Pomaire
Today I went with a couple of friends to a little town North-east of Santiago called Pomaire. It was an adventure since the trip ended up being much longer, more expensive, and more complicated than we'd thought it would be. The bus ride there was beautiful, though. We passed vineyards, cows and chickens, and cowboys riding along the side of the road on horseback. It was rainy and the mountains and fields all had a bluish purplish tinge. We were starving when we finally got to Pomaire so we immediately found a little place to eat. We got the biggest, most delicious empanadas I've ever had and a pitcher of cider. They had a big clay oven outside the restaurant to cook everything on--needless to say it was delicious. After lunch we looked around in the shops, most of which sell either clay pots or woven decorations. I didn't buy anything because I'm in an anti-knick-knack phase, but I probably could have otherwise, since everything was really beautiful. At one place (the middle picture) we watched people finishing up pots by polishing them with stones.
Getting back to Valpo was pretty stressful! We first had to take a bus from Pomaire to Melipilla, a nearby town. Of course we had trouble finding the bus stop though, since all the streets are one way. We knew that the last bus of the day left Melipilla at 7, so we had to make that or else we'd be stuck in the middle of nowhere over night. But when our bus driver dropped us at "the bus terminal" of Melipilla to get our connection bus, we didnt' have much faith that we'd ever be able to get out of there. It was pitch black, no one was around, the supposed terminal was a little shack, and to get there you had to wade through inches of mud! When you're travelling though, a lot of times things that you never thought would work out do...and so we made it back to Valparaíso with no problems.
Its a great feeling coming home--"home"-- after a long but fun day. I had a snack and then talked to Dylan, who's going to the family lake cabin in MN this week.
As for tomorrow, my only plans are sleeping in and then figuring out where my wednesday classes are meeting.
posted by Julia | 7:47 PM
5 Comments:
This sounds like a great adventure for the day . I could feel how you felt when it was getting dark with no place to go for sure. Glad you had some friends along to share the fun and anxiety.
love Banjo
Also thanks for the photos so we can see what it was like. The pottery reminded me of Oaxaca.
Good to talk to you!! Everything is all OK again with me and Kaksi. Now we are hoping that the same will be true with him and the fernman.....I suppose it depends on how many bandages he is wearing yet :) Happy first day of class and I hope that 8:15 doesn't come too terribly early. love Spy Girl
Hi Julia! Once again we enjoyed reading today's blog and seeing the beautiful pictures. My betrothed has a question... is it true that in South America the water goes down the drain in the opposite direction (for us Norte Americanos, it goes counter-clock-wise).
I remembered today the name of the South American harpist I heard at a Yavapai College Concert: Alfredo Rolando Ortiz, South American Harpist. Website: www.alfredo-rolando-ortiz.com
My betrothed always thinks the best thing to bring back is cd's. He's always interested in hearing music from other places, especially interesting music. If you could ask the locals who the best jazz group from Chile is, we could send you money to buy cd's: 2 at a time, 1 for you, 1 for us. Maybe we could send funds to Spygirl who could forward them to you. Anyway, keep your eyes open so we can help support the musicians!
That's all... we love you!
ShortnSilver (that's what Chand calls me)
and Chubby Checker
p.s. If Fernman happens to read this, he should be advised that Chubby Checker is sending him a very special something, very soon.
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I actually haven't noticed the water draining here, but I seem to remember from when we were in New Zealand that it does go the other way. About music, I've actually played some of Ortiz's pieces...if only he were in Chile! I've been having trouble finding a harp teacher, though I'm positive that there is one, somewhere or other. As for the CD, I would be happy to pick one out for you guys!
Love, Julia
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