The ranches here support cattle and sheep. The smallest ranch is 25,000 acres; average ranch is 40-50,000 acres. Gauchos still move cattle and sheep from field to field and mend fences, etc. The sheep form circles in winter, but unlike penguins, those on the outside do not rotate to the middle, so the gauchos have to move them or they will freeze. The life of a gaucho is not easy.
We stop at a roadside shrine. It is covered in red flags and the shrine is painted red. It is a shrine to Gaucho Antonio Gil. This is a rather long story and so you will have to come to our house to hear the story over a Pisco Sour.
This week is a festival week in El Califate. How fortunate for us that we have hit many festivals in Chile and Argentina. This is the "Week of the Lake." Because of the festival our hotel has been sold out and we are being upgraded to another hotel. We are met with a glass of wine and small bouquets of fresh flowers.
There are music concerts in the evening, food and handicraft booths. Santi offered to accompany those who were interested to go to the festival. He helped us to order the local treat called a lomito. It is a steak sandwich, grilled on an open fire and then covered with onions. We then headed to the gelato shop for some califate gelato. They say if you eat califate (which is a berry from the califate bush), you will return to El Califate some day.
The concert started in earnest at about 11:00 p.m. Not much sleep tonight.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Day 12 - Torres del Paine National Park (2/21/13)
Another perfect day!
Early breakfast and meeting at 7:30 a.m. to embark on our boat trip to the glacier. It is about a one-mile walk to the dock and it is very cold this morning. I have five layers of clothing on, gloves and earmuffs. Jim is even bundled up, so it must be cold. We are fitted up with life vests and tendered to the boat. It was like a Chinese fire-drill getting about 75 people fitted up for vests and loaded. Jim was so hurried that he zipped one side of his jacket to one side of his windbreaker and then buttoned his shirt to his Henley and then couldn’t get undressed when we got back. He actually had to break his zipper to get his clothes off. As soon as the captain gave the OK we were up on the top deck to get the best views of the icebergs we were passing on the way to the glacier. The icebergs were as blue as blue could be. And we found out why. Come on over for a drink and we’ll tell you the answer.
You could feel the temperature dropping the closer we got to the glacier. It is hard to describe the immense size of the glacier and the icebergs. Our photos will never do them justice and I can only say it was an unforgettable experience being among these living pieces of ice. Our journey to this wonderful experience was 3 hours. One hour to get to the glacier, one hour sailing in and around them, and an hour to return. AND, at about 9:00 a.m. we were served Pisco Sours with glacier ice in them. Our guides told us when we returned that our weather today was most unusual. They almost never get to approach so closely to the glacier and the water is never as calm as it was today. We think the gods are looking after us.
Now we are off to see more of this wonderful national park. While we drive to see the glacial lakes and mountains, Yerko gives us more information about flora, fauna and geological history. We stop for a picnic lunch on the rocky beach of Lake Pehoe with the mountain in front of us. The finest restaurant in the world would not have this view!
On to a hike to see a waterfall, Salto Grande, and more of the scenes of the mountains of Torres del Paine. It was quite a long walk and it was also quite warm. We are seeing a lot of beautiful wildflowers and rock garden plants. And, to top it off, an avalanche occurred on the mountain in the distance while we were walking – we heard the roar and some saw the remnants of the snow cloud. Unfortunately, by the time you hear the sound, the avalanche is pretty much over. We heard the thunder of at least three avalanches.
More scenic driving on the way back to the hotel. Two condors were spotted flying above us. Our driver pulled over so we could watch. These birds are so huge – they have a ten-foot wingspan. We were hoping we would be lucky enough to see these beautiful creatures.
Back to the hotel at 5:30 p.m.; a shower; change clothes and to the bar for more Pisco Sours and dinner. What a great group of people we have as travel companions. Everyone is really so enjoyable and friendly – I believe we may have made some long-time friends here.
Early breakfast and meeting at 7:30 a.m. to embark on our boat trip to the glacier. It is about a one-mile walk to the dock and it is very cold this morning. I have five layers of clothing on, gloves and earmuffs. Jim is even bundled up, so it must be cold. We are fitted up with life vests and tendered to the boat. It was like a Chinese fire-drill getting about 75 people fitted up for vests and loaded. Jim was so hurried that he zipped one side of his jacket to one side of his windbreaker and then buttoned his shirt to his Henley and then couldn’t get undressed when we got back. He actually had to break his zipper to get his clothes off. As soon as the captain gave the OK we were up on the top deck to get the best views of the icebergs we were passing on the way to the glacier. The icebergs were as blue as blue could be. And we found out why. Come on over for a drink and we’ll tell you the answer.
You could feel the temperature dropping the closer we got to the glacier. It is hard to describe the immense size of the glacier and the icebergs. Our photos will never do them justice and I can only say it was an unforgettable experience being among these living pieces of ice. Our journey to this wonderful experience was 3 hours. One hour to get to the glacier, one hour sailing in and around them, and an hour to return. AND, at about 9:00 a.m. we were served Pisco Sours with glacier ice in them. Our guides told us when we returned that our weather today was most unusual. They almost never get to approach so closely to the glacier and the water is never as calm as it was today. We think the gods are looking after us.
