The Grande Finale

To the Beach....

Making the last post of a trip like ours is a bit tricky cause we jump from the last adventure to the plane and off to home we go. This post is "post" adventure as I sit in California waiting for the Easter bunny. The last bit of our adventure begins with a new guide, Valentina, and she is delightful. Off we go from Santiago to the coast in search of the cool wines of Chile. As usual the country side reminds us of California and not only have we tasted some interesting wines but get to see a bit of the country. We travel through eucalyptus trees to a winding road that leads down to the Pacific ocean and we feel at home. The coast is rugged and we pass through vacation condos and hotels where in Summer, I mean Winter for us, it gets crowded with people playing by the ocean. We driver parks in a small lot and we walk across the sand, by the fishing boats and up the stairs where we have a great view of the ocean and the small fishing boats bringing in the catch. We watch them roll their boats up from the water to rest on the sand under the restaurant. Fun stuff!

Valparaiso

Here comes the city of Valparaiso, our destination and home for two days. Wow this place is different. This is a port town and has been a favorite since the Spanish found it in the middle 1500s. Things boomed until the Panama Canal put an end to it and the City hit hard times. It is still an important port but it now is a tourist stop and artist community in addition to everything else. The houses are colorful and the entire city sits on steep hills and it is a kick to look around. When you look closely you begin to wonder why some of the buildings are still standing! Building codes are lax to say the least. Earthquakes are a problem in Chile and the quakes of 2006 and 2010 did some real damage. We venture out of our hotel and everywhere there are steps.

Casa Higueras

Our hotel requires steps up to the roof for a great view, down to the dinning room, down again for the pool, up to our room. And that is just in the hotel! Outside it is a picture a minute as the folks in Valpariso excel in wall graffiti and no wall is left out of the effort. It is playful, creative, a little leftover from the 60s and downright entertaining. We almost get lost walking downtown but we find our "stairway to heaven" that leads, huffing a puffing, back to the hotel. Valpariso is fun and we end the last full day of our adventure and Chile with dinner in a small room of the hotel with nice music, food, wine and great friends thinking of the adventures we have shared. The next day we travel by the coast to our first stop and pile into a typical seaside restaurant where they serve us empanadas. Like small warm bread rolls at every meal, the Chile people love empenadas like we do our hot dogs. And they fill them with good stuff like cheese, seafood, onions and whatever. They bring us a plate and we fill up . We end it all with visits to a couple of wineries, one last great meal by the ocean and we head for the airport and home. I hope you enjoyed our blog and thanks for hanging with us on our great adventure.

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Tipsy in Colchagua Valley

Lapostolle - Two Days of Luxury

Early and thoughful planning by Tina allowed some extreme luxury following our daily re-packing, jungle hopping, Andes climbing, Inca trail and Machu Picchu learning and so off to the wine country of Chille we go. Santiago awaits and a rental car - so we thought. We missed the pick up time for our car and it was no more. Part of a big trip is the adventures that go along. So we think. Krimhilde has other problems as she has now joined the weight loss program and leaves a little memory behind for the rental car people to remember us.
Our plan is hatched and back we go to the hotel where they find us a driver to deliver us to the wine country. All it takes is money to solve a problem - sorry kids, you are on your own! The Tina planned luxury is called Lapostolle and it is way above anything we ever experienced. Upon arrival our bags are loaded on a golf cart and says the kind french lady" Have you had lunch? We have been waiting for you". We are delivered to a deck over looking the vinyard when appears an angel with a nice glass of Savenion Blanc. A simple already completed form is presented needing only our signature and is followed by the first of several appetizers. Eventually we are invited to a table for the main course and several flights of wine. Maybe an hour or two passes when we are invited to travel by cart to our casita where we will live for the next two nights.

Our Angel...

She was always there for us. Breakfast, lunch and dinner...

