Galapagos Trip May 2012

We took some time, just before I headed home for the summer (Chile's winter).  We took off for the Galapagos Islands, one of the places on both our "bucket lists".  We had a great boat, and met some terrific people.  You don't meet slouches and couch potatoes on a cruise in the Galapagos.  All very outgoing and outdoors oriented people.  All had done a lot of interesting travelling and made for interesting table mates, over dinner.

 

 

This was our cast...all great people. We're heading off for one of our adventures.

 

 

This was our very large cabin...pardon the clutter...Didn't realize the photographer was on shift! It was pretty wide, and didn't have hand-holds so, when it was rough, it made it a bit tricky for walking around.  We're used to being in a sailboat that you can touch all  the side walls or hand-holds.
 

 

Looking down the deck from our cabin.  It was a very nice boat.
 

 

That's our boat, in the distance, as we head back from a shore excursion.

  

 Of course, one of the main attractions, in the Galapagos, is the land tortoises.  They certainly are much larger than you think! 

 

And not all that attractive.

 

 

I believe this is Lonesome George, who passed away shortly after we left Chile.  He was the last of his particular breed, and they'd not had any luck breeding him with other females. 

 

 

These sea lions are incredibly tame and patient.

 

 

Just hoping that he can beat out the pelican for whatever scraps might be available.

  

On our beach walks, we saw several different types of lava...all quite interesting, but does not make for a very attractive beach. 

We didn't see all that many penguins, but this little guy obliged for a shot! 

 

If you think I look bored, you're probably right!  We saw so many of these marine iguanas, that it just became old hat...and an ugly old hat, at that!

 

 

They certainly can't be called attractive!

 

 

Well, apparently if you're another iguana, you might not feel quite the same way as I do! 

A Sally Lightfoot crab.  Very colourful and not much camouflage if you live on black lava rocks.

 



 

Talk about looking at ease and comfortable!
 

 

 Ditto, here!!

 

 

OH MY GOD...MY FEET ARE BLUE!!  A blue footed boobie...gee, this bird can't win...blue feet and a terrible name! 

 

I believe this is a frigate bird. 

 

 

 

This was my first time kayaking, and I really liked it.  However, as you can see from the extra feet, I'm not alone.  I'm not fond of tandem bikes, and this was a bit reminiscent as I didn't have total control of where I was and how close to the rocks we came.  Now, those of you who know me well, know I like control...so you can imagine how this all went!

 

Below are a few of our favourite underwater shots.  We also swam with the sea lions, but they came and went so quickly, it was impossible to photograph them.

 



A bit blurry, but this is a school of rays.  

 

Moving to Chile, Feb. 2012- 13

Once again we are heading to Chile.  Started out being not so bad a thing...lot of money and living in Santiago.  In the end, it wasn't quite the way it worked out.  It went from there, to perhaps to Concepcion, and then to Chillan.  By the time the dust settled, we were in too deep, in reality, to back out.  So, off we went, at then end of Feb. (and the end of their summer, I might add).  We landed in Santiago, picked up our pick up truck and headed south.  Chillan is about 500kms south of Santiago, and about 100kms from Concepcion.  Ralph's office, at the mill, would be about halfway between Chillan and Concepcion.

 

 Thus is our luggage outside the Holiday Inn in Santiago, Chile.  We stayed here a couple of days, picked up our vehicle and headed to Chillan. No one said we travelled light, but then we were going to be there for a year.

We stayed in the local hotel, on the town square, and tried to find an apartment.  We were lucky in that one of the concierges in one of the buildings thought that one of the owners might be interested in renting, and she was. So we didn't have to "hotel it" for too long.  The apartment didn't have much of a view (as you can see), and wasn't very well outfitted with appliances and the like, but it was nice enough and decently furnished, and had 2 bedrooms, so it had room for me to paint.  The rest we could buy.  It was also not far from the main square so, everything that Chillan didn't really have, was close enough by. 

This is the living room, with the dining area off to the left.  The kitchen was typical Chilean, with no eating area. 

This is where I painted quite a bit, and practiced guitar, occasionally. I actually turned out quite a few paintings, that year...not much else to do!

 



This was the building from the outside.

 

This was a walking street, off the main square in Chillan. Notice all the wild dogs.  There were an amazing amount, but most looked healthy and many had some german shepherd blood.  This seemed unusual, but some people thought that several of the guard dogs, used by the wealthy, were just set loose or were inbreeding.  This was likely.
 

A typical little grocery store in the outskirts of Chillan.  They did have a regular larger grocery store, or two, but they don't carry the same products as at home.  As far as fresh fruits and veggies are concerned, if it's out of season, it's not there. 

 

We had to come into Santiago, one weekend, for Co. business, but didn't realize there were no rooms to be had.  We ended up in a fabulous hotel and this was the view.  We DO LOVE Santiago! 

You really don't have to drive far out of Chillan for it to become very rural. 

Some areas were quite pretty, but you could only go on so many drives in the country.
 

Friends of ours, Julie and Dale, still live in Santiago.  They've also bought a lovely place in Vina Del Mar.  This is the view from their balcony.

 



Julie and Dale entertaining us in their lovely home. 

 

 

Out for lunch in Vina. 

It's a different country...very progressive, in some ways, not in others.

 

Crab wagon in one of the coastal towns.

 



 Ralph is in the Pulp and Paper business, but they must send it all elsewhere.  In much of Chile, they give you these silly little napkins...almost like wax paper and pretty useless!  You need 5 or 6 to make a difference to a messy hand.

 

We went off for a drive, one day, and we had to take a ferry...little did we know that this was !!

 

This is our truck aboard.  Just a bit freaky, actually!

 





They are very big on flowers, in Chile, especially just outside the cemeteries.

 



A lady outside the main market in one of the outlying towns in our area.

 



 Local fish vendor in Concepcion, Chile's second largest city after Santiago.  Old traditions die hard in these countries.  Many people still buy food, just for the day.  There's a reason for this; many don't have fridges, let alone freezers.

 

 

Ralph went off for a hike to Termas de Chillan.  This is a hiking/ski area, depending on the season. Termas are hot springs.

 

 

Quite a spectacular view.  I'm surprised they get anyone up here!  The road is incredibly poor.

 





As I said, also a ski area.  Ralph went skiing, during Chile's winter, when I was back in Canada enjoying Canada's summer.

 

 

 

As you can see, it looks a little different in the winter.

 

 

Lunch after a hard day on the slopes.

 



 

Laja Falls, south of Chillan

 



 

We took a weekend trip to Santa Cruz.  It's a grape growing/wine tasting area and quite lovely!

They had a very interesting museum there.

 

 

There was a display about when the Chilean miners were trapped, and how they got them out.  Incredible feat!!

 

 

This was the tube they sent down, into the drilled hole, to retrieve the miners.

 



 

 Out at one of the vineyards, nearby, for a tour and wine tasting.  Quite a beautiful area.

 

 

Terraced vineyards.

 

That's a lot of wine!!