WE'RE RUNNING OUT OF CHILE

Saturday, March 6, 2010

I must have woken Ramiro up at least half a dozen times last night, feeling the house vibrate, He just turns around and goes back to sleep.

Over breakfast he jokes about it: “Elly thought she felt tremor last night. Did you feel any”? “Oh, those, that’s normal we feel them all the time. Don’t worry about it.” Don’t worry about it? I am turning into a nervous wreck. Maybe I should try to get used to them, because there is nothing I can do about it. I need to get a decent night’s sleep, I am feeling so tired.

Maria goes to work and we explore another beautiful port city bordering with Peru.
Many buildings tell us the history of this city. We visit the St. Marco Cathedral where I read that it was designed by Eiffel in 1876, The Old Customs building was also design by him, about 8 year before he started the Eiffel tower.
 

This city also has a very modern part which includes a MacDonalds. Ramiro already informed me where he wants to go for lunch, while in Arica.

Ramiro remembers visiting some caves during his 2004 visit to Arica. “It’s along the coastal road”, he says. I let him be the navigator, I just want to be the tourist that does not need to think today. Without a flashlight, there is no way I will enter the caves so we just walk along the sandy road, only passable with 4 x 4.
The white rock is a result of the many birds droppings. It even smells like manure here.
This is a popular spot for mountain climbing, clam digging, harpoon fishing and hiking, as well as car window smashing. We better not leave the car along for too long. There is glass all over the parking lot.

We drive up the Arica mountain for a view over the port and the city and view the museum, explaining the difficult battle of 1880 to conquer this mountain, belonging to Peru.

Lunch will be at 2:30 we were told this morning. We do our best to return home on time, where Suzie is busy preparing.

I kind of like the idea of having a living help at home, who looks after the laundry, the cleaning and the cooking. So when coming home from a busy day at work I can just sit down and eat. It’s quite common here, but not in Canada.  What would be left for me to do, when all the work is done for me?
Have another manicure or pedicure os sip wine on the patio. They probably don’t do it the way I like it anyway. Let’s forget about it.

We pull a bottle of red wine from our supplies in the car and sit down for a nice relaxing dinner together.


Paulina takes us in her vehicle to the market after we pick up Grandma Marguerita. At the market we buy flowers, fruit and a variety of olives. We get to try them all and they are delicious and juicy.
Most of the products at this market are grown right here at the Azapa Valley and sold by the farmers themselves.

As we drive through the valley, I remember the lush valleys south. I almost forgot what a country with green looked like. Large trucks loaded with tomatoes and lemons are leaving from here, for the south of Chile. Something different from mining for a change.

We continue farther east towards las Peñas, where the family has an acreage with a nice house and a huge garden full with fruit trees, lemons, mango, pommegranates, figs and quince.

“The figs are very ripe and need to be picked”, Grand ma Marguerita explains. “And we might as well take some of the prickly pears as well, I see they are also ripening”. The acreage is looked after by Francisco, who lives in a small house on the parcel. He knows how to pick the pears. They are full of very fine needles that get stuck in your skin. It’s better not to touch then with the bare hands.

We drive Grandma back to her home and are invited in for a glass of passion fruit juice. A small water bottle with a dark yellowish coloured liquid is added to the juice.
“It tastes much better with Brandy” Grandma explains.
There is plenty of juice left for a second glass. Even Brandy. there’s plenty of.
Grandma shows us the large collection of framed pictured cover her entire room and we get to know the entire family and all the places she has visited.


Back at the house, we spend several hours watching the ”Chile helps Chile” Teleton. 15,000.000.000 pesos is the goal to be raised (3.000.000 Pesos is $6,000US).

In between entertainment from various famous, national artists and heartbreaking testimonies of victims of the earthquake, individuals and companies call or come to the studio to present donations for the country. When it is over, 30,000.000.000 Pesos is being raised. I do not recall seeing a result so high from any Teleton or major fundraising effort ever.

Tonight we see many tears, entire communities destroyed, fishing villages and beaches covered with nothing but wood. How can WE ever complain about anything again?