Feliz Cumpleanos Jill

Trip Start Jan 28, 2008
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Trip End Sep 18, 2008


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Sunday, September 7, 2008

We left Santiago after lunch on Thursday (i think), catching a regional bus to Talca. We were on time until the bus blew a tyre. We were too slow when another bus pulled up offering passengers a ride. Everyone else got on, except us and some men who couldnīt leave the bus because they had filled up the undercarriage with their produce and wares. We arrived in Talca at dusk, and using a dodgy map headed away from the bus station looking for a room. The first place we finally found (after 14 looooong blocks - my shoulders were numb!) was full. She pointed us further down the road. Full..Full...Full. Hmm. We started to wonder what was going on. We found out there was a car rally on that weekend, as well as a Wine Conference. Luckily we finally found a hostal (a converted house). Itīs Palestinian-Chilean owner NiJib was very friendly and patient, and made us feel at home. We stayed in Talca 4 nights, but swapped to a different, cheaper and more central hostal on Saturday. Here, Ricardo the host remembered my birthday and I even got a present!

So, our reason for visiting Talca was to use it as a base to visit the regionīs many vineyards and winerys. Unfortunately, early September most a still closed for the winter, and we were only able to visit one, Balduzzi. It was very nice, and we went back a few days later to buy a few bottles for the road trip.
Another day we woke very early to take the 7:00am bus from Talca to Vilches, a small alpine village. From here we entered the Vilches National Park and did a half day hike. The snow was powdery and Cameron and I had a great time following other peopleīs snow footprints up to Eagleīs Point vista. (We had a map handdrawn by the Ranger but it was useless). The view was so rewarding. We could see up to a waterfall, a falcon even cruised past, and to the west we could see the whole valley all the way back down to Talca.

Sunday, my birthday, Cameron and I jumped on the local two-carriage train to Constitution on the coast of Chile. The train trip took 3 hours. It was very interesting, especially to see the farming land, and to see what produce the local folks hopped on and off the train with. A group of characters even managed to pay the train conductor with lettuces! I even got offered a lettuce, but had to decline, explaining that I was a tourist and didnīt have a kitchen. By the look on the man`s face, I donīt think that was a good enough excuse. The train line criss-crosses the Muale River, which was wide and fairly full as a result of recent rains and snow melt.

Consitution is a coastal town, but itīs main industry is paper production. It wasnīt a great smell when we were walking into the wind. At the playa (the beach) there was no smell, luckily. The tourist season isnīt up and running yet, but we managed hot chips for lunch. We caught the bus back to Talca, and enjoyed Chinese for dinner, accompanied by some wine. That night Chile played Brasil in a one sided match. Luckily Chile won a few days later against Columbia, they now have a chance in the World Cup.

Thankyou to everyone who emailed to say Happy Birthday. I like it when I turn an even number. I find it easier to remember my age! So, 28 in Chile turned out pretty great.
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