Most of the
day was spent in getting from one place to another. The six of us in the Peru group said good-bye
to Washington in the Lima airport and flew to Santiago, Chile, where we were
met by our Chilean guide, Marco. We were
taken by van to Santa Cruz which was a three hour ride.
After
checking into our lovely hotel, we met up with the other 18 people and our
Program Director, Nadia Gordon, for a welcome briefing and welcome dinner. Nadia is
an Argentine who lives in Buenos Aires and went to school in the United
States. She is married and has two sons
in their 20’s. She is a former physical
education teacher and is very organized.
We took a
walking tour of the town square which is across the street from the hotel
before going to the privately owned Colchagua Museum. The collection is remarkable and ranges from
the historic archeological pieces from the Inca Empire to fossils to military
uniforms and weapons not only of the Chilean history but also Nazi pieces, to
telephones, cameras, musical instruments, carriages. It is hard to believe that one person could
have acquired all of these rare artifacts.
Unfortunately, no photos were allowed.
Next we
drove to out to the country side for our home hosted lunch. This was the highlight of my visit to
Chile. Our hostess’ name is Coda who
greeted us on the bus before walking us to her house.
Coda once
worked as a housekeeper at the hotel where we are staying in Santa Cruz. She now has a shop along the road to Lolol,
but her main income is from the vineyard that she co-owns with her two brothers
who also have houses on the property.
Her house was her mother’s, where we had our lunch. This house was damaged by the 2010
earthquake, but repairs have just been completed.
The meal was was prepared by her Nanny who has taken care of Coda since she was a baby. She prepared it in this kitchen on a wood fired stove.
We ate out
on her terrace which overlooks this expansive yard.
After
enjoying our meal, we walked with Coda to the place where her table grapes were
being packaged for shipment. Some of these
grapes were the size of small plums.
Next we
drove through the town of Lolol which was badly damaged by that 2010
earthquake.
The government
is subsidizing the reconstruction of the
damaged homes. But it is taking time to
do it.
To end our
day, we went to the Vina Santa Cruz winery for a lecture and wine tasting
experience.
Chilean wine is becoming more and more appreciated around the world and is becoming an important industry for the country.
I've never seen grapes like that. No wonder Chilean wine is so tasty! Thanks for sharing.
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