 

 

Executive Chef, Rodrigo Acuna-Bravo

Now a word about the fabulous chef at Lapostolle. Not only did Rodrego make wonderful food but he is so humble and sweet. He personally took us on a tour of the herb garden and the next day took us on a tour of the vegetable garden and orchard that supplies the restaurant. Rodrego had cancer when he was 18 years, underwent 12 months of chemotherapy During this time he decided that he did not want to go to college to be whatever, but took some culinary classes and decided that was the art he wanted to pursue. He is now is in his 30s and a chef who has cooked for many famous people such as Kofi Anon, the US Ambassador and many other diplomats and of course now, Madam Alexander Monet.

Our Casitas....

The Casitas rest against the hill overlooking the property with complete privacy. It is beautiful is all I can say. The bathroom has a full glass front and the shower has no enclosure so you look out to the vines and Andes as you shower. After dinner with more flights of wine, several courses, great conversations with the other guests (the place only has four Casitas) and two hours of gastronomic joy, we walk to our Casita and get our first sighting of the Southern Cross. The Southern Cross is of course the southern hemisphere equivilent of the North Star and Big Dipper.

 

After two nights at Lapostolle, we hate to leave this paradise but we have reservations at another place down the road - Vina La Playa. This hacienda is located in the country and limited, very limited English speaking staff we smile a lot and depend on first year high school spanish. But the people are so friendly and helpful we get along great. It also helps that the food is delicious, fresh, and cooked to perfection. It is home cooking but up a notch and we almost have the place to ourselves. We are mellow and resting and enjoying ourselves.

Our Driver, Francisco

For the next 3 days as we left Lapostolle, Franciso was our driver. The very first day with Francisco, Jim and Clyde each needed to find an ATM for Chilean cash so Francisco took us to Santa Cruz. Well, Francisco pointed to the ATMs and off they went. Then, Francisco looked at Krim and I and asked if we wanted to get out and walk around. Apparently Jim and Clyde forgot to mention to Francisco not to let us out of the van. We looked at each other and quickly got the hell out of the van. Best shopping in 3 days... until Jim, Clyde and Francisco caught us with us. Francisco never made that mistake again. Below is Francisco saying "no shopping" to us.

Vina La Playa

We checked into a very nice, quaint and just a bit quirky on the good side. No one spoke English. Occasionally there would be a guest who spoke just enough Spanish to help us out just a bit. There was little choices on the menu, really just this or that... which helped. Bicycles were availble and horseback riding was free. Krim and I took them up on the horseback riding, however the horses would only go about a block or two and head back to their food and water. One of the workers would shoo the horses out (with us on them) and another block or two and back again. No matter what we did, those horses had their agenda and too much experiance with other greengos to cater to us.

Wine Tastings...

Montes first and then Viu Manent for tastings on the first day...Then Montgras. Not only did we taste at Montgras, but we had a wine blending competition with four other groups. We had to keep track of the combinations we used and then each group selected which wine would go forward for the competition with the other groups...We beat the French team! Actually... we beat everyone!!!Last winery we visit in the Calchagua Valley is Casa Silva, which is one of the oldest wineries in Chile. After lunch at Casa Silva, we journey back to Santiago for our final adventure to wine areas making the best whites and fabulous Pinot Niors.

Now, to the Beach!

 

 

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Game On - Machu Pichu

Today is the day

Tina here.....

We all woke up early in the morning. The big fear is weather and that the day that you have to explore Machu Picchu it will be cold, windy and pouring rain and there is no wiggle room, you have tickets and there is no rain days, you go in the rain or you don't go at all. It was raining when we arrived the evening before and literally poured rain throughout the night. Our guide, Jose said let it rain tonight so it can be sunny tomorrow. That gave us hope at least. The Canadian couple who we were with in the Amazon went in the rain and said that it was really cold and the trails were slippery. But Jose had given us hope...

Well, when the clouds broke open the sky was the most beautiful blue I think we've ever seen! Today is our day...we start out on our journey with only stories from other people, but this is our day... and what a day it was!

Clyde here....

