After months of waiting, my dad and Jeff finally made it to South America. With no prior Spanish experience I was worried conversing might be a little overwhelming, not to mention driving or little things like reading the menu. Yet they fared pretty well. It didn't hurt that they had a personal translator a majority of the time.
After reuniting at the airport we drove to Santiago. We successfully drove to our hotel (except for driving in the bus lane for a time) and settled in before venturing into the city to explore. We walked around and eventually found a cafe where we could sit and catch up. dad and Jeff had their first empanadas, and Jeff Pisco Sour. After, we decided to climb to the top of Cerro San Cristobal (a giant park situated on top of a hill). From the top we could see the entire city and had a good glimpse of the mountains, which are about twice the size of ours at home.
The next day we spent a good three hours driving around trying to find the mall (yes, the mall). After an hour and a half it was clear that it was a complete waste of our time, but we refused to give up. Our quest took us all over the city and gave us the opportunity to get to know the locals. Jeff and I stopped to ask a couple of friendly-enough road workers for directions but changed our minds when we realized that the jumpsuits they were wearing may have been prison uniforms. Eventually we found the mall. We did some shopping, had some lunch then decided it was time to head out.
On our way to Vina we drove through beautiful vineyards and later stopped by the apartment so that I could introduce dad and Jeff to my familia-chilena. My mama-chilena and my sister Fransisca (Franci) were home. After awkward cheek-kissing, (I forgot to mention it is a common Chilean custom) we were all in the living room eating Rocky Mountain Chocolate. A little small talk and the ice was broken. My mama-chilena was already cracking jokes and demanding pictures. A little while later Gonzalo came back from work and visited for a while. At about 11:30 dad, Jeff and I were too hungry to talk anymore so we made plans to come back for dinner later that week and left for the hotel.
The next day I took dad and Jeff on a tour of Valpo, starting with a ride on the micro. We took a micro from the hotel to Errazuriz, one of the main streets in Valpo. The bus was crowded, and the driver drove like most micro drivers do, fast. Luckily my dad and I found seats, but poor Jeff was left pressed against the wall with random Chileans pushing to get past him. Once we reached the city we took a furnicular (like an outdoor elevator) up into Cerro Concepcion. We hiked up and looked at all of the graffiti, street dogs following us the entire way. Unlike Chileans, my dad and Jeff didn't mind the company. Instead of shooing them away they called them over whenever they started to stray.
We walked a good 20 mins until we reached the plaza. Then we took a colectivo (like a taxi) to another cerro and to Pablo Neruda's house, La Sebastiana. Probably THE most famous person in Chilean history besides Pinochet (over the past fifty years), I felt it was important for my dad and Jeff to learn more about Neruda and his life. The house wasn't too shabby either
From La Sebastiana we headed to an old cemetery to explore. The graves were overgrown with weeds and crumbling in places. Some had more severe damage as a result of the latest earthquake. It was peaceful and beautiful in a morbid way. Afterward we headed back to our hotel for a break, exhausted.
Thursday we had a family meal at the apartment. It was odd to have both families eating together at the same table, in the same country. But nice. Language wasn't really an issue, Franci and my friend Laine helped me translate everything. It still got a little confusing. I would speak Spanish to Anita then try and speak Spanish to my dad, then try and speak English to my Anita. Each time receiving confused looks, then laughter. Even with the slight confusion we ended up sitting for over three hours, laughing hysterically and talking.
Our last adventure was to Casablanca for a wine tasting. We drove about 45 minutes East to a vineyard called Casas del Bosque. We had a private tour of the vineyard, followed by a wine tasting. Jeff and I sampled three types of wine, mostly white (since it's Casablanca's specialty) then we had lunch at the winery's cafe.
Saturday I left to see Dave Matthews in Santiago. A few friends and I explored Santiago then went to the concert that night. It was Dave's first show in Chile, and the last of the tour, so he made sure to leave a good impression.
After a farewell breakfast with Anita at the hotel and a nice morning around town dad and Jeff left. It was sad to see them go, but at least I know I'll be seeing them (my dad at least) in a couple months. This weekend I'm making the trip up to San Pedro de Atacama, it's supposedly one of the driest places on Earth! More to come. Love to all at home!
