Sewell Visit 2016

Today we joined a tour to Sewell. Only a couple companies are licensed to take tours up the mountain, and we learned why: single lane tunnels, rocks cascading down steep mountainsides, heavy fog, sleