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.