Morning breaks and the mountains jump up all around and the river is running wild.It is a bus that transports us up switchbacks (don't even think about looking down!) until we get our first glimpse of the sight. A mess of people are lined up to pay 1 coin to use the bathroom cause once you cross over the entrance they furnish no bathroom and do not take kindly to folks messing up the place - this is a holy sight. Our guide earns his keep as he suggests we head first for the sun gate. Apparently Peru is short of oxygen and only has enough for the locals and leaves the rest of us to fight for scraps. We go up, up, up, gasping but making progress. We get views of the Machu Picchu ruins all the way and each view is more amazing. Near the top it gets really amazing as those in our party that think only birds should be in areas like this are intent on polishing the side of the mountain away from the drops and imitate dogs on all fours in the really scary parts But with pride in tact we summit and high fives all round. Yeah!

 

The view is worth it and some info from our guide is something to think about. Like all folks that are connected to the earth the Inca know stars and the seasons. The sun rises on the longest day of the year first through the sun gate notch in the mountain and hits a window on the temple in the ruins about 3 miles away. The shortest day of the year finds the sun hitting another window on the temple from another mountain. There are many interesting things to learn and the ruins are much larger than appear on the poster.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But the main thing is the good feeling that radiates from the spot. We leave Machu Pichu with respect and amazement. A train ride, a long van ride in the dark and we drag our weary bodies to bed in Cusco.

Allison, SA Luxury Excursions

Now a word about the lovely and wonderful people you meet along the way. Allison works for the agency we booked our Amazon and Machu Piccu portion of our trip and they have taken wonderful care of us. Allison was checking out the Jungle with us and was a part of our group and we all bonded immediately. Allison comes from Cosco but has lived in Germany and speaks german, english and spanish and a bit of Inca (Quechua). But what is really impressive about Allison is her soul - a truly caring person. We were concerned with our short turn time between flights in Lima going to Santiago and Allison being Allison checked into our reservations. These are not reservations that are part of her firms portion of our trip but just helping friends. Turns out our reservations were messed up and they had no record of our reservation. Crap. When we arrive at the hotel Tina and I head for the business center where Tina hooks up Skype and we call Orbits; "Due to an unusual bla, bla, your call will take approximately 25 minutes. Double crap. Here comes Allison, gets on the computer, looks over my papers and after a spell, "I found you". Hell, I don't know what happened but Allison saved the day and a place in our hearts forever. Not the end. Allison meets us the next morning, goes to the airport, sees that our bags are checked through to Santiago and walks us to the gate. Not only that but she is cute as can be. Thank you Allison!

 

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Higher Calling At Sun Gate

A Higher Calling...

As we made our way to the Sun Gate it was clear that would be the perfect place for some of dad's ashes. Sun Gate is about 3 miles from Macchu Picchu and has stunning views of the ruins. It also is part of the Inca Trail. Only 10% of the people who visit Macchu Picchu ever ascend up to Sun Gate. Some of dad is now high above, overlooking Macchu Picchu.

One of my favorite pictures of dad is the one of him in his sailor hat on top of a mountain in Yugoslavia, and Sun Gate reminds me of this. Perfect place... Rest in peace, dad. I love you and miss you....

 

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On The Road To Machu Picchu

OK, Let's get to the adventure that started this whole talk and planning. We are starting toward the Big MP - Machu Picchu. But first we hop in a van with our guide Jose and driver Luis up out of Cusco on a small road with big drop offs through some really poor neighborhoods dealing with a lot of mud from the nights heavy rain. We are headed first for the sacred valley and the land with the poster people for Peru. Women with little and larger hats (depending on the region they live) and little kids with a hat and colorful clothes and just darn cute.

We travel on roads made of rock, pavement and sometimes dirt and our heads are swimming with the sights we are seeing. We climb and our driver pulls to a look out and there they are, the first serious look at the Andes of the picture books - Wow, are they big! As clouds drift in and out of the peaks and valleys we feel like we really are on an adventure. We top at 14,500 feet at the look out and dang if the women don't find an opportunity to shop! Yep, right there are some folks selling stuff but the interest is of the Alpaca stuff. It's nice and the price is right so we help the local economy.

 

 

We visit a salt farm made during the inca time where a spring runs through the mountain and picks up salt. The salty water is directed into many ponds and allowed to evaporate. Salt was important not only for their needs but for trading. It has been a long day and we finally arrive at the train station.

