It's a Long Way There, But It's Worth It ...

 

It's a whole new ballgame, moving up into the north of Chile

We left Valparaiso on Friday morning after a really great time there.  Still traveling with our dear friend Rony, our new destination was La Serena, straight up the coast.  The land is different now, dry and warm.  And Chile is still suffering from nationwide fires, the worst in a generation, although we are moving out of range of the smoke and disruption.  

We have been fortunate on this trip to connect with people we know.  Further south we spent time with Edgardo and his family.  And now we were looking forward to connecting with more friends, Jeff and Debbie.  Jeff works regularly at the observatories in this area of Chile, traveling from his base in Hawaii.  This time his wife Debbie came along, and Rony is also part of this friend circle.  It's a reunion of sorts!

After warm greetings and catching up, we all set out on Saturday for a visit to the interior, up in the mountains away from the coast.  

Frankly, La Serena is a big resort town, you could even call it the Miami Beach of Chile.  For Fiona and I, this is not really our favorite cup of tea.  We prefer to get off the beaten path a little,  away from the crowds of, y'know, tourists.  I'm glad we're not tourists ... not like those others ... wait ... what?

We passed a lively local dance competition on the way up the hill!

Also, for the first time in a while on this trip, I didn't have to drive!  Awesome!  Jeff did the driving and it was a joy to sit there and simply look out the window like a proper ... traveller. 

Among other things, we were on our way to have a look at the remote valley where they make Pisco, a favorite drink in this part of the world.  It's a potent clear liqour that is usually mixed in a delicious concoction called a "Pisco Sour."   If you haven't had one, man, you haven't lived ...

It's made from grapes grown basically in just this region, and after fermented into wine, it's distilled and stored in oak barrels, giving it a distinct flavor. They used to store it in big huge ceramic pots in the old days, like the one shown below.

It's a big industry, providing a good living for the folks in this otherwise rather hostile environment.  The grapes are not quite the same as the ones we're familiar with in Oregon, it's a very tough climate and the adversity gives them a unique character. 

In fact, we had to drive up into the rocky, dry, and steep mountains before we finally entered the valley where they specialize in this liquid.  It was a lot of fun discovering this somewhat hidden secret, with close friends.  

We had a lot of laughs and ... okay, maybe we tasted a tiny sample ... or two. 

The scenery was (as usual in Chile) - spectacular. Having great weather helped.  Won't forget this day for a long time. 

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Below:  Our special friend Rony, our constant companion for twelve days.  

And Jeff and Debbie:  These guys are amazing. We go back a long ways.   What a treat to see them here and spend three days together.

So we parted with our friends and today Fiona and I made our way further north, through some bleak landscape to our current stop, with another long drive tomorrow.   Chile lasts a long time from south to north.  We've already traveled over 4,000 miles, and we're not done yet - there's a lot more to go. 

And hey, since we're moving on and will soon leave Chile, I wanted to include a picture of Edgardo and his wonderful family (there are two older girls in the family not included in this picture).  Edgardo is like a brother to me. 

  

Oh No, He Won't Know How to Take Our Picture, He's Too Ugly

Some of the vast collection of "wall art" in Valparaiso, Chile 

 

We left Mendoza, Argentina yesterday and drove over the Andes back into Chile.  

We found out when we got here that the country is on fire.

It seems like the entire country is burning.  The skies are filled with smoke, and our friend Rony, who is travelling with us, kept getting phone calls from people who had suffered great tragedy and loss from the devastating fires. 

 

In fact, at one point, we drove right past the flames. Fortunately, they didn't reach the highway, but we could sure feel the heat.   At times, the smoke almost blotted out the sun. 

 

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Might as well enjoy the curves

On the way over the mountains back from Mendoza, we "enjoyed" the crazy road that goes up and over (and through) the Andes, with curves and switchbacks everywhere.  As a matter of fact, they number the curves, I guess so you know how many more you have to endure.  

 

 

And all this in a one mile stretch.  But the road is spectacular.  It rises to 10,000 feet, and on one side the rivers flow to the Atlantic, and on the Chile side, they flow to the Pacific. 

 

 

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Oh Hey, one more thing about Mendoza.  You know how I have mentioned the sidewalk danger zones of South America?  Well, Mendoza takes this to the extreme.  The sidewalks there have major holes, some four or five feet deep, and you better make sure you pay attention. 

