Selma and Noel visit to Chile January 22 to February 6, 2009   Arriving from Atlanta, escaping the North American winter, Selma and Noel came for their first visit to Chile. What a great time we had, starting in Santiago, then Mirasol, and a 6-day road trip to the "Lakes District" in the South of Chile, before ending with several day-trips near the coast. We traveled nearly 1,400 miles (2,200 km) before they headed back home. We hope you enjoy this photo summary!

Selma and Noel arrived amazingly alert and ready to go! After a short stop at DaDinos for coffee and a snack, we began our first day jam-packed with fun events.

On our way to climb the Andes Mountain (by car) we stopped first at a unique "sport mall." All the shops and common area are dedicated to sporting activities, including the large multistory climbing wall in the background. Outside are water sport items, such as boats and even a machine-driven wave generator to practice surfing!

We sat in the outdoor stands to enjoy the exciting surfers in their wave machine!

During a break (above) then full water (right).

We began our assent up the Andes Mountains, stopping frequently for photo opportunities.

		One unexpected stop was for a giant rubber tire that had fallen off a truck headed to a copper mine. Although no injuries, the tire did block all traffic.
Once the police had safely cleared the mountain road, we continued our climb, stopping briefly to see the tires close-up.

We continued up the hair-pin turns, and stopped again on a dirt road. Margy got out to help Artie see around the car, and was rewarded with dozens of these burrs stuck all over her sneakers and socks. What a pain to remove!

Summer in Snow Valley (Valle Nevado) looks different than the winter ski season. Free roaming horses watched us pass.

Like from "The Sound of Music," Selma and Noel rejoiced at the views from the summit (about 9,000 ft.).

We explored all the summit views, and even the off-season ski shop sale, where Selma bought a new green jacket!
Feeling on top of the world!

		Back at Santiago level (1,500 ft. above sea level), we ended their first day in Chile with a wonderful home-cooked meal at the home of Pablo and Gina, dear friends we have known since we arrived in 1999. Selma and Noel were still going strong as we enjoyed the chicken cazuela, a typical Chilean dish with potato, corn, squash, rice, chicken in a tasty broth.  What a great first day in South America!
Later during our travels, Selma and Noel also got to enjoy several other typical Chilean meals, including:

Cazuela Vacuna	Porotos Granados	Empanada	Pastel de Choclo	Hamburguesa

A quick check of emails, at our Santiago apartment, and we were ready to see downtown Santiago on the second day of their visit..

An art exhibit was on display in a new downtown museum, and Selma was eager to see this famous artist's paintings. The display was interactive, including the opportunity to be part of the artist's work. Don't Selma and Noel make a beautiful couple?

We strolled the city walkways, and the central Plaza de Armas, where old and new architecture blend, as do artist's colors.

After a long day on our feet, it was great to return to one of Mónica's fine dinners, and the chance to meet more family, including baby Valentina.

The next day we browsed the artisan shops at Los Dominicos, seeing wood sculptures and hand-made jewelry.

A tour of Santiago for Noel would not be complete without finding the Harley-Davidson store. Small, and closed, but worth the quick stop. Sunset on Avenida Apoquindo highlights one architectural profile of the city. Next day: off to the beach!

Saturday mid-day, on the way to our beach house in Mirasol, we stopped for lunch and a tour at Viña Mar.

This fertile valley, Casablanca, is ideal for white wine due to micro climate conditions there. A half hour later we were at Mirasol.

Doing their own walks, Selma and Noel got to explore the "main street" in front of our house, and the "killer hill" nearby.

We also enjoyed several meals at our favorite local restaurant located on top of this hill overlooking the beautiful bay below. Horses grazed outside the place as we thought about family, friends and life. We had learned that Artie's Mom was suddenly gravely ill.

Early Sunday morning, January 25, 2009, Artie's Mom passed away peacefully in her sleep, after a short bout with pneumonia. She enjoyed a very full and experience-rich life of nearly 95 years, visiting Chile six times. We were unable to get to the New Jersey funeral in time. After several family discussions, we decided to keep the spirit of her life alive with local "toasts to her memory," here in Chile, with family and friends. Shortly after sunrise we headed to the beach to celebrate Adella's life.

Margy emptied the last drops of her wine into the sea, to share our toast to Adella around the world.

Next, we drove a half hour to a place where Adella enjoyed a visit several years before, to further think of her and her life.

		This is the house of Pablo Neruda, Poet Laureate of Chile. He and his last wife are buried here, where Adella sat and thought about poetry, life and love. We did the same, with new special meaning.

That afternoon, our dear friend Mónica drove over from Santiago to make us dinner, share memories and feelings.

Having family and friends with us made such a difference to help share the sadness of the day. Adella knew many of our Chilean friends, and we would continue to have several more "toasts" in honor of her memory as we traveled through the country with Selma and Noel.

Noel and Selma re-charged, with rest, reading and relaxation. We all needed that! The next day we began more local touring and readied ourselves for the six-day southern trip we planned to make.

We hiked the local hillsides and along the sea shore, marveling at the giant waves striking the rocks and beautiful views.

		Valparaiso is an industrious sea port (a site for cruise ships), with picturesque colorful hillsides, and rickety old (more than 100 years) box cars to get you to the hill tops. We rode this assensor to see the views and have lunch.

At left is the Valparaiso harbor, and at right the scene of Viña del Mar, one city north, geared to tourists and condos.

After touring Santiago and our beach area, we headed out for a six-day road trip to what is called the "Lakes District" of Chile. As you see above, this area, about 500 miles south of Santiago, is a beautiful cluster of lakes and volcanoes.

Though a long trip, we had the spirit to "stop and smell the roses" along the way, or rather, to take lots of photos. We enjoyed seeing fields of sunflowers, and pretty trees (Alamo trees or, in the USA, Poplars).

		Our first night,  300 miles south, was in Concepción, near the Company's chemical plant. We stayed at the airport Holiday Inn, where Artie spent many evenings during his Chile career.

Carlos, Mary, Manuel, Francisca and Fernando, joined us for dinner. These fellows used to work with Artie.

Next stop: Villarrica and Pucón, two lake-side villages about two hundred miles further south from Concepción. Here we planned to visit Carlos, another former work mate of Artie's, as well as tour the area and visit the nearby city Valdivia, to see our friend, the instrument maker, Nicanor.

Villarrica Volcano, here seen from a ground level view, is visible from miles away, and we were awed by its size as we approached the town. As you will see below, the volcano is prominent in nearly all views from around this area. Hard to miss, except when it's foggy or cloudy!

We had adjoining rooms for three nights, with occasional email access at the office, and a full-time sheep grazing nearby.

We explored the town, visiting shops, the lake, bookstores and artisan booths. The volcano was visible everywhere.

We also enjoyed simple things, like seeing village homes, kids walking together, horse and wagon, and little shops.

		Too much shopping? Time for a nap!

Hard to believe these beautiful flowers were made of wood! The petals were thin shavings that were brightly colored.

We visited Ingrid and Carlos after we checked into our motel and toured the town for a while. Artie and Carlos worked together until 2006, when Carlos retired and they moved to Villarrica. We enjoyed seeing their beautiful house, the professional artwork that Ingrid does at home, meeting some of their grand kids and dining on grilled Chilean salmon. We also did another "toast" to Adella.

The next day, Friday, January 30th, we drove up the road to the volcano. The town of Villarrica was overcast, and as we climbed the gravel road we entered deeper into the fog and clouds. The conditions made for eerie yet beautiful scenes.

We passed some very old homes in the hills, and Selma explored further and found these interesting scenes.

		Brrrr! Cold and damp up nearer the top! Going back down was more fun!

Finally, the weather improved, the fog began to clear, and we could see farther, enjoying new views towards the horizon.

		That same afternoon we drove almost 2 hours southwest, to the coastal city of Valdivia, where we visited with our luthier friend, Nicanor. He had built some of Cristián's early musical instruments and also two guitars for us. He is an amazing man, craftsman, and musician. Selma and Noel also enjoyed meeting him and touring his workshop.