 

The train ride is beyond amazing as it follows a very angry muddy river crashing through boulders and it keeps us entertained until, until, holy cow those mountains are getting big and are those glaciers on those mountains?

 

Bigger still they grow and it seems we are transported to a land of wonder until we arrive at the town of Machu Piccnu. An amazing town with a totally different feel seemingly made up of hotels, small shops and people selling their wares. Our hotel sits against the mountain and our room is just charming. We go to bed with it raining like crazy but we are snug.

 

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High In Cusco - Day 2

Another High In Cusco

Sorry about the lateness in this post... I got behind, literally about this time in the trip. None the less, Cusco is exciting and over the top. We began our high altitude drugs a couple of days before while still in the jungle so we were already anticipating the trip. The city is bigger than we thought with around 600,000 residence but most of the historical and tourist sites are located in the central square so it seems smaller. Cusco is a jumping off place for people on adventures in the Andes, coming and going to the Amazon, passing through to Lima and the big city and people from the Peru countryside. The square is full of shops and cathedrals and a mix of locals and strangers. Jim and Tina were hit with a forced weight reduction program that kept them indoors in sight of the plumbing fixtures while Krimhilde and I thanked the god of Peru and took a look around.

Our buddy Allison from our jungle experience lives and grew up in Cusco and wants to show us around. Way Cool! And so we meet in the square and off we go to the biggest central market and it a busy Saturday with locals (mostly) shopping and selling. Allison tells us of all the fresh vegies and foods and how they are prepared and helps us find some presents to take back home. Outside the market we get our first sighting of the famous Peru Guinny Pig cooked and ready to eat! Guinny Pig is a special treat in Peru and we hear they are tasty. We pass on the pig but we later try a little Alpaca and it was pretty good.

 

Later we take a guided tour of Cusco and find the Catholic Church and Spanish conquistadors were not exactly politically correct. The Inca holy sites were destroyed and a church built on the same site. The Inca people were made to accept the church or were executed in the public square. Bad stuff and it made the beautiful church a bit less impressive. However, since local artists were used the guide points out how the local people placed important Inca symbols into the paintings and woodwork. He who laughs last....

 

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High in Cusco

11,000 Feet High in the Sky

We flew from the Amazon to Cusco, so in reality we went up and landed. This was also the day that my weight loss regiment began, however there was just enough time for Krim and I to do a little shopping. We all left our 16th century beautiful hotel which used to be the home for the priests from one of the cathedrals in the city with the thought of going to the city center. Well, Krim and I spotted just about 100 yards from the hotel an Alpca store, the one that was recommended to us earlier. Jim and Clyde were pretty good sports for a while but because there was 40% off on some of the sweaters, we sent them to find a rain jacket for Jim, we would meet up with them later. Score, shopping and no guys with us...about as good as it gets, right? So, after cleaning out the store of about 8 sweaters (and a couple pair of socks for the guys) we met up with Clyde and Jim. Then....after about 2 minutes I spotted the jewelry store that I had found on the internet, right there in the city center. That was the most wonderful shopping night ever. True shopping "High in Cusco".

Then the two day weight loss program began. I've always said that I'm one E-Coli infection away from my goal weight...it's true. I've lived it. Jim was feeling the affects of the jungle as well. About 7 am I called the front desk and asked if a doctor could come to the hotel and look at us. We are a team, seems we do everything together...even this. The doctor arrived within 15 minutes, put a stethoscope on our tummies and shook his head...Parasites he said. I'm not sure I believe him....what did he hear? little guys saying "oh yummy, we are so glad to be here?? He prescribed about 3 items, charged us each $100 and left.

José, Our Guide....

Let me tell you a couple of things about José, he is at least 70% Inca. His first language was that of the Incas, Quechua. He has many brothers and sisters. One of his older brothers is a policeman and that is what he wanted when he grew up. He became our guide instead. Jose taught himself english. He has a wife who has a shop and sells t-shirts, sweatshirts and other items from places far away from Chile. One day he had on a LA Dodgers sweatshirt on and the next day he wore a t-shirt from Australia. His wife and 3 year old son, Sebastian live 5 hours away in the jungle.

