Alice and Carl

Alice and Carl Visit

August 17-23, 2006

Alice was the best friend of Margy's sister Kathy throughout their school years in Endicott, NY. She and her husband Carl came to visit us in Santiago after spending a week touring Peru. They had prearranged with Mónica to have a number of private tours of downtown Santiago, some museums, a local winery, and the Pacific seacoast. On Friday we enjoyed a special dinner show at Los Adobes de Argomedo. We got into the spirit with Chilean hats for some pictures before enjoying a dinner and program of Chilean and South American music and dance.

The program was very colorful with several groups of musicians and dancers. We were seated in a raised section in the center front, so we had a great view, with easy access to the dance floor.

It was lots of fun for all. Recognize any dancers?

A few shots from their sightseeing trips:

Valparaíso is an old port city, famous for its colorful old buildings, steep hills and ascensors. Many of the ascensors were closed for repairs, but they did get to ride up one of the newer ones. To enjoy the some of the more famous sights of Valparaíso, they had to walk up and down steep hills, instead of riding.

They enjoyed good meals at several restaurants and toured the Concha y Toro winery.

On Sunday, August 20th, we took an all-day tour of the world's largest underground copper mine, including a visit through the abandoned "city-town" of the original mine. We started from the center of Santiago for the nearly 2-hour bus ride to get there.

The village for the employees and families of the Sewell Mine was established by the mining company in the early 1900s on this steep mountainside since the location was too remote from any cities to permit daily commutes. We dressed up in the safety gear necessary to enter the miles of underground tunnels, and saw where the copper ore was extracted, crushed and made ready for above ground treatment. The village was later abandoned, but now is a national historic site and is undergoing refurbishment for tours.

With full safety gear of hard hats, reflective jackets, emergency respirators and spot-lights we were inside the mine and able to see the operations, as well as obtain excellent explanations of the geology, history and process.

Outside the mine we were toured through the now abandoned town that in 1968 had about 15,000 residents (workers and their families). The colorful dormitory-style homes and community buildings looked pretty against the August snow of this high-country location, over 6,600 foot elevation.

We enjoyed the sun, fresh air and snow before heading back to Santiago for a home-made dinner at Mónica's. Alice participated in the preparation of the dessert, with the unique Chilean fruit called chirimoya, while Mónica's son Alejandro made his specialty: ceviche (raw fish marinated in lemon juice). His wife, "Flaca," looks on expectantly, with only two months to go before the anticipated birth of their first child (a boy to be named Agustin).

A happy ending to a long and interesting day. We had a great evening, a wonderful meal, and enjoyed our time with Alice and Carl's first visit to Chile. We look forward to their return visits.

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The program was very colorful with several groups of musicians and dancers. We were seated in a raised section in the center front, so we had a great view, with easy access to the dance floor.

A few shots from their sightseeing trips:

Valparaíso is an old port city, famous for its colorful old buildings, steep hills and ascensors. Many of the ascensors were closed for repairs, but they did get to ride up one of the newer ones. To enjoy the some of the more famous sights of Valparaíso, they had to walk up and down steep hills, instead of riding.

		On Sunday, August 20th, we took an all-day tour of the world's largest underground copper mine, including a visit through the abandoned "city-town" of the original mine. We started from the center of Santiago for the nearly 2-hour bus ride to get there.


The village for the employees and families of the Sewell Mine was established by the mining company in the early 1900s on this steep mountainside since the location was too remote from any cities to permit daily commutes. We dressed up in the safety gear necessary to enter the miles of underground tunnels, and saw where the copper ore was extracted, crushed and made ready for above ground treatment. The village was later abandoned, but now is a national historic site and is undergoing refurbishment for tours.


With full safety gear of hard hats, reflective jackets, emergency respirators and spot-lights we were inside the mine and able to see the operations, as well as obtain excellent explanations of the geology, history and process.


Outside the mine we were toured through the now abandoned town that in 1968 had about 15,000 residents (workers and their families). The colorful dormitory-style homes and community buildings looked pretty against the August snow of this high-country location, over 6,600 foot elevation.


We enjoyed the sun, fresh air and snow before heading back to Santiago for a home-made dinner at Mónica's. Alice participated in the preparation of the dessert, with the unique Chilean fruit called chirimoya, while Mónica's son Alejandro made his specialty: ceviche (raw fish marinated in lemon juice). His wife, "Flaca," looks on expectantly, with only two months to go before the anticipated birth of their first child (a boy to be named Agustin).


A happy ending to a long and interesting day. We had a great evening, a wonderful meal, and enjoyed our time with Alice and Carl's first visit to Chile. We look forward to their return visits.

Back to Margy and Artie's homepage