Llamas!

Llamas are used for their wool and meat, so keeping them happy and fed is a big priority. These llamas were ready for a festival. Llamas are decorated according to their sex and status. There are always a lot of females and a few males. The males are decorated on their chests, and the females are not. The people knot these colored pieces of wool into the wool of the llama. The baby on was cute and curious beyond words. I wanted to take him home with me! Note the "earrings" they have on their ears!

Petroglyphs

These engravings may not be there forever because of erosion by blowing sand. I am glad we were able to see the llamas and symbols carved into the sides of the mountains. These ancient people were very fond of using hallucinogenics, so some of their carvings were a little "creative"- like the two headed llama, etc.

I did not know, but nothing decomposes in the desert because of the lack of moisture. If we had left an orange peel there, it would still be an orange peel years from now. The human waste of long ago is still there (YUCK!), and everywhere we went, we picked up any paper or garbage we saw to preserve this wonderful place.

Rainbow Valley

My favorite excursion- The Rainbow Valley. So called because the mountains are made up of different elements, such as copper, iron, gypsum or others, to create the color of the mountain. It was so beautiful and peaceful. We were lucky to have been the only two people on this tour, so we could spend as much time as we wanted. In the middle of this dry place were a few plants, and one actually had a bloom! We also saw the rica rica, which is a bush that is used as a tea or to infuse flavor to the pisco, a liquor here in Chile, that will KILL you if you drink too much. A branch of the bush is just shoved into the Pisco bottle, and the drink is called a rica rica sour. YUM!

Moon Valley

Our next excursion- also beautiful. Named "Moon Valley" because the surface resembles the surface of our moon, this place must be the starkest, but most serene place I have ever been. The topography has been created by the natural erosion by wind, and it is breathtaking! As we walked along paths, we all paused to hear the salt "crackle", as the sun causes this noise by the expanding of this mineral. It was amazing!

Atacama Salt Flats

Our first tour was to this salt flat and flamingo nature reserve. It was a beautiful day, and we watched dozens of flamingos snuffling up their food with those enormous beaks. The pink beauties were a bit away, but I tried to zoom with the camera, with some success. These birds fly at sunset, so we waited for the sun to go down and were rewarded with a beautiful reflection off the lake of the birds and the mountains. Peaceful!

Tierra Atacama Spa

I don't even know where to begin to explain this vacation. It was the BEST! We flew into Calama, Chile, a very small town witha smaller airport, Saturday morning, and were picked up by a van and taken to the SPA!!! In the middle of the DRIEST DESERT IN THE WORLD! These first pictures are of the airport, our room, the view around our room, and the spa. Eat your hearts out, people. This was one of those times I actually felt like a Queen!

Museo y Iglesia (Museum and Church)

Here's the best deal in town-

For 500 pesos, ($1.00 US), you can go to this fabulous little museum beside this huge Catholic Church, and it's all just off a new subway line. A few pictures of this museum and the basilica church for your enjoyment. The basilica is in honor of the Virgen del Carmen. John Paul II dedicated this basilica on his visit to Chile in 1987. The white cassock was worn by JP. Also, on the way back, we stopped at a little Arabic cafe and Richard had a Arabic coffee (YUCK! too strong for me) and 2 soapapillas, also for $1.00 US apiece. And who says there are no bargains these days!!!???

Finally- a new post!

No picture here, but view this website to see where we'll be relaxing, hiking and bathing in hot springs!

This place is in the middle of the desert in Chile, which is north, for all of us geographically challenged folks. Underneath the equator, don't forget!

The Atacama Desert is the driest desert in the world. We'll be doing some star gazing too, as the sky is said to be so full of stars that there is no darkness!

Anyway, as soon as we get back and have photos to share, we'll share. Don't you wish you were here????

http://www.tierraatacama.com/en-us/index.htm

Survival of the Fittest

This post has no picture- doesn't need one. It's all about who's at the top of the food chain, so to speak, and that, at this particular moment, at this particular place, is me.

Bottom line- we have ants. I know you guys want to hear about Chile, but I have to say that right now the little black Chilean beggers are driving me crazy. The only good thing about Chilean ants is that they are not too small, black, and don't really bite to badly.

The word for ant in Spanish is "hormiga", and the verb "to curse" is "maldecir", so lets just say, because I know these two words, that I am cursing, in an oh so polite way, these little vermin.

Richard is off to the store to get some spray. Now I know that some of you think that's probably pretty harsh, since they are probably just coming in for water (Chile is ONE DRY PLACE!), and that the good Lord created ants, but I think of it another way.

God created ants, but he also created the guy who invented Raid, and then he created me, who uses the Raid, Survival of the Fittest and Evolution and all of that stuff, rolled into one tight little ant- free package.

Don't forget- say "Maldicion" if you get really mad next time. Doesn't it sound so much better than all of that other stuff?

