Nick Dog is my copilot
You might be confused as to why there is a picture of Nick, The Wonder Dog, on an account of a trip to Spain. Yes, Nick has been my main travel companion and (more…)
May 23, 2009
May 22, 2009
The Return Home
The harbor in Valpariaso
This is where I usually say something along the lines of our trip home was uneventful. Somehow, the “usually” seems to be diluted these days.
We spent the night prior to our departure at the Holiday Inn directly at the airport in Santiago. With an early morning departure, this location was perfect. We could check our bags onto the flight and go back to the room and nap and shower until it was time to board. Under the shadow of Cerro San Cristobal, the hill of the patron saint of travel safety, our departure went smoothly after the TACA agents worked for 20-minutes to find our reservation. This time, however, we never feared. The worst-case scenario was staying longer in Chile. How bad could that be?
May 18, 2009
Santa Cruz to Santiago: Our last full day in Chile
Inside the baths at Termas de Cauquenes
“No Nintendo, No Nintendo,” Becky kept saying.
“Why would Becky be saying that?” I thought. “Does she like Play Stations better? I never knew she had such a strong preference. And why would she take so long to tell me? Is this a ‘sign’?”
May 16, 2009
Colchagua Valley
The road moving away from the winery at Vina Montes
With breakfast at 9:30 am in the room and a cool cross breeze, our day began slowly. And yes, even at Casa Lapostolle, there was Nescafe. But, unlike the fine powder that you pour into hot water to produce a bitter (more…)
May 14, 2009
Santa Cruz: Clos Apalta
Iglesia Santa Rosa de Pelequen
With the frequency of our visits, the airport in Santiago was starting to feel like home. I’m not sure that was a good thing. In the morning it was time to leave again. I picked up the rental car from the Hertz counter staring at a sign advertising their “Everlost” GPS system which I had somehow not arranged to get. Not to worry, I had the BeckBeck system. After repeated, extensive, detailed map downloads from the Hertz agent at the counter and additional reprogramming, I was confident that the BeckBeck system would navigate well on this leg of the journey.
With a couple of wrong turns and a quick trip the wrong way on a one way street (hey, we were following another car!), we left the airport and were on the highway heading towards Santa Cruz, our days destination. It was a shaky start for the BeckBeck system, but it seemed like the hard part was over. The next thing we knew, we were lost. After 15 km on a highway where the (more…)
May 7, 2009
El Tatio Geysers
El Tatio Geyser Basin
A harsh metallic half-buzzer half-ring sound abruptly broke our sleep. It took a few moments for the fog and confusion of deep sleep to pass before we realized it was the room phone ringing. It was 4:30 in the (more…)
