ROAD TRIP!!

For those of you who like video, today is your lucky day! You'll find 4 movies in this edition.

We start with the previous night when we received a phone call in very broken English. We managed to gather that this person was looking for English lessons and were able to set up a meeting at 9:00 the following morning. We met at McDonald's because it was close and when language is a problem, everyone knows "McDonalds"! (As an aside, telephone conversations with a language barrier are VERY difficult! In person, we can almost always communicate using body language etc.) There were two gentlemen (35 and 55-ish) who were wanting English lessons from now until December. They also said that they represented two others for a total of 4 students. They apparently needed English as they are moving to Vancouver in January to work for a snow removal company. Hmmmmm. We felt that the meeting went well and they were to call us that afternoon. Well, that was five days ago and still no call. Oh well, we have now moved on to phase two of the ad campaign. We have posted our billboards in grocery stores and universities in the hopes of attracting students. In the past, our focus has been on finding employment within an institution.


Ines had suggested a day trip to a village south of Valparaiso, and after the McDonald's meeting, we were off to Quintay. It is a fishing village with a past and apparently a future. If you look very closely, you can see a resort development in the distance. (More on that, and a better look, in a moment)




The village is about 40 minutes from Vina del Mar. We headed out on the road to Santiago and then branched off to the south through the many steep hills, similar to the foothills of the Rockies with similar vegetation. (Pine trees) We did our best to ask Ines about wildlife in the area. She laughed when we asked about bears, and from what we can gather, she communicated that there were only birds, rabbits and snakes in the area. So far, we have seen no road kill on the highways, so we assume that the wildlife is smart enough to stay in the forest!






The village now relies on fishing and tourism, but at one time was at the heart of Chile's whaling industry. The abandoned dock in this shot has a set of rails leading from the end back to what was a processing area. The old whaling facility has been turned into a museum. There is still much work to do but what is there is quite interesting.



Same shot but from a different angle and somewhat elevated. The existing village is off to the right and once again the resort development is off in the distance.



The video should provide a better idea of the area and how everything fits together.



Ines and Charlene. You may notice that Charlene is carrying some paperwork. We were thrilled when an official approached us with an English translation of the exhibits, and that is what is in her hands.



Might you want to know more about catching a whale? First the whale is harpooned, and a grenade is exploded inside the animal. That of course kills him, but now comes the job of getting the catch home. As the whales could be up to three times the size of the boat, they had to be towed back to port but first were pumped full of air so that they would stay afloat.



These frames are some of what remains of the plant. The largest of the whaling companies in Chile shut down in 1965 and whaling was banned in 1967. I believe that today, only Japan and Norway(?) continue to harvest whales.



For the record, I will occasionally appear on camera! (But not often . . . I promise. It's better that I stay behind the lens!)



On the short walk back to the village, this gentleman was filleting the day's catch of Merluza.
It would seem as though you become quite good at it after a million or so!! We marvelled at how fast he worked! There are also other fishy treasures on the table. I believe he referred to caviar.



We have had Congreo both in restaurants and at home. Today we learned what they look like fresh (fresco) out of the sea. Notice the different style of tail. These guys were so fresh, they were still breathing (or trying to!)



From the village we made our way to La Grande Playa. The beach is across the bay and in front of the resort village. Aside from the obvious, what impressed me most was that the resort community has been built well away from the beach. We spent about an hour lingering on the beach, taking pictures, watching and listening to the waves and picking up small pieces of quartz. Ines was particularly interested in the quartz. She referred to its "energy" but beyond that, I'm not sure why.





There was plenty of bamboo washed up on the beach although I'm not sure where it may have come from. We meant to find out before we left but didn't get around to it. I would be interested to know so will try to find out.







Beauty eh!!



Here you get another sense of how far away the resort is. (Well done to the planners!) I suspect that the tallest structures are about 8 to 10 stories.








This was a most lovely spot. We had the beach to ourselves and could have stayed all day being mesmerized by the waves. Charlene in particular loves to spend time near the water. Some of the pictures of the waves turned out OK, so I have been spending some time with Photoshop cropping, coloring, sizing and generally just playing with them. Without the time, energy and kindness of Ines, we would not be experiencing these hidden treasures and we are truly thankful.
The trip home meant a stop for lunch where it was my turn for a culinary adventure. I wasn't comprehending the menu or the conversation between Ines and the waitress so I indicated that she should just order for me. My only stipulation was "no fish". Cazuela is what was ordered, and I gathered that I would be getting soup with meat and vegetables. Indeed, that is what I got . . . . and it was good. The presentation is what surprised me. Essentially it was beef and vegetable soup. The difference was that the beef was still on a large bone, and the vegetables were whole (potatoes and carrots). While Campbell's asks the question "Fork or Spoon", Chileans answer "Fork AND Spoon AND Knife" when it comes to Cazuela! Charlene and Ines had a very enjoyable serving of fried fish.

This week may prove to be a turning point in our adventure. If some work doesn't materialize in the near future, we will need to re-evaluate the plan. We do want to see some of the South and will have to do that before the cash runs out. While we will continue to beat the bushes in Vina / Valparaiso over the next couple of weeks, we will soon begin to look at the south both for employment and sight seeing opportunities.

We always look forward to hearing from you and enjoy your comments and e-mails.

Till next time,
N & C