Now we are off to see more of this wonderful national park. While we drive to see the glacial lakes and mountains, Yerko gives us more information about flora, fauna and geological history. We stop for a picnic lunch on the rocky beach of Lake Pehoe with the mountain in front of us. The finest restaurant in the world would not have this view!
More scenic driving on the way back to the hotel. Two condors were spotted flying above us. Our driver pulled over so we could watch. These birds are so huge – they have a ten-foot wingspan. We were hoping we would be lucky enough to see these beautiful creatures.
Back to the hotel at 5:30 p.m.; a shower; change clothes and to the bar for more Pisco Sours and dinner. What a great group of people we have as travel companions. Everyone is really so enjoyable and friendly – I believe we may have made some long-time friends here.
Day 11 - Torres del Paine National Park (2/20/13)
We have reached one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to. Thank goodness I woke up and felt 90% better – Jim, unfortunately, has his cold full force. We board the bus and Jim sleeps a bit. Hopefully, he’ll feel better when we arrive at the Park as this is the part we’ve all been waiting for. We have a six-hour bus ride to get to our destination. The road we are taking is not very heavily traveled. We make one stop at a coffee shop which appears like an oasis. It is $3,000 pesos to use the bathroom , but it’s free if you buy a cup of coffee or cocoa.
The entire trip from Punta Arenas to the Park was all scrub-grass, dry plains with mountains in the background. Very desolate. Every so often you would see a ranch house, but it is a very remote area. You can fly to this area, but if you took the ferry, it would take 3 ½ days to get here.
Saw sheep and cattle ranches – the land is so dry and barren of a good food source, that you can only have one sheep per 2.5 acres.
We saw a family of rheas, the papa and 13 chicks. The rhea is an ostrich-like bird. The father raises the chicks after they hatch, while the mother goes off to mate with another male.
We stopped at a shrine that was very interesting. Senora Correa was on a mission to help someone in the area; she became lost, did not have enough water with her. She had a baby with her. She was lost for so long that she died of dehydration. Gauchos came along and found her dead body, but the child had nursed from her and was still alive. The gauchos still honor this miracle by leaving bottles of water at her shrine. They appear all over Argentina.
We also "trespassed" on some fenced off land. We crawled over wire fence to get to some concrete bunkers used during one of the wars. We saw wild flamingos at a pond over the hill from the bunkers. The flamingos have no shrimp to feed on here, but keep their beautiful color by eating a red algae.
All along we can see the Andes Mountains off to the left. And, then we see the Torres del Paine (meaning Towers of Blue.) These are not part of the Andes; they are a separate mountain range – the Andes are 45 million years old and these are only 12 million years old. And, oh my, are they beautiful!!!! Every turn of the road gives you a breathtaking sight.
Back to the hotel for Pisco Sours and dinner.
We came out after dinner to a beautiful Southern sky and we were trying to pick out constellations and Santiago helped us identify them.
BED…..we are very tired again……and up and out the door by 7:30 tomorrow.
Day 10 - Punta Arenas (2/19/13)
Today we fly to Punta Arenas which is a port town on the southwestern end of the continent. The city was named by early sailors and it means Sandy Point. Here we stood looking at the Strait of Magellan which is at the foot of the Chilean Andes. We met Yerko (pronounced Jerko) who will be our local guide throughout southern Patagonia. First stop was a replica of the ship that Magellan sailed. We are in the Province of Magellan and the people from this province are very proud – they are the only province with their own flag. We carried it everywhere and had our photos taken with it at each stop. It was interesting to see how sailors of old suffered at sea for up to three years. These vessels are not as big as you think. The guide at the museum was very knowledgeable about the history of Magellan and the discovery voyages.
The wind here is UNBELIEVABLE. It does get to hurricane force winds. No sense in worrying about fixing your hair – it’s going to be a bad hair day no matter what you do. The winds get so strong that in the town they have ropes tied to stanchions along the sidewalks to grab onto if you get swept off balance. We did a walking tour of the town and Yerko explained the unusual home construction. Most of the homes are made of rectangular sheets of metal. The people here drink a lot of tea and in earlier times, the tea was shipped in metal boxes. They used the sides of these tea boxes to "side" their houses and then painted over them.
We stayed in a beautiful hotel overlooking the town square. Judy did not feel well (those darned fish raviolis) – called room service and went to bed. Jim went with the group and had a seafood dinner. I heard later from one of the fellows that Jim had a great time and went right along with the belly-dancer.
I slept about 10 hours. Jim didn’t get back from dinner until 11:00 (which is pretty standard here). And, he returned with a cold. Not good for the day ahead of us.
The wind here is UNBELIEVABLE. It does get to hurricane force winds. No sense in worrying about fixing your hair – it’s going to be a bad hair day no matter what you do. The winds get so strong that in the town they have ropes tied to stanchions along the sidewalks to grab onto if you get swept off balance. We did a walking tour of the town and Yerko explained the unusual home construction. Most of the homes are made of rectangular sheets of metal. The people here drink a lot of tea and in earlier times, the tea was shipped in metal boxes. They used the sides of these tea boxes to "side" their houses and then painted over them.