Frutas y verduras

It's HOT, folks, but heat grows veggies and fruits, and I am showing you one example of HUGE! This onion was purchased instead of TWO, so it was plenty large enough for two recipes. We're getting loads of yummy peaches, raspberries, blueberries, enormous cucumbers, really red juicy tomatoes and others. They have so many raspberries here that they just juice the things. That seems like sacrilege to me, but it is tasty!

PS- The onion was really cheap. I think it was about 60 cents.

Richard on stage- EVERYWHERE!

So my sister, Patti, and brother in law, Jim, came in for a week after the holidays. We took them everywhere, but one place was a dinner theater with a dancing show of typical Chilean dances. Well, they pull up people to "join" them onstage to dance. We were TOTALLY in the VERY BACK, and what do you know- them come back and pull Richard up on stage. He's a good sport, so he's last up and this really cute little girl in the traditional coconut bra costume pulls his shirt off and rolls up his pant legs and has him undulating to some Easter Island hip shimmy thing! It was great, and everyone was laughing ALONG with Richard, and, of course, not AT him!

The next DAY(!!) we're in the plaza towards downtown, and a local comedian pulls Richard into the circle and starts to give his little performance. He is, of course, making fun of all of us that do not speak Spanish. Richard, again, was a great sport, and we all again laughed and were so glad it was HIM instead of US!

Pan de Pascua, and other Christmas treats

OK, it's a little different here for the holidays because the air is warm (not really as hot as it has been, for some reason), the days are long and the stores are not too decorated. There are some decorations out in local establishments, but that has only come about in recent years because of the expats, I believe. Try listening to "Let It Snow" in English when it's 85 outside. "Oh, the weather outside is frightful.....". WHAT????

Let's talk about Pan de Pascua. This is bread-like cake, not too different from a fruitcake, I suppose, and it is only eaten at the holidays. OK, people, these poor Chileans really LIKE this stuff! We bought one from the grocery and it was crumbly dry. It says to put some sort of alcohol on it, and well, YES! It would be the only ingredient that was eatable! I am sure that if Chileans built their houses out of these brick-like forms that the casa would hold up under ANY earthquake.

I am including a link for a recipe, so, if any of you really are stumped as to what to get those most HATED and GRUMPY people on your list- this is your ticket!

http://southamericanfood.about.com/od/holidayrecipes/ir/pandepascua.htm

Next- Cola de Mono.

I thought this was a cola drink of some sort, but it translates into "tail of the monkey". It's, again, only served at the holidays, and tastes like a thin version of Bailey's. I heartily give this drink my two thumbs up.

Here is a recipe, if you don't have time to rush right out and get this little bottle of joy.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Isas-Cola-de-Mono/Detail.aspx

So, peoples, go to a liquor store and ask for Cola de Mono. I cannot wait to hear the report of the look they give you. Try to find someone that speaks Spanish. It will be a good look!

While you're there at the liquor store, see if they have pisco, make yourself a pisco sour and drink that. Get the 80 proof stuff, and you won't care what the heck that ole pan de Pascua tastes like! OLE!

Bomberos @ Nuestra Departamento!!!

Richard came home the other day and was greeted by four of the fire trucks from the Las Condes area parked in the street in front of the building and a large number of nice looking young men in uniform. The orange truck is the from the Deutsche Feuerwehrkompanie station, the red truck is from the US station and the little red and yellow truck is the HAZ MAT and hiding down the street behind the trees was either the French or British style truck hooking up the water just in case. You may notice that each of the fire companies have different uniforms depending on their specialty and training. Once all the trucks were in place, the firemen of each company meet at the entrance to the parking area to determine their entry strategy into the building. With the crowd gathering and the road blocked to traffic, the three larger trucks prepared as the firemen from the HAZ MAT unit with Scot Air Packs proceeded into the lower level of the garage. All the while Margie and Richard stood on the balcony of the building watching.

A few minutes later the firemen emerged victorious!!! The fire in the parking area was subdued and all were able to return to their respective stations for dinner. So what was the event? I was able to converse with the concierge to find out that someone had thown a cigarette into the garage collection area in the basement which created a large amount of smoke, but was contained to a small area.

Happiness is!

The dinner came with drinks, and see what this much alcohol can do for you? Just kidding- Richard was "smiling" for the camera! Anyway, here are the happy dinner people. Lots of food, and great wine (see label photo- they have a pic of the cueca on the label!) and fun!

Going Commando!

Last night Margie and Richard and I went to a dinner show at Bali Hai Restaurant. This was a GREAT show, and here are the blurry pictures to to confirm this.

We started with Iti Iti's ( a drink of unknown origin and content) and then had a wonderful dinner. The show consisted of a typical Chilean dance, the cueca, and Mapuche (the Indian) dances, and those typical to Easter Island. Too bad my pictures are a little blurry, but those young women were shaking thier hips so fast my camera couldn't keep us. We all had a great time. NOTE- The MEN in this last dance sequence DIDN' T wear any UNDERWEAR! COMMANDO!!!!! And they were shaking too! Couldn't get a picture, girls, sorry! My eyes were glued to the dance floor, to say the least.....