As a guy, he is very charismatic and knowledgeable and takes a special interest in the people he is working with. Jose is a sweet, gentle man who any one of us would be proud to have as our son. He watched over the four of us like a hawk but often was protecting the Jim and Clyde by making sure Krim and I didn't have shopping opportunities that would blow our agenda all to heck. Once we pulled into a market place to pick up a book about Peru in German that Krim wanted to send to her brother but he went by himself to pick it up. He would not let Krim or I out of the car, telling us some strange reason why not, "It is not good for you to breath this night air". Krim and I still wonder, was it the time he was worried about or did Jim and Clyde pay him? We quickly learned that José's favorite saying when we are moving on is "Let's go to the beach"...so now our favorite saying is, "Let's go to the beach..."

 

Jose will be our Guide in Machu Pichu, nothing could be better...

As I devote the next day to weight loss, I'll turn this next day in Cusco entirely over to Clyde to write the blog, I'm pretty attached to my hotel room at this point.

 

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Jungle Jive..

The Reserve

We trade in the van for and enter a canoe. Now the entry into the canoe was a bit more of a challenge than we expected and required coordination, strength and a spring in the step from a questionable ladder to the front of the canoe and two steps down to our seats. As the days and canoe trips became more frequent we became quite good and never went overboard. Down the Madre de Dios (mother of god) which is a tributary of the Amazon. Well, I am here to tell you this tributary is like the Mississippi on steroids and running fast! 45 minutes later we arrive at the lodge, up the bank and a very nice welcome and then to our cabin. Wayyyy Cool cabin. Electricity for around 5 hours a day but lanterns light the way and the cabin.

Lake Sandoval

The next day finds us in the good hands of Carlos, our guide, for a 10 k walk to a small canoe and out into Sandoval Lake where giant River Otters await us and a family of 6 or 9 put on a show for the next half hour catching fish and cracking the bones.

If you do it I will do it....

Well that was the theme after our guide brushed some termites off a termite hive onto the big leaf you see in the picture. Well, we all did it...

Then our guide Carlos found a huge worm that crawled out of a rotting palm tree, he washed it and then asked for volunteers...well, I've got another video that as soon as we have better internet, I will post another link to it. No...we all did not do it, Clyde did though. YUCK!

 

 

 

Canopy Walk

The second half of the day finds us climbing 120 feet into a canopy built over 3 really big trees with hanging bridges connecting the platforms - 6 of them. Holy shi--- that was a walk to remember. Lets just say Krim finished the longest and grabbed Jim, and said hold me for a second. Pucker factor 8.5. Oh yea, I forget to mention this is a rain forest and the rain paid a visit in a big way. The birds took a vacation but the experience was still awesome.

Piranha Fishing

The next day it is off on a 1.5 hour canoe ride in driving rain with our new buddies from Canada and great people. Our other new friends from Nordic countries left that morning. Not us! Breakfast at 5am, hit the canoe and we are in search of the big bad Piranha! - yep, the little fish with the big teeth! We are going to face them down, pull 'um in the boat, start a fire and have a Piranha picnic! A fishing we go and success, we all caught a fish. We had to stay a good part of the day because one of our party had trouble catching a fish and I don't want to embarrass that person but he hangs out a lot with our Tina. Finally Jim (oops) lands a fish and we are off, but not before I hook a big 'ol fish that excites the crew and our guide runs up to grab it with a big smile. Heck, he was not even mad I broke his new rod. The rod we used was a vintage model found the jungle. Ok, it was a wood pole with 20 pound line and a hook but hey, it furnished our lunch. What a kick - we ate Piranha instead of the other way around!. A long day ended with dinner in a lovely lodge dinning room in the jungle with our Canada friends and a couple of bottles of wine from Peru.

 

 

 

All in all, life is good...when a rainbow greats you at the end of the day...

PS. We lost a couple of days of posts due to an ailment that I call "How to lose 10 pounds in 2 days" or my new recommendation of "Never pass up a bano, any bano is a good bano"

 

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