The Grape Harvest

I had the good fortune to be invited to a Vendemia (grape harvest) out in the country south of Santiago.  Unfortunately my friends who invited me couldn't go, so I jumped on a bus and followed the instructions from Juan and Luis (my hosts): take the bus to Cauquenes, along the Los Conquistadores route, get off the bus at the Las Garzas bridge, around kilometer 55.  

So I jumped off the bus at this rural location, with the bus guy eyeing me twice to make sure I knew where I was going (I didn't).  I waited at the stop and saw a guy riding a horse, and carrying the reins of another horse -- ah! this must be Juan I thought.  I stood and looked at the man as he approached, gave him a "qué tal?" as he neared, and watched him silently clop-clop past me.  I guess that wasn't Juan.

After five more minutes Juan arrived, wearing glasses, sporting a great moustache and a tan hat that covered his neck.  He led me through the woods to the field of grapes, where I spent the next few hours filling baskets with the sweet, sticky fruit.

The group of about 25 Chileans and gringos loaded up the trucks and ate a few sweet grapes along the way.  We climbed up to the house and spent the evening eating grilled meat, drinking wine and punch, and singing songs -- some of them fairly salacious.  We gringos felt like failures because we couldn't think of many good songs to sings as a group, only "Yesterday" by the Beatles.

The next morning we woke up late, rolled big barrels -- made of a clay/mortar substance -- to prepare chicha, a wine/liquor drink made from grapes.  We spent some time smashing grapes then shared a hearty lunch among good company and made our way on the bus back to the big city.

Getting off the bus, at the bridge "Las Garzas" near the town of Cauquenes, 4.5 hours south of Santiago.

Waiting for Juan, a friend of friends.

I mistakenly thought this guy on the horse was Juan.

Juan leading me to his family's house and the vineyard.

The fields of grapes, with the house in the distance.

Loading the truck.

The grapes.

Piling up the grapes for loading on the truck.

Loading up the truck at the end of the day.

Carne, mucha carne.

Singing campfire songs, great fun.

The drummer keeps getting more and more outrageous as the night goes on.

View in the morning.

Getting the barrels ready for chicha, a strong, sweet wine-type drink.

Rolling the barrels into place.

Cleaning things out.

Long-armed Joe climbing in to place the plug.

Preparing the grapes for smashing.

Smashing the grapes.

Don't forget to remove the twigs and leaves.

More smashing....

...and smashing...

...and smashing.

Lunchtime.

Lentil soup, very tastey.

The house, being constructed with mud and hay.

Wall construction.

Tarantula found in the vegetation.

Waiting for the bus back to Santiago.

Apoquindo Waterfall

Yesterday our group of five completed an 11-mile hike to the Apoquindo waterfall, a lengthy trek that took us through dusty paths, up and down ridges to the 90-foot high waterfall.

The plan was to meet at 9:45 am at the Principe de Gales (Prince of Wales) metro stop, and I was rustled out of bed at what I thought was 8:10 by Julia, who lives a few doors down.  After some confusion and a quick packing of the bag we were on our way, fortunate that the 1-hour time change in some countries didn't affect my hike.  We arrived at the metro stop and met up with our friends Sven, Ester and Stef and waited for Gerlinde, who, after a few phone calls, would miss the hike altogether because of the problems with the time change. (Chile will change it's clocks in late April)

A 20-minute walk along the road, uphill, past high walls and private neighborhoods in the La Reina sector of the city led us to the entrance to the park, where we paid our $1.500 ($3USD) entrance and talked with the park rangers -- who warned us that it was 4 hours to the waterfall and 3 hours to return, which would put our return very close to the 6:30 park closing.  After one recommended that we plan to turn around at the viewpoint, an hour before the waterfall, we all looked at each other and quietly decided to move quickly to make it to the end of the trail.

The hike started with a very steep climb (muy empinada....or "empanada" as some of us like to joke), underneath some huge electrical wires and towers, with Santiago and it's smokey air getting smaller behind us.  Once past these non-natural sights we only had cactus, vegetation, streams and a few animals to enjoy.

The sky was incredibly blue as we continued further, jumping over a raging stream and climbing once again to the mirador (viewpoint).  Good jokes were had as Sven and I threw small sticks at the girls and blamed it on each other, and as Ester and I tried out our accuracy with a grape toss.

Finally the waterfall was within our reach and after a quick dip into the valley and back out again we were greeted by the cold water misting off the rocks.  We sat under a small tree and ate lunch, using a small branch to scoop peanut butter out of its jar. We pumped ourselves up for the hike back, fantasizing about the Escudo beers and pizza we would have at the Fabrica de Pizza on Pio Nono -- only a 6-mile hike, 20-minute walk and 20-minute bus ride lay ahead of us.

We hurried back, with only a few mishaps as Stef and her poor shoes caused a few falls on the dusty trails along the way.  After a 5-minute snooze at the park entrance we walked and then bussed it to Pio Nono where we shared some of the best-tasting Escudos of our lives.

Santiago growing small behind us.

Cactus and dry vegetation all around us.

A cow!

Just *barely* didn't make it!

We could see the waterfall off in the distance.

Dropping into the canyon, just before the waterfall.

Paradise!

Peanut butter on a stick.

Tired but still goofy.

Sven, the young one in our group, with plenty of energy on the way back.

A quick jump over the stream and we're on our way.

A 4-5 person limit.

The dog situation in Chile

One of the first things people notice about Santiago is that there are dogs just about everywhere - sleeping in the grass, sleeping on the sidewalk, chasing taxis, barking at bicyclists.  It's a normal part of the culture to see dogs around, and they almost become like your own dog -- you see certain dogs around certain street corners, and more often than not they are very friendly and happy.


Some of the people take care of the dogs, leaving food out for them, making little shelters for them or giving them jacket-blankets in the winter.  In the evenings it's a common sight to see dogs with their heads in the trash, digging around for something to eat.

My favorite dog is the black and white one that the neighbors below us own.  I've gotten into the habit of calling all the dogs in Santiago "little buddy," but this black and white dog is the true "little buddy" and it's always nice to see him when I come home.

A very happy dog near the Presidential offices.

Suntanning dogs.

Maybe not the most comfortable spot.

Dogs sleeping in the La Vega market.

It's the norm for people to just walk around the dogs.

Not a bad spot to sleep.

THE little buddy.  My favorite dog in Santiago, just below our apartment.

Sleeping in the shade.