 

 

Some of these sidewalk holes are serious widow makers.  You could get hurt, or worse.  They affectionately refer to them as "gringo traps"!  

Ha!  Somebody has a sense of humor. 

 

They claim these huge gaping holes are "irrigation canals," but I am dubious.  If you're walking along and looking at your smartphone and ... well ... there are no guard rails or nothing.  You be the judge. 

  

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And we arrived in amazing Valparaiso Chile

We drove all the way to the coast, and were delighted to find ourselves in the seaport town of Valparaiso, Chile.  This place is amazing.  Kind of wild and wonderful, with such a variety of things to see and do.  It's built on hills that tumble toward the ocean, so there are lots of interesting views and challenging ways to get up and down. 

 

They have a plethora of "lifting contraptions" known as funiculars.  And well, funiculars are ... fun!  They are kind of like cable cars, only different.  The alternative is stairs.  In the picture below, there were 162 steps from top to bottom (I counted 'em).  And of course, you can see the funicular going up right next to the stairs. 

 

 

Valparaiso is filled with street art.  In many places you might call this graffiti, but here they take it to a new level.  It's very impressive, if not weird.  It appears to be an accepted way of expressing yourself around here.  

 

 

And the art and color of this place is extremely creative.  This scene below is an art installation that is kind of an optical illusion.  Really clever and pretty cool. 

 

 

 

And the night life, well it's off the charts.  So many places to eat and drink.  And just walk around and absorb the scenery.  A very bohemian vibe, this place. 

 

 

Of course, during the day time, it's also filled with inspiring views and historical buildings and art and ... on and on ...

 

 

This part of Chile played a major part in their independence from Spain two hundred years ago.  Many of the buildings and much of the evidence is still standing.  

 

 

The photo opportunities just keep coming at you. 

 

Valparaiso is a port city with some major shipping lines.  There is a big container facility, and a lot of merchant seaman and ships from all over the world.

  

 

It's a really colorful place.  I would love to come back and spend more time here.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Okay, so where did the quote come from at the top the of the blog?

  

Well, we were sitting at a sidwalk cafe and wanted to get a picture of ourselves, without it being and obvious selfie.  So we thought we would ask someone to take our picture.  We observed several candidates to snap this picture, but rejected many of them.

  

At one point, we saw a guy walk by but the comment was made:  "Oh, No, he won't know how to take our picture, he's too ugly ... !"

We got a good laugh out of this - and eventually asked a young lady who appeared to have more photographic ability to snap our photo.  

Maybe that photo will appear in the future ...

Oranges? This Is Very Bad ... This Is A BIG Problem!

 

It's been an eventful last couple days, and we have crossed over back into Argentina one more time

In our continued journey north from Tierra del Fuego, we have crossed back-and-forth from Chile to Argentina six times.  The border crossings are an event unto themselves, so read on to hear more about that.  

The gates into the glorious central park in Mendoza Argentina.

 

 

And our dear friend Veronica (Rony) is travelling with us for the next few days.  She was able to break away from her responsibilities in Pucon and accompany us on our way north.  

 

Anyway, we left our old historic hotel early yesterday to get across the border and hopefully gain some time.  These border crossings can take forever, like the one that lasted over five hours.

We are in much different terrain than the snowy Patagonia Andes.  Now we are in the dry, barren,  and jagged Andes, coming over a 10,000 foot pass on our way to Mendoza, the wine capital of Argentina. 

It was not a stress free drive.  At times it seems like you go straight up.  Although the roads are fairly good, the mountains have the same dramatic drop offs and steep grades, and it takes a long time to cover ground. 

 

 

These pictures convey a sense of the amazing variety of colors we saw.  It was clear with bright sun and a temperature of 90 degrees.  Apparently these mountains get a lot of snow in the winter (it's summer down here), but when we went through, it was bone dry. 

 

The only way to get through these mountains in many cases is to go right through the middle of them - in tunnels.  We must have gone through 35 tunnels on the way over.  

 

 

And when we finally got to the other side and down the mountain, we arrived in Mendoza.  It's a big city (a million people) with a vibrant economy based to a large extent on wine.  It's flat and sunny and even with the heat, they have plenty of water. 

 

 

There are vast vineyards and wineries everywhere. I had chosen one here as a "gift" treat for Fiona before we left home, and today we went there. 

It was really special. 

 

 

There was a wine tour first, of particular interest for me, since I work for a winery in Oregon.  And then we had a terrific lunch, which included an outrageously good steak three inches thick.  Argentina is known for its beef. 

