Pisco, Pisces and Some that Got Away

I'm writing this in the garden of our hostel in Vicuna, Northern Chile. Outside a Bolivian street band and troupe of dancers are oom-pah-pahing their way through their one song and somewhere further away in the plaza, a deeply romantic male voice is crooning.

We may have hit Vicuna on possibly the busiest weekend of the holidays - they're celebrating their 178th birthday and the town has been taken over by entertainment, stalls, music and a multitude of people from all over the area. It was pretty miraculous that we arrived by bus with no booking and found ourselves in Hostel Aldea - replete with hot tub, sauna and pool; might have been something to do with the owner being from Buenos Aires and taking a shine to Lesley...in fact he's chatting her up as I type...And now he's giving her a foot massage!!

Having planned on my birthday, the 20th, to take a trip to see Humboldt penguins from a boat trip to Islas Damas, we, once more, had to be flexible as they cancelled it due to rough seas. Instead we took a bus direct from La Serena to Pisco Elqui up in the cordilleras - having read that it was an enchanting area - I think Lesley, with her hippy past, was attracted to the tales of the special energy of the place.When we arrived (again - no booking) we got off the bus at the square which was picture-perfect and the setting for a beautiful church. Sadly, although I can see the best pictures on my camera chip, for some reason they're not transferring to my computer - I may have fiddled with something on the camera and am trusting my friend Mick might help me sort this out when I get home. But though they are presently fugitive...as you read on, you'll realise I'm lucky to have them at all.

Pisco Elqui Church

My room was that one at the top!

To cut a long story short, Lesley's knee was giving her grief and stairs were not an option - so she ended up in a dorm the local hostel (full of 'joven') On my birthday night  I refused to share a slightly-grubby-around-the edges bedroom and instead found an eyrie in the 'Herman Munster house' - actually a very comfortable bed - although the odd vampire might have felt comfortable in the bathroom.....
Billetted, we went out for a late lunch and with a  Pisco sour to celebrate (the Elqui valley is the home of the distilleries of this powerful grape brandy that needs a good dose of lemon and sugar to help it slip down)  we chomped our way through tender steak and salad.

Getting a feel for Pisco Flqui we had to decide how long we'd stay - and the feeling was - not long. Like many of these 'mystical places' PE has now been inundated by the spiritual seekers and the place is taking full advantage by hiking prices and selling the whole paraphernalia of mysticism. As Lesely puts it; 'hippy Disneyland'.  As beautiful as it was - it wasn't for us....so, back on the bus and down the valley to Vicuna. This has to be one of the most memorable bus journeys ever - glorious views of the vine strewn valleys set below the powerful, rocky mountainsides.

Vicuna has been our place of rest for three lovely nights. The climate is wonderful - crystal clear blue skies, chilly mountain air morning and night, with brilliant sunshine in the day - and not a mosquito in sight. In fact this little city has the feeling of a fictional community - like Lake Wobegon - where people are kind to each other and , unlike so many cities in SA, there is little litter - or dog mess.  As mentioned - we arrived in the midst of civic celebrations - and have watched parades of people proud to be part of the place - and thoroughly enjoying themselves. The Mayor gave a lovely speech about the values of kindness and the word 'heart' popped up a lot. There was a thanksgiving service in the cathedral and a load of floats in the streets on the Sunday.

It's interesting how soon one gets to feel known in a place like this. Lesley having the language is of course key. We have chatted to the cycle hire people (we did attempt a cycle ride on the Saturday - but didn't get hugely far as we mistimed it and the daytime heat was too fierce) and now know one taxi driver rather well. We'd been up to have lunch at Villa Seca - where the food is cooked entirely by sun-power in low-tech solar cookers - and maybe it was because  I was rather relaxed after a fine plate of baby goat and a glass or two of Falernia Sauvignon Blanc from the valley, I must have left my camera in the taxi. We took another taxi later, back to the restaurant.....who had ordered the original cab for us; they knew the driver and had his cell phone no. Our new driver phoned him, we liaised in the centre of town - and hey presto, one camera restored!  How good is that? I then took the taxi  further up the hillside on the road to Mamalluca observatory to get some photos of the cactus and the grapes while the light was at its most beautiful. Needless to say, he got a great tip - and we now wave merrily at each other when we see him around town.

Solar cookers at Villa Seca

Cactus on the way to Mamalluca

Moscatel grapes

We also shopped at the special Carnaval Market - and met up again with people Lesley had met on the bus - getting a free massage into the bargain. They were selling 'interesting' unctions  - like serum made from cobras; the phrase 'snake oil' did cross my mind...but they were a really delightful couple full of goodwill (he'd given up his bus seat for over an hour to Lesley.)

I'd wanted to go back towards Mamalluca after we'd driven there on an observatory tour the night before. It's a public, astronomical observatory only  - but this part of Chile is dotted with the real thing. There are several - each one succeeding the last in size. There's one under construction now with a 40 metre mirror . Amusingly, they're given  acronyms which turn out to be  very prosaic names ELT = Extremely Large Telescope - and  one planned for the future will be called OWL - Overwhelmingly Large Telescope! Being in a select group of 4 with an English speaking guide, we did get to look through (a somewhat more modest) telescope which actually locked on to various stars via a GPS system (!) We were under one of those domes with a slit in it that moved around to find the right portion of sky. We looked at charts with all the constellations named from mythology - like Virgo and Sagittarius - but actually no Pisces. The But the best part for Lesley and I was standing outside, high up on the hill, under the ink black sky looking at the vast pattern arcing over our heads. Of course, the southern sky is 'upside down' to us - and they have different names; Orion's Belt has three stars which they dub the Tres Marias - and the Pleiades was called the Potatoes by the indigenous people. From here you can't see Andromeda - but you can see much closer galaxies with the naked eye; the Magellanic clouds. And of course the Milky Way (Camino de Leche - road of milk) is beautifully clear.

Later today we move on again...now retracing our steps to la Serena, back to Sandra's place, from whence I will be taking a flight to Buenos Aires and then London. It's all going to be over too soon.....