The opening carved into the instrument above is detailed to the right. Nicanor does this all by hand! On his wall hung templates for making violins.

		As always, it is an honor to see Nicanor and admire his artistry. Artie's Pop would have loved to have met Nicanor and see his handiwork.

		Driving north from Villarrica about 4 hours on Sunday, we arrived at the hotel where we had reserved rooms at the Laja Falls (Saltos de Laja). We did not expect to have the falls right in our own backyard!  Can you see the falls just beyond our sliding glass doors to our bedrooms?

		Tourists are able to swim directly under the falls. What a fun place! The hotel is placed on an island, and there are 3 sets of falls surrounding the area. We took a short buggy ride around the island with our ten year old tour guide.

The island had various animals penned for viewing, including these llamas. The next day we headed back to Mirasol.

Following the long drive up from the Falls, the next day we just rested at home in Mirasol, until our gardener, Carmen, stopped by. She's a professional botanist, and offered to show us her nursery. We jumped at the opportunity!
Carmen gave us an excellent tour, showing us how she nurtures her seedlings under protective covers. Her nursery is grand!

		We even met Carmen's lovely Mom in her house.

Just a few sample flowers to enjoy.

After the day's rest in Mirasol, we took a day-trip, Wednesday, to visit a small town and a farm, about an hour inland.

We began the day at the town of Pomaire, famous for its pottery. Several blocks of the community are completely dedicated to making or selling clay-based products. Some even let the tourists participate in the experience with hands-on fun.

		Each shop is different. Most of the shops have many things made entirely of clay. We browsed, ate lunch, and browsed some more. Selma and Noel did help the local economy too!

It's hard to imagine how many things can be made of clay! The variety and colors are fun to see. It's hard to visit and not buy something!

By late afternoon, we headed over to Melipilla, another farm community where our friends own hundreds of acres, and where we always have a great time visiting. This day we were met by Pedro, who had a box of fresh peaches to give to Margy as her birthday gift. It was February 4th, after all!

		We began our tour of the farm in their plum orchards. They have about 35,000 plum trees! We saw them shake the trees with a vibrating machine, gather the plums in tarpaulins below, and place them into crates. Of course, we enjoyed fresh-from-the-tree plums like never before.

		After the crates of plums are gathered in the orchard they are brought to a large field to sun-dry and become prunes.

The workers spread a netting on the ground, empty the baskets, rake the plums and let them dry. They will be rotated after a few days, and finally gathered for sale. It is amazing to see the expanse of fruit, and the details needed for success.

It's more than sunshine and luck. It is a business. We are always impressed with the care and attention to detail that our friends bring to this enterprise. They develop innovative techniques to increase productivity, quality and service. It is no wonder that they are so successful. At right, a worker documents important information.

In addition to the farming activities, our friends also have several nature preserves on their property.

		We roamed around deer, baby deer, chickens, rheas (a Chilean ostrich), and several peacocks. Although we did not get up close to the peacocks, we did get to gather several beautiful feathers they had left behind.

With Pedro and brother Juan we also toured their walnut orchards (100,000 trees!), saw their kiwi groves, and saw other produce before having refreshments prior to the trip home. What a great day and fun way to celebrate Margy's birthday.

To end a perfect day, Selma and Noel treated us to a birthday dinner for Margy at a country restaurant. We got home late at night, with plenty of memories from our day at Pomaire and the farm.

		On the last full-day in Mirasol, we made one short visit to the condos in San Alfonso del Mar, down the hill from our house. You can check this place out on Google or YouTube, as the world's biggest swimming pool. The rest of the day was just relaxing in the garden and packing for their trip home.

Before going to the airport, we even packed in another tour of Santiago, visiting Cerros Santa Lucia and San Cristóbal.

From up high on the hills, we saw the new skyscrapers under construction (soon to be over 70 stories high), and more.

These sixteen days in Chile sure were full, and went fast. We loved every day with Selma and Noel. Returning to Mirasol, we think of them as we watch the sun set, and remember the many memories of our fun time together.

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