Chile 2007

First stop - Santiago

A view of the City and the mountains

On the funicular going up St Cristobel hill

San Cristobel

The gardens at St Cristobel

The fast - flowing Mapocho River

The Cathedral

Visiting the Wine Country.

The gate at Undurraga Vineyard

The vines at Undurraga

Barrels of wine in a modern cooling room with the temperature controlled by computer

Barrels in a traditional cellar. The barrels are made of either French or American oak, each giving the wine a distinctive flavour.

The wine tasting!

Chile is very famous for its wine growing. It is the only country to produce wine from the Carmenére grape - a type that has died out in Europe due to disease.

The second of our wine tours was around Concha y Toro - perhaps Chile's most famous wine producers.

The house at Concha y Toro

The vines. Each row of vines had a rose at the end - the rose would show signs of disease first.

The entrance to the 'Cellar of the devil' - where the most famous brand matures.

The beach at Vinã

With our friend Monica.   We had not seen Monica since she was seven!

We were invited for lunch to sports horse stud - Santa Beatriz

One of the stallions

A mare and foal.

 The resident lama.

Curico

We then travelled by bus south of Santiago to Curico We stayed with some old friends who had a fruit farm. They grew pears, apples, kiwi fruit, and cherries which they exported round the world including the UK.

The kiwi fruit plants

The cherry trees - grown for their wood

André and Matz - doing the barbeque

Enjoying the food and wine!

Arauco

From there we travelled 5 hours south to Arauco, the town where we had lived. We met up with our good friends Hector and Leena and their family.

With Hector and family at the sea food place next to the beach.

The beach at Arauco

The Hosteria - unchanged in 30 years, where they make a 'mean' pisco-sour. Good thing the room was close!

←Here we are with 10 year old eucalyptus trees.

A one year old tree ↓

Hector's farm in the hills where he has cattle and trees.

The garden

Enjoying a family barbeque

And now recovering in the sun!

One of the timber products produced in Chile is paper and pulp. We had a tour around the pulp mill at Arauco that Joanna's father had built - the reason for being in Chile in the first place.

It is now much larger and makes pulp from pine trees and eucalyptus trees. The different trees make a different type of paper.

Hector's beach house.

Hector's beach.

Riding , Chilean style

Los Angeles and the Rodeo

We took a bus to a town 4 hours away to see a rodeo - a very typical Chilean sport.

The idea is to control the cow between the two horses, and at certain points, pin it against the wall to get it to turn. Marks are awarded for how well it is done. It takes a lot of skill and the horses are well trained.

Many of the smaller farms use oxen to cultivate the land.

We met up with another old friend, Bernadita and spent a day with her at her cattle farm near the coast not far from Arauco.

Bernadita's farm

The view from the house.

Bringing in the cattle

Heading back

After having a really good time in Arauco we were sad to leave, and head back to Santiago and the plane home.

We stopped for one night in Chillan on the way back to break up the journey. There was a wonderful market here, so we shopped!

The modern cathedral in Chillan

The last day in Santiago

The Palacio de La Moneda - the main government building where the coup happened in 1973, when Pinochet took power.

The central market

Eating again!

←The Christmas tree being put up in the main square.

 The music - Chile Lindo

Now we have returned home, to the rain and the wind and the mud, and the sheep starting to lamb. Oh, to be on Hector's beach...........