Chile Days 1 and 2

We arrived in Santiago at 7:30 am on Friday. I love coming to Chile, but that 8 hour flight is a killer. Once we landed we made our way through Chile Customs, picked up our bags and waited for our transportation.

Santiago was immersed in a dense fog. The famous smog (or as they say in Chile, el e-smog) was non-existent due to a strong rain shower that cleared the air the day before. But don't worry; the e-smog is back now. We're under a clear blue sky, the weather is about 50 degrees, and there's a thin brown haze visible in the distance everywhere you look.

On Friday we went to the supermarket (Jumbo), where I bought some Longaniza Chilena (unlike the Spanish Longaniza, this one is more palatable. It tastes delicious) and a bottle of Havana Club, Ron Anejo Reserve. The bottle cost me $12.00! This is amazing consider comparable rums in the US cost about $25-$35 a bottle, plus the fact that you can't get Havana Club in the States. I also bought one of my favorite fruits, called Pepino, shown above. This is an indigenous fruit. It's probably available in California, but I've never seen it in Miami.

Yesterday (Saturday) I rented a 2007 Pathfinder (sweet!), with a diesel engine, loaded up the truck and headed for the country. We went to visit Hacienda Los Maitenes, which is in the middle of the Casablanca Valley in "La Ruta Del Vino", a nationally designated wine district. The land is beautiful, but it's a little bit out of the way for our purposes. It's a good buy though, and I may still end up buying at least one lot. The land is covered with citrus trees, Eucalyptus, and other local flowering and fruit plants. These photos show the views from one of the lots.

We also took one of Ceci's uncles to drop off something for one of his clients. His client runs rodeos in Chile, and has a stable full of horses.

Today, we're celebrating a birthday for Racky. Her birthday won't be until August, but her grandmother wanted to throw her a party in Chile. I miss my suegra though; she couldn't make it on account of her terrorist ties giving her issues with her passport (JUST KIDDING!). Racky has no idea and there are about 30 people invited (!).

Tomorrow (Monday) will be a work day for me. I finally got internet access. Now I just have to see if my Outlook will behave.

Tuesday we're heading south to Chillan, in the lake region of Chile. We are staying in a house inside a forest. It should be amazing. I'm not sure I'll be able to post, but I'll keep a journal regardless and post it when I get back to Santiago on Friday.