We stayed in a beautiful hotel overlooking the town square. Judy did not feel well (those darned fish raviolis) – called room service and went to bed. Jim went with the group and had a seafood dinner. I heard later from one of the fellows that Jim had a great time and went right along with the belly-dancer.
I slept about 10 hours. Jim didn’t get back from dinner until 11:00 (which is pretty standard here). And, he returned with a cold. Not good for the day ahead of us.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Day 9 - Chiloe Island (2/18/13)
We met Carolina, our local guide, today. She and her husband, Gustavo, and her two sons Alonso and Alvares joined us. They are all Mapuche. Carolina has made sure her boys know of their indigenous background and wants them to be proud of it. They are a very nice family.
We started our day with a walk through the city of Ancud, where we are staying. Carolina explained about the mythological characters that are specific to the Island of Chiloe and the importance they play in everything that happens here. The people are serious about these myths and become insulted if you laugh about them. For instance, she told of how if Picoya, the goddess of the ocean and shore is facing toward the sea, it will be a good day for fishing; if she is facing land – stay home.
We met our bus and started out for Castro, the capitol city of Chiloe.
One of the local guides found a boat builder in the area and we went to visit Don Ambrosia, who was working on his boat as we arrived. It is unbelievable what our guides expose us to. Fernando is backing our tour bus down a one-lane dirt road in a residential section and we stop in front of Don Ambrosia’s garage and all get out and have about a 20-minute visit. You cannot believe the beautiful wooden boats that this man creates with minimal tools.
We find a gas station to make a “technical stop” – that would be the bathroom.
Arrived at Castro, which is in the middle of the island. The houses in some parts of Castro are built on stilts because of the tides. We get out to take photos and all of a sudden Santi is calling to us to come. He was talking with a woman who was walking down the street and he explained to her that we were an American tour group who was interested in learning and discovery. She invited all of us into her house on stilts so that we could see the view from her back porch. Can you even imagine seeing a tour bus and inviting 16 strangers into your home? What wonderful, warm people.
Carolina and Santi decided we needed to experience the local bus once again. By the time we had arrived at our destination, the local people were showing us the oysters and mussels they had purchased at the market and we were old friends by the time we got off the bus.
We visited another of the wooden churches that are UNESCO heritage sites. Carolina explained that all of the churches are made of wood, as that was the only building product. The builders were not architects, but native people who built the churches based on their knowledge of home and boat building – hence, the curved wooden naves. The woodwork was as beautiful as any marble or gilt churches could be.
Next we visit with Berta Newen, a Mapuche medicine woman. There is an aura about Berta. She speaks Spanish and Mapuche and everything was done through our guides as interpreters. Berta explained about the native medicines, which she said are mainly used as preventative medicine. We all sat in her house around a fire pit and she then asked us to stand as she was going to perform a blessing ceremony – wishing us a safe and happy journey, a healthy life, that we find our families all well when we return home – all the while throwing herbs on the fire.
Now, we are faced with a mission. Santi and Carolina have developed a scavenger hunt so that we can all practice our Spanish. We are each given $2.00 to go to the market. We are given a slip of paper with some words written on it and they tell us how to pronounce it (once). We do not know what this item is, but we are to go into the market and buy it for the $2.00, or less if we can. It will be part of our dinner this evening. We do this in pairs. The word for Jim and I was AJO CHILOTE. We are not permitted to show any of the vendors our slips of paper –we must ask them for the item and bargain, get the right amount of money and change. This market had yarn, hand crafted items, fish, mussels, vegetables, honey, etc. Jim and I lucked out. The first booth we stopped at had our item and evidently we pronounced it correctly enough for her to understand. Of course, she wanted to sell us way too much and we were somehow able to get her to give us $2.00 worth. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Santi watching us to make sure we were not cheating. Our item was garlic. This was great fun. The other items that people had to buy were chili powder, dried kelp, seaweed, dried oysters and a liquor.
On to Maria and Harvey (Harry maybe-- hard to understand). This is a couple who home-host dinners for OAT. We watch (and help) them prepare our dinner. There is a smoke house adjacent to their home with a fire pit. The coals have been burning since before we arrived. When we get there, they throw a couple of hundred mussels in the shells onto the coals, then potatoes, chorizo sausage, chicken, pork, a potato dumpling and all is covered with leaves and ferns, then tarps and slabs of sod to insulate. This all cooks for about an hour while we go into the house and Maria and one of our group makes potato cakes to be fried. We are served a Pisco Sour and eat the potato cakes with honey. Then dinner is served. What a feast! All that delicious smoked food (wine of course), a caramel flan and the liquor that was purchased at the market. We finished with dancing on the lawn to some Chilean music.
A little aside for the book nuts – Maria just happens to be very good friends with the author Isabel Allende who visits her house often!
It’s going to be an early night tonight………
Having some internet problems and cannot download photos. I'll add them later.
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