WITH THE CAR TO VINA DEL MAR

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Today we finally make the purchase. A 2007, 4 door Chevrolet Corsa, Swing. (will attach a photo in the next few days. Lost a bunch of pictures).
Not a 4 x 4 as we had hoped, but it’s all our budget allows for a newer model.
I rather see Ramiro behind the wheel than under the hood on our travels.
We spend a good portion of the day dealing with paperwork. The Chilean system is unbelievable.  You pick a number, stand in line for a good hour, once it’s your turn a few documents are filled out in triplicate. Then you must go to the bank next door to pay and come back for the rest of the paperwork.
The nice thing, however, is when when it comes to purchasing a car, the transaction is done at city hall. History of the car, ownership etc. is all checked out there. Bill of sale is prepared by them and they receive 1.5% of the purchase price and an extra fee for doing the paperwork.
Considering, that 500 Pesos is appr. $ 1.00 and the largest denomination in Pesos is 20,000 Pesos. ($40.000) we almost had to rent a truck to carry the money.

When we exchange our travelers cheques - which, by the way we will never buy again - Ramiro carries his backpack on his front rather than his back. Safety is a concern here in such a big city.
The seller is also quite worried after the money exchange, carrying such a large amount of money with him (almost $7,000.00) So he brings his Dad along,  for protection. They go straight to the bank next door to deposit the cash. Imagine the amount of time it takes to count the cash. 16 bundles of 10 bills of 20,000 Pesos and another package with additional bills.

With two maps and the GPS we work our way through the busy city. There are cars, busses and motorcycles everywhere. There is no way of knowing how many traffic lanes there actually are and on which lane we are or should be. It seems as if it is rush hour all day long.

We drive north west, direction Viña del Mar and let a sigh of relief when we finally leave the busy city and enter the country side. I love the scenery, it reminds me a lot of Mexico. Hills and mountains, same sort of fruit stands along the road. Acrobats, window washers and vendors at the traffic lights, catching the waiting cars, hoping to make a few dollars.

Here we see a large number of vineyards. Chile has the largest selection of wine in the world. I think we are going to build a pipeline to Alberta. Less than $5.00 buys a pretty good bottle of Merlot, Shiraz, Cabernet or Carmenere.

My heart jumps when I get the first glimpse of the ocean. The air feels good. Not as hot as Santiago and not nearly as humid as Easter Island, but most of all much cleaner than Santiago.

I had hoped to find a small apartment in Viña, but that is not going to happen.
Luis Alberto - another Rotary friend  who was very much involved in the Group Study Exchange Team, Ramiro lead to Chile in 2004 - insist we stay with them.

They live in an enormous apartment complex with a view of the ocean and the mountains. Luis Alberto is a sales rep in food and restaurant supplies. His wife Brenda is an obstetrician and also teaches first aid to company personnel.
They have two girls 14 and 15. Luckily, there are three bathrooms in the apartment.
Normally I am in bed by 11:00 pm, but the invitation from Brenda to go for a swim is very enticing. It is wonderful to swim under the stars, while most of my friends are up to their knees in snow.
Ah, life is good!!!

Wednesday, December 23

A day to relax, enjoy the beach, walk through the busy city, check out some shops, buy insurance for the car, walk for miles and miles and visit Ramiro’s cousin Patricia and her Italian husband Delio. Their apartment is on the north side of Viña on the 6th floor, with a beautiful view over the ocean and at night the lights in the hills of Valparaiso on the south.
It’s great seeing them again. Ramiro and Patricia have always been very close.

Thursday, December 24
I go for a swim in the pool of the apartment complex. The pool boy, (No, ladies, no sexy muscular young man, but a mid fifties heavy set Chileno) greets us with a smile and finds a spot in the shade for Ramiro, pulls up a few lounge chairs and sets up a parasol. “Enjoy” he says as he goes back to his post. When the few children who play in the pool are too loud or splash too much, he gives them a friendly warning.


It’s the busiest day of the year and we have to go downtown to buy insurance for the car. It’s a madhouse everywhere.
We go back and forth from one desk to another and meet up with an inspector at the place where our car is parked, a good five blocks away.
He takes pictures of the car and checks off a list, indicating the various features of the car. When Ramiro is to sign the form, a few items, including airconditioning are not checked off. They have a short debate whether or not this car has Airco. Ramiro wins.

Luis Alberto has invited us to join the family for mass, which takes place in the gym on the third floor of the school his two girls attend.
The choir - current and ex students - is fantastic. The priest is a very young handsome, European looking redhead. Everyone loves him.
It’s a very interactive mass. Bags of food for the poor are placed by the simple nativity scene.

We’re late for our dinner engagement with Patricia and Delio and arrive at 9:00 pm at their apartment.
Patrica has prepared a delicious shellfish salad, called Locos. It must be cooked in a very special way. I am not able to describe the taste, but the texture is very firm. almost like smoked pork. After some Pisco Sours, white wine, baked salmon and mashed potatoes mixed with Pesto, Pan Doro (Italian cake, similar to Panatone) we go back to the apartment where the Rojas family is just finishing the opening of their presents. I had placed a few items for everyone under the tree and we receive a gift as well.