Kathy and Bob's Visit November 1-17, 2006

Kathy and Bob came to Chile for their first time, arriving at the Santiago airport November 1. During the next three weeks we enjoyed showing them around town, along the Pacific coast and the top of the Andes Mountains. We also time-shifted our Thanksgiving dinner party to allow them and our Chilean friends to get to know each other. We made a special trip to Patagonia together, the subject matter of another web page here. Separately Kathy and Bob also visited Easter Island. What a full three weeks!

A Chilean home-made dinner at Mónica's is always great, and a visit to Artie's office is mandatory.
Even a short stop at the local supermarket provided some views of routine Chilean activities.
A subway ride to downtown offered the opportunity to see some street side shopping and the cathedral.

Beautiful historic architecture, busy city streets, and local shopping provided a taste of Santiago life for Kathy and Bob during their first few days here. We also visited a local museum and park.

From old to new, the contrast of this new museum was a surprising difference in styles in downtown Santiago.

This underground museum had hand-craft projects for kids, with someone providing instruction at each of the various tables specializing in one craft or another. Here some children were learning wood carving while at other tables the youngsters tried their hand at fiber arts, beads and other fun activities.

By sunset we headed to the top of Cerro San Cristóbal, the central city park that overlooks the city. Great views!

We even took a city bus ride to experience yet another fun mode of transportation through the city. Then we made a quick stop to the country club, for final preparations for our Thanksgiving dinner.

		Everything was ready, so we just toured the grounds so Kathy and Bob could see the place. The next day we returned for dinner.

We knew we were ready to start the celebration for Thanksgiving when the last guests arrived: the newest member of the family - Agustín, barely a month old, was the youngest in the crowd which totaled 35 participants.

After a brief welcoming speech of thanks and a review of the meaning of Thanksgiving by Artie, we all enjoyed a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, complete with turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, salad, vegetables, and fresh fruit and apple, pumpkin and pecan pie. The following are a variety of shots taken of our many friends during the dinner.

It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without the leftovers! We sure enjoyed them...

Next event: A trip to the coast. Almost half-way there we stopped at Viña Mar, for a private tour of a winery.
		A friend is a part owner of this winery (see also Tarapacá from 2004), so we had the opportunity to have a very detailed view of the operations and then a great after-tour wine tasting.

After a few sips, Margy was ready to really relax, laugh and fall asleep. Kathy and Bob continued on however with their tasting and testing. A good wine and a great way to get ready to enjoy the remainder of the trip and views of the Pacific coast.

		We stopped first at Valparaíso, the industrial port town, with its unique "copper wire" sculpture, and fun restaurant overlooking the busy harbor.

		Then we headed north to the tourist city of Viña del Mar, with its famous floral clock and pretty avenues.

And then further north, just following the coast, we made several stops to enjoy the views, the sea lions and pelicans.

Although you can travel from Chile's coast to the Andes Mountain tops in one day (in just a few hours really), we did it the next day. The winding hair-pin turn road to the top follows a scenic section that allowed photo stops along the way.

We passed clear mountain streams, fed from the melting snow atop the Andes. The "boys" of course had to stop to climb the rocks and enjoy the views close-up.

		We saw Chile's equivalent of "cowboys," called huasos or vaqueros, wearing their traditional sombreros (hats), our for a Sunday ride, or hauling their animal feed to their farm.

		And we saw horses out on their own.
		And even a few sheep,before leaving the lower hills and getting above the tree-line.

After leaving the beautiful views below the tree-line, the sights dramatically change as the air gets thin and the elevation, approaching 9,000 feet, increases. Up on top, it's a whole different look!

		It sure was worth the effort, and the climb. Nothing like the view from the top!

From city scenes, to mountain streams, from the Pacific shore to so much more. How can you beat these views?

Can it be more spectacular than this? Find out... Check out the Patagonia trip!