Staying Warm

Crappy game last night.  Chile lost to Venezuela, very unexpected!  People are pissed, and also hungover! 

(By the way, thrilled for Japan -they deserve some happy news!)

Anyway, it's winter time down here, and I am freezing!  Our apartment building is only two years old, yet we may as well be in a 100 year old house.  Our house in Monterey was less drafty, and that is saying a lot!  You would think it could be an advantageous selling  point for the builders to go "green"  and advertise lower heating costs.  But no, Let's use single paned windows which get slammed by the chilly, Chile wind off the icy Pacific!

I bought a paraffin (kerosene) heater and it helps greatly but smells awful.

Here is my daughter going to school:

Okay, this is really her:

Tea for two...
...or seventeen million.
Here is just the Lipton section at the super.

And of course, el mate.  This green sludge is, well, very earthy.  Like sometimes-there's-twigs-in-it earthy.  Actually, it's not half bad with a ton of sugar, and my husband sips on it at the office.  It's more prevalent in southern Chile.

Here are some mates I saw in Temuco  (the container is called mate, as well).

Nescafe no es cafe!

Because coffee is so expensive here, everybody drinks instant.  I balked at first, but now I don't mind it.  I only just started drinking coffee so I haven't any built up snobbery concerning hot beverages.  Although, I prefer the Brazilian brand Cruzero to Nescafe.

By the way, coffee has changed my life.  I generally abhor mornings and waking up, so how did I not discover this magical drink which allows me to be human in the A.M.!

My new favorite drink, ever!

Choconac, is a brilliant, velevety concoction we found at Cafe del Jardin in Valparaiso.  They use high-end shaved chocolate bars and homemade whipped cream.  Decadently delicious.  

I'll have to try to make this at home sometime!

if I get the recipe, I'll Be Sure To Drink Your Ovaltine.  I mean, I be sure to post it!

¡Vamos Chile!

 

 Alexis Sanchez

A futbol-filled few weeks here. La Copa America is dominating everyone's minds lately.  Today, Chile will face Venezuela.  I am actually really getting in to it.  Although not much scoring goes on, it's hard not to get caught up in the emotion of it all.  My favorite part is rushing over to open a window after a goal and hearing the cacophony of horns, shouts, and dog barks in the streets!

Go Chile!

Hi mom! I know you are the only one out there still hanging on to hope that I'll return...

 We've been busy....

We got to see the President when he came to Chile.  Very exciting!

The hubs, looking dapper and official.

A ride on the beach followed by an outdoor asado. 

My horse was called Acantilado, or "Cliff".

The sizzling, meaty goodness that is choripan.  With a big bowl of pebre (Chilean salsa fresca)!

A rare moment of walking on the beach.  Most of the time we galloped!

Rodeos!

 Parental visits.

Snow in Patagonia!

And beautiful sunsets from our porch!

Foggy Bottom

Fog bank over the ocean.





Same view 20 minutes later! It's like pea soup out there. It's been like this on most mornings. The Fall cool-down before Winter.






Religiously eerie, huh?


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Happy Easter

We had a lovely Easter brunch on Sunday at our home. Thank you everybody for coming!


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Back on the Blog!

Finally realized with an iPad app I can continue to write this. I still need to download a bunch of photos, and there is little space left on this device, but I think I can manage. So, I still want to post my Southern Chile photos, but until then here are some random updates.






Bar La Playa. An old sailor saloon in Valpo with great old-timey ambiance.




Preparing the piscos!





Cats in Valparaiso.





Burrito!




Sundown over the vineyards of the Colchagua Valley.







Pool time at Hotel Parador.







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Sorry folks!!!

A giant thermos of coffee was recently spilled on the keyboard of my computer!!!! Working on using the iPad to post, but as I am not the most technologically savvy girl....we'll see how it goes. Sorry to leave you all hanging between my two part travel spectacular! We've got a Mac guy here helping us out, but I think the hubs is going to buy used parts online ( much cheaper) and rebuild from there. He spent three nights disassembling the laptop, and washed each tiny, removed letter. I couldn't do that in a million years. The man is nothing if not methodical and brilliant, and I find myself constantly thankful for that!