Just a short one...
Buenas Dias....Nate arrived shortly after I did, this past week, and we're having a great time. The little village that I called home, Los Andes, has turned into a big town...dirty, noisy, traffic and congestion. When I first went there, Lompoc and Los Andes were about the same size...20,000 people each. Now, there are 80,000 in Los Andes, and they've all bought a car or a taxi since I left. We even got in trouble for taking pictures at something that looked, smelled and felt a lot like a WalMart....most shopping happens in little tiny stores where people pick up specialty items. Meat in one place, bread another, fruit and veggies another. This one had lots of sale signs and far too many items in one place. The highlight of the visit was the little museum, where they had one of those mummified Inca's from long ago, that someone had found in the Andes nearby. I thought that was just for History Channel. oh, and we get that here, too, but it is all in Spanish. The weather is wonderful. High seventies to eighty, gorgeous blue sky...aside from the smog in Santiago things would be perfect. We've figured out transportation, e.g. it is nearly $25 to ride a taxi into town, while we can ride a bus for less than $3. Combining a bus and a taxi, we get to our hotel by spending about $5. We've also arranged a week in an apart..hotel, basically a college dorm room, rather than a hotel room. But there is still maid service and computer access if we really want it. Even ESPN Deportes to watch Monday night Football. We think we may even get the world series, though it is on really late and we didn't come here to watch TV.Trying to work out our wine tours, that's next. We've found the shopping areas that will excite Judy, arranged to meet with my host sisters this weekend, and will fly to Puerto Montt two weeks from today. We are definitely living the dream down here. I even have two Christmas presents already, that's great fun, too.My Spanish is decent, though trying to flip back and forth from English with Nate to Spanish with everyone else...and yes, my hearing is not as good as it was in 1970...for those who love to tease me, not only do I need to ask people to slow down a bit, but I don't have my mind set for Spanish when I start listening. The next time you see a Hispanic kid taking orders at McDonald's and flipping between languages, please be impressed. That's a really tall order.We're off to work on some transportation details and find a winery tour or three for the next few days. Even Nate experienced some jet lag when he arrived, so it isn't all about the pisco sours....but we have made friends with those guys, too. I expect Judy will need most of Thursday to catch up, leaving us with just four days to show off the capital. Action packed...!
"When you see..."
One week from this morning, I'll awaken to sunrise over la Cordillera, the Andes. Landing at 8:30 am, I'll re-awaken old memories of 1970. As exciting as the trip has become, it also makes me feel really old. To wit:When I visited my host family, we had no phone, no television, piped in plumbing but no natural gas for heating or cooking. My host brother, Cesar, and I would venture a few blocks every few days to trade in BBQ canisters that seem so prevalent in American backyards these days. Today, we have the internet to arrange accommodations, track down host family members and some of them carry more than one cellphone. I'll buy a cheap one to use while we're there, rather than expose myself to AT&T Global roaming rates. At the same time, visiting "net-cafe's" every few days will enable me to run through and delete email messages.Mark had never flown on an airplane, and had only been as far north as Klamath Falls out of the state of California. Now, I'm an Alaska Airlines frequent flyer, already have the tickets we'll need to visit Palm Desert for Thanksgiving, and spend far too much time in small airportss like Boise and Idaho Falls. At least I'll cover one base on this trip..."If you don't get a direct flight to heaven, chances are you'll have a stopover in Atlanta..." I get to visit the Atlanta airport for the first time next Sunday evening. (I wonder if they'll have the season finale of Mad Men somewhere to be seen?)The final leg of the American Field Service charter meant that 24 American kids would land together on a Boeing 707 in Santiago, after dropping colleagues in Panama City, Quito and Guyaquil before we disembarked. Receiving treatment usually aligned with heads of state, we were swept through Customs because Pele was playing in the World Cup Final, 1970, in Mexico City. This time, I'll be one of more than 300 visitors waiting my turn in line. Hoping I can figure out transportation to my hotel as the first test of Rosetta Stone training. What an exciting, yet scary, prospect.A few days later, Nate will arrive and I'll know someone. Someone I can speak English with. Nate will force me to try out the Spanish on which we've spent so much time and money in the last few months. It will be great to wander Los Andes and try to re-connect with the geography from 40 years ago.Then, just as Nate and I get the local feel, Judy arrives. It will be a true delight to show off Chilean institutions to her, and have her get even more excited than she's become in the last six months. Great food. Wine for less than $5. Showing her the moonlight on the Andes and the Southern Cross. "When you see the Southern CrossFor the first time,You will understand Why you came this way...."