 

 

The property was really well taken care of and walking around provided some nice pictures. 

 

After that we drove/walked to a central hill top park with a view of the surrounding area.  There was a huge statue on top celebrating the alliance of Chile and Argentina during the years of independence. 

 

I wish I knew more about the history of this part of the world.  Fiona and I are generally pretty good at learning about places we visit, but you often find out new stuff by being there and visiting big statues.  

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Crossing The Border Can Be a Hassle!

As mentioned before, we have crossed the border numerous times, and it always seems to be different each time you go through customs.  I wanted to relay a story about one.

So Chile has a very robust agricultural industry, with exports all over the world, and they work hard to protect it.   At the borders, they don't want anyone bringing in fruit or other produce.  They are very serious about this. 

We were crossing over one time and we checked the standard box on the form that said "nothing to declare".  As the zealous border guards and agents searched poeple and their luggage, it eventually became our turn.  

 

 

I realized we had some store-bought oranges in one of our bags.  I volunteered the information to one of the guard/police guys who all had uniforms and badges and carried guns.  

"What?"  They said, "You have Oranges?!?!?"

  

"Yes," I said, "they're right here," and pointed them out.  The guard reacted very strongly to this. 

"Oranges?!  This is veerrry bad!"  He reached for his gun, lowered his voice, and shook his head: "This is A BIG PROBLEM!"

(okay, I made up the part about the gun, although they were all packin' -  but these guys were dead serious) 

What?" I protested, "I bought them at the supermarket, look - they still have the bar code on them!"    

It even crossed my mind that maybe they came from Chile in the first place ... but I thought it was best to keep my mouth shut. 

They were not happy.  Frankly, it was a little ridiculous, but I tried to act humble, and contrite, and not guilty.   This whole thing took a while, and I had to forfeit the offending contraband fruit. 

"It's a good thing you confessed to this offense," one guy said, "otherwise you could go to jail!"  

Oh Geez, not that word again - I hate it when people say that.  I've had a little too much familiarity with jails around the world. 

So they eventually let us go after a severe tongue lashing.  I hope my face isn't on the wall in every post office in the country. 

Hey, Chile is a really great place, we love it here.  But don't try to bring in Oranges ... or Apricots ... or Figs or ... any other fruit.  

You Can't Take Your Eyes Off the Volcano - and a 450 year old colonial house - Chile

  

Above:  The classic horse stables at the 400 year old colonial Hotel where we're staying tonight.

We've been off the grid for a few days.  There is still wilderness in Chile where you can't get on the internet. 

We stayed at our friend Rony's house up in the Andes (shown below), and enjoyed the quiet and remote setting.  It's a really great place, but not very connected to the outside world.  That is a nice thing, but prevented much effort to do a blog post.  

So I will attempt to get caught up on the last couple days.  As mentioned before, we have friends  that are like family in Pucon, and spent the time relaxing with them and engaging in various activities; we were busy the whole time. 

In the picture below, we had to improvise to open a bottle of fine Chilean wine.  If you don't have a corkscrew, you have to be creative:  Run a large screw into the cork and use pliers to carefully extract it, preserving the wine and the proper atmosphere of sophistication. 

What have we been doing? 

Our activities of the last few days included: hiking in the mountains, enjoying a terrific barbecue (with wine) in the woods, visiting old well-known work sites, sharing wonderful meals, meeting people, lakes, waterfalls, games, house visits, construction projects, a lively evening downtown, doing laundry, catching up on travel plans, eating great food, and a bunch more.  It was great. 

Above: Of course in Pucon, the volcano Villarrica dominates most views. It towers over the town, and it's an unmistakeable presence.  Everywhere you look, you see the mountain.  It is magnificent. 

Above: The huge Lake Villarrica makes a wonderful setting for a sunny day and a sailboat.

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We spent the day yesterday with Edgardo and his family, trekking in the woods at a National Park not far from town.  They call hiking "trekking" - you know, it seems like the whole darn country is a National Park, or should be.  

There were trees there 2,000 years old.  It is kind of like a Southern Hemisphere Redwoods, only different.  Insanely good views greet you around every corner. 

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Tonight we are farther up north, having left the Pucon area and driving for hours to reach a place near the big city of Santiago Chile.    

We found our way to this historic colonial Hotel, with buildings that date back to 1560.  Pretty amazing.