BFF

Best Friends Forever. Cute No? We´ve gotten into the habbit of explaining to people that Mish is my son, this seems to put them at ease.

Talca to Temuc, Temuc to Valdivia

We left Talca on high and headed for Temuc. Never have I fallen from grace so quickly. We had to ride through a rain storm to get there and when we arrived we were in a new part of Chile. We´ve entered into the start of the region where there´s a noticible german influence, most apparent in better kept buildings and a relatie sense of order. We went from Anita´s house and cooking to a town reminisent of a run down area of Santa Rosa Ca and a Denny´s restaurant playing bad 80´s music. We left the next day for Valdivia, humbled. Valdivia brought rivers, sun, and a hostel in a 200 year old crumbling mansion. The place was stunning once upon a time, the craftmanship is still apparent, but it´s been damaged by earthquakes and time and is now more like a fancy fun house with twisted stair cases and rolling floors.

Anita´s Farm

Anita is growing corn, beans, squash ( the 3 sister´s in agricultural terms), potatoes, onions, tomatoes, peppers, basil, cucumber, artichoke, apples, plumbs, cactus fruit, pears, grapes, etc.

We made lunch, took a nap in her 100 year old fully furnished adobe brick house, planted the tree when Berta, their mom, Ramon, and Isabella showed up, and had dinner together in the house. Not a bad day.

Talca, the city and Vivero Arboles Nativos

We left Valaparaiso for Talca and the home of Anita who had returned two days prior. After Mish and I got lost several times, had to double back due to closed roads, and the normal dilly dally that goes with getting our gear set up we made it there and pulled our bikes into her driveway at her house in the city. It didn´t take long for Anita to put a cup of strawberry punch (with booze) in our hands, and before we finished our drinks Berta came through the door with their mother, an 80 year old firecracker who lives on her own. We talked over paila de choclo, a dish made by covering a piece of meat (chicken) in cornmeal mixed with raisens, olives, onions, etc. and baked in an earthenware bowl, a chilean standard. No photo. Mish and I shared her 30 yr old sons bedroom, and although we didn´t have a chance to meet him, he wants to take me mountain biking when we return through Talca.

Next day we visited a tree nursery on the outskirts of town. This all started because Mish suggested that we buy Anita a tree as a thank you and plant it at her farm. Ramon and Isabella run the tree nursery and specialize in natvie Chilean species. Their emphasis is to repopulate areas clear cut by logging with a diverse flora of native species. The current practice is to replant clear cut area´s with a monoculture of trees to facilitate easy wood harveting in the future, but this does little to support a complicated ecosystem. With their help we selected a ¨California Cypruss¨. We then toured their property and were gifted with apples, plums, pears, and grapes all in a prime state of ripeness. A quick tour of their house on the property introduced us to a handcrafted kitchen with post and beam construction using rough sawn lumber and smooth wood boards for the vaulted ceilings and walls. The wooden table was handmade without any metal fasteners and could seat up to 16. The chairs were handmade as well. Bottles of perseved fruits, marmalaids, and vinagers lined the shelves. This was the kind of house that would have been at home in Sebastopol California. There was also a very cool handmade coffee table that showcased the seeds of various navtive plants under the glass top.

The 3 sisters

After the sisters spent the day with us at customs we took them out to diner as a thank you. The next day they acompanied us to the Airport in Santiago while Mish drove Berta´s car. The round trip, including waiting at the Airport for David to clear customs, took all day. The following day Anita and Berta again acompanied us while Mish drove to their friends house in the city of Con Con about an hour north of Valparaiso. Their friend had offered to let us store Davids bike in his garage, although the ¨Bodega¨was too small for the Bike and the laundry machine already in it.

What I´d like to illustrate with the 3 sisters is the amazing kindness they showed to 3 strange gringos who offered nothing in return other than gratitude and a great sense of humor. Imagine yourself letting a foriegn tourist drive your car for 4 hours to the DMV and then spending the day there with them. And then imagine doing this two more times. In general this is the type of reception we´ve received from most Chileano´s and on several occasions we´ve had to refuse offers of kindness to protect them from themselves. Sometimes they didn´t really think through how much they were giving away.

For our gratitude we took them out to diner, brought them flowers, and awarded them gifts of new windshield wipers on Berta´s car and an italian esspresso maker for Anita.

So what did the 3 sister´s do? They cooked us a feast of course. And then invited Mish and I to stay with them at their houses, Anita in Talca and Berta in Santiago. Oven baked scallops, salmon and potatos, chilean salad, and white wine.

Life is not fair. David has returned home.

As an example of ways that life is not fair David´s mother was diagnosed with cancer while we were in Valparaiso. As a result he has canceled his trip and flown to New Mexico to be with her.

Dave'o we miss having you with us and are wishing health to your mother and familly. We know how much you wanted to stay, it was hard to see you torn between your Family and your chance to ride Patagonia and we hope that you have found some peace while at your mothers side.

We have placed David´s bike in a storage facility with the hopes that he will have another opportunity to motorcycle through South America.

La Aduana Friday the 13th

La Aduana is spanish for Customs and turned out to be a little more work than we bargined for. Fortunately we had befriended Anita, the older sister of Teresa, the Chilean woman who runs the Millenium House Hostel. On Friday the 13th, the day of choice for all cultures, Anita and a 3rd sister Berta offered to drive us to the Port Town of San Antonio about 1 hour South of Valparaiso to pick up our bikes. They ended up spending the entire day with us at various customs offices, similar to waiting at the DMV, driving us across town and back several times, and arguing with customs officals when they told us they were closing and that we´d have to come back on Monday. By the end of the day we had obtained our bikes. I´m sure without Anita and Berta it would have taken us a week.

Lunch in Valaparaiso Chile

Per special request. Today´s lunch: Un platillo normal para tres personas. Includes flat steak on top of pork chops on top of chicken on top of potatoes, chorizo, and blood sausage, served over charcoal grill so the food doesn´t get cold during the 2 hours it takes to finish this much food. Side dish of salad with fresh tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, beets, parsley, with lemon and oil dressing. Side of rice and a coke. Last nights dinner of abalone, fish, and a bouillebase seafood stew not pictured. The standard condoment is a salsa made with tomatoes, onion, garlic, cilantro, chile peppers, white wine, lemon juice, and parsley and it´s good on everything.

We found out that the bikes are not scheduled to arrive until this Friday so we´ll be exploring on foot, looking for food, and drinking lots of coffee.