As stated in the past, one of our favorite things is to be invited into the homes of the people that we have come to know. For us, it is a sign of trust and friendship. It is also an opportunity to see, and better understand how people in Chile live. We have had two such opportunities in the past week. Therefore "HOME run".
OK . . . last week, we were invited to the home of our duena (landlady), Gladys. As she lives in the bedroom community of Quilpue, we would need to take the Metro for the 30 minute journey.
You may recall a similar shot from an earlier edition. This is the Portales Station, about a 15 minute walk down the hill from our place. (The fish market is on the right hand side of the picture)
The train, as it is sometimes referred to, originates in Valparaiso and follows the coastline into Vina del Mar where it goes underground for 5 stops (Recreo, Miramar, Vina del Mar, Hospital, & Chorrillos).
It then emerges from under Vina and heads inland through the countryside. The end of the line is about 45 minutes away at Limache. Much of what passengers see along the way can be seen in the next photo.
There's cacti in them thar hills!
Estacion Quilpue.
The metro runs every 15 minutes or so. It is very clean, safe, comfortable and cheap, $1.20 cdn per person one way (60 pesos)!
This is the home of our host, Gladys. She has lived in the U.S. for many years and so her English is very good.
As is customary, we were served a three course meal at about 2:oo pm. Salad to start, followed by squash soup and then Lasagna.
The back yard featured a pergola where we relaxed with Gladys's hermano (brother), Patricio. What might be growing above?
Grapes . . . of course! This is the first time that we have been up close and personal with grapes still on the vine. We are still amazed at the abundance of fruit in the area. It seems odd, for example, to see lemon trees growing wild!
After the lunch, the 4 of us piled into Patricio's car for a tour of the area. That meant driving through the neighboring communities of Villa Alemana and Limache, and on to Olmue. Olmue is one entrance to the Campana National Park, and plans are afoot to climb Montana Campana seen here! We'll let you know how that turns out!!
These clouds building over the mountains would signal a pending thunderstorm on the prairies . . . but not here.
The most that these clouds will become is a nice photograph!
After the drive, we returned to Quilpue for some tea, chat and laughter. Patricio is, as we say in English, a card! It sometimes takes a second to know if he is joking or not! It was a wonderful day in the company of friends.
Our second invitation also came from Quilpue. This is the apartment of our hosts and you may recognize Paulo as an English student of Charlene's. Before arriving at the apartment, Paulo gave us the grand tour of the city. Quilpue is large enough to have all of the amenities yet small enough to feel like a community. The cost of living is also lower than on the coast. Many people commute from here to Valparaiso and Vina to work.
This was our first opportunity to meet Mrs. Paulo, Paulina!
Almuerza (lunch) started with ensalada, followed by oven roasted potatoes (papas) and fish (pescado - Rieneta). Dessert (postres) was peaches (duraznos) with whipped cream! Todo bien! (All good) Muy rico! (Delicious) Oh . . . I almost forgot about the Chirimoya Colada before lunch! Chirimoya is a fruit that is very popular here but unknown to Canadians. It is a sweet, lumpy, green fruit about the size of a softball and is grown about 5 hours north of here near La Serena. You can also find Chirimoya ice cream!
After lunch we sat and browsed through archive photos of Valparaiso (1900). It was also a chance to ask more questions about the place they call Chile! We have so much to learn! Much of the discussion seemed to revolve around food and the dishes that we find odd, like "Jote" - red wine and coke, or "Fanschop" - Orange Fanta mixed with beer, or "Chorrillana" - French Fries, fried eggs (sunny side up), onions and meat, all in a mound. In other words . . . a heart attack on a plate! That discussion culminated with a most appropriate gift! Paulo and Paulina gave us a Valparaiso restaurant facade with different types of food posted on the outside. Perfect!
Here they are, Paulo and Paulina, and a nice looking couple they are. Like Charlene, Paulina is a teacher. She teaches grade 8 in Vina del Mar. Incidentally, she has students from 8:00 to 5:00 each day (40 minutes for lunch). Now that's along day! (The Chilean school day has been extended considerably over the last 10 years or so. However, according to Paulina, the change has not resulted in better academic results.)
Paulina didn't speak much English but communication seemed easy. Because Paulo has the best ever English teacher, he could translate when necessary.
These were clearly days to be cherished. Not only are we learning more about the place we have chosen to live temporarily, but we are forging bonds among people that we hope will be life long friends. Isn't that what life is supposed to be about?
As always,
Hasta Luego
Amor,
Norm and Charlene
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