(Southern Cross, by Stephen Stills--but a feature of every Buffett Concert I've attended)How many Parrotheads have actually SEEN the Southern Cross? I've found very few natural features of the planet that strike me quite like the Andes in the moonlight with the Southern Cross above. One needs to look into the eyes of our children when we first meet them, or laugh together at a wedding, to see anything close to the sparkle that arises in the moonlight.Likely I'll post one last time, then perhaps not for a month. I haven't decided what to do about blogging on the trip...it is either a waste of really good time, or a great way to keep people informed. The answer is probably that I won't have an answer, and that whatever may show up will come in bits and pieces AFTER we return, posting a diary after the fact to let everyone know what fun we've had. That also assumes I will return, something that in 1970 I fought for more than a few weeks against the AFS buraucracy. I wanted to stay and play in the regional basketball play-offs, they wanted me de-briefing in Santiago and on the next AFS jet out. I bet they figured one step closer to the airport was less dangerous than one step closer to my friends in Los Andes.Oh, and in the midst of all this, the last Chilean miner will likely exit his dungeon about the time I arrive. Pots and Pan celebrations are huge in Santiago, I can only imagine what it will be like if everyone emerges safely. It isn't likely many Chileans will care about whether I've arrived, even if meeting the President was on the schedule. And that's OK...
Would time please fly?
Two weeks until I'll be standing in the Portland Airport, awaiting the start of the year's big trip. I can hardly contain myself. I'm ready to start speaking Spanish full-time. The weather in Santiago is in the middle seventies, that will be a nice switch...We haven't had much summer weather in Portland, so we can easily see that autumn has set in.Looking forward to:Sharing pictures of the kids, as they grew up, with my host siblings from my visit in 1970. The book the kids produced for a recent Christmas will be great.Sitting on the deck, watching sunset in Valparaiso with Judy. We're in a quandary, because supper happens around 9 pm in Chile, that's my normal bedtime. Not really sure how we'll work that out, but it will be fun to try.Warmer weather and wine tasting. Wineries aren't open quite to visitors like those we visit here, one needs to either make reservations or take a tour. Drop ins are discouraged. I guess we'll just have to plan ahead, but I know how to do that.Visiting a grocery, the drugstore, a bakery. It occurred to me that the whole time I was in Los Andes I never did the "regular every day" stuff. I was pretty pampered. Either Mama', or my sisters, did all the domestic work, I just showed up for meals. I can't even remember which part of town the market was in. Bread showed up on our doorstep, but someone must have purchased our meals before they were prepared. This trip will require some basic personal purchases, and I'll get to explore places I've never been before.Sharing time with Nate "on the road" and also just vacationing with Judy. We get so rushed around home, sometimes we forget to just enjoy the day. We'll do plenty of rushing on this trip, but can't wait to sit with a glass of wine. In case you're curious, we're staying at two really neat places when we get away from Santiago.www.paradordelavina.clEither use your prowser to "translate this page" or just click on "galerias" to see pictures of the lovely setting. This six-room B&B style hacienda has grapes growing right up to the windows. Note that they aren't too worried about people falling into their pool, I guess. "Swim at your own risk" isn't on their priority list. Then, check out the views from the deck in Valparaiso. They can be found at:www.ciriloarmstronghotel.comThey have many more photos than I can post here. Nate's going to be with us in Valparaiso, he'll be staying in a youth hostel down the hill. Valparaiso, with its hilly San Francisco look, is famous for its "funiculars" that ply the hillsides and take one from the ocean-front to the upper reaches of town. It also serves as the home base for the Chilean Naval Academy, and since I enjoy Annapolis so much, I simply have to visit...In the meantime, people have been so kind to put us on their social calendar for early October. We'll get to share meals with several close friends, we are very lucky in that way. I've even been invited to a free golf day this Tuesday, when I thought the clubs were put away until Palm Desert at Thanksgiving. The weather may even cooperate.Con Mucho Gusto,Marcos...
