Happy Birthday!!!!
Happy Birthday Joel!!!!!! Can’t wait to see you!!!!
¡Feliz Cumpleanos!
Today is my super cool, best friends birthday- Janet. I’m so excited that I get to see her in a couple of weeks for our annual Nags Head trip. Happy birthday Janet. Love you !!!!!
Happy Birthday
Today is a very special day. It’s my soon to be brother’s birthday, and it’s also my kick ass cousins birthday too. So happy birthday Adam and Kim. I hope you had a wonderful day. Love you guys!!!
Elqui Valley
Today, was very foggy and cold in La Serena, so Steve and I decided to go on a road trip to the Elqui Valley. That’s one of the nice things about living here, you can drive a half hour out of town, and be in the sun. Once we got into the Andes, otherwise known as the Cordillera, to non gringos, it was a perfect day- sunny, blue skies and in the 70s. We drove through Vicuna, and up to Pisco Elqui. Pisco Elqui is 1,247 meters above sea level, on the steep southern slope of the Rio Claro canyon. The picturesque hillside village of Pisco Elqui boasts the best tourist infrastructure of any village in the area and a variety of activities varying from souvenir hunting in the artisans’ market to pisco tasting and horseback riding (per my moon handbook). Steve and I opted to walk around, shop and we went out to lunch. We went to this fabulous german run restaurant/hotel, El Tesoro de Elqui. We each got the chicken special- which was a chicken breast in a creamy orange, mango and tomato sauce. It was delicious. I looked for a recipe to post, but I haven’t been able to find one. The picture below with the pink flowers was the view from our table. I look forward to going back and spending the night in town, and going to a pisco tasting.
Caleta Los Hornos
Today, my friends Joanna, Jeanel, Jenny, and I went to Caleta Los Hornos. Caleta Los Hornos is a small fishing village, about a half hour north of La Serena. It was misty and foggy here in La Serena, but in Los Hornos, it was a beautiful sunny day. Luckily for Jeanel and I, (who had forgotten shades) Joanna had some extras – Jenny is taking below pic, Jeanel is siting next to me and Joanna next to her. We went out to lunch at Entre Rocas, which is a wonderful little restaurant nestled in the rocks, overlooking the ocean. We sat outside and had a scrumptious lunch of fresh seafood. I, of course had a yummy pisco sour as well. It was nice to get away with the girls and relax. Hopefully we’ll continue these outings, and see more of the surrounding area.
Around Town
Today, my friend Joanna and I went walking into town. It still always shocks me the differences in Chilean culture and American culture. There was an outdoor art exhibit in the middle of town, in the shopping district. The artist featured photographs taken of the human body, all naked, but beautiful and posed (I do have to admit, I was a little taken aback at some of the pics). Some of the bodies were painted, and some were pictures of people expressing different emotions. The subjects were of all ages, all races, and all sizes. It was an amazing thing to see, especially when you look around and see kids and teachers on school trips to see the art. You would never see this back home. We also went to La Recova, which is a market that sells all kinds of things- beautiful hand crafted items, jewelry, all kinds of papaya produce and so on. Of course I bought some things, but one of my favorites is a mask. I had gotten Steve a mask from Aruba when I went with Cara and Karin, so I’ve decided to start collecting them. I also bought a bracelet, and a surprise for Steve- a miniature lapis penguin, very cute! One of my other favorite purchases for a little under 2 dollars, are these wooden flowers. It’s a beautiful bright bouquet, all handmade. The man makes them on the street next to this beautiful square full of purple flowers (see picture). I can’t wait to get a vase and put them on the table. They’ll last forever!
Click here to see all the pictures, including some of the artwork (WARNING: Contains tasteful artful nudity).
Izzy Bizzy
I bet you thought, that now we were living in Chile, you wouldn’t have to hear Izzy stories-since she’s living with the rents in Connecticut. Sadly, you were mistaken. Though not much to report about Chile today, Izzy got her first haircut in CT. I knew you would be dying to see the pictures, so I thought i’d share. Isn’t my baby just beautiful (though she has caught my sister’s picture taking disease, and closes her eyes in the pics). Enjoy looking at my fuzzybear!
Hiking
I’ve started hiking 3 times a week with some of the girls from the recinto. We go at the ungodly hour of 7:45 am. We hike up Cerro Grande. The total time of the hike is bout an hour and a half. Last week, on our way down the mountain, we found 2 baby goats that had gotten abandoned by their mom, they still had part of their umbilical cords attached. Goat herders bring their herds over the mountain from the Elqui Valley. So of course, we climbed up and got them, and brought them down the mountain. I really wanted to keep one as a pet, but I knew Steve would not be too happy about it. We ended up bring them to one of the local farmers who raise goats. Today, I brought my camera to get some pics, but of course the weather didn’t cooperate, it was foggy and misty, which is normal for winter. In the pic, you can’t see the top of Cerro Grande due to the fog. I’ll get better pics when the weather cooperates. Thankfully, the fog usually burns off by afternoon, and it’s usually in the 60s-70s. Aahh what a life…
Sea Lions getting fed
fish heads fish heads, roly poly fish heads, fish heads fish heads eat them up yumm.
I’m Finally Here!!
Well, hello! Today is my very first posting as a blogger, now you can know what’s happening with me here in Chile. This weekend, Steve and I went to Coquimbo to the mercado de pescados, the fish market. It was a big, stinky, very cool place. We didn’t buy anything, just walked around. They were selling all kinds of fish, sea urchins, octopus, and they even sell cups of raw fish for you to enjoy as you walk around. We weren’t that adventurous yet. The highlight for me was going out on the pier and seeing the sea lions, a family of 5. The fisherman were cleaning some of their fish there and throwing the sea lions the heads. There were also pelicans and seagulls vying for the fishermen’s attention. After the market, we drove around Coquimbo, which is a town nestled in the rocks along the sea. We then went to La Cruz del Tercer Milenio, the cross of the 3 millenniums, which is a monument to the third millennium of Christ on earth. It stands 93 meters tall, and we were able to go up to the arms of the cross and look over the surrounding area. There was a museum dedicated to Pope John Paul II, and we were able to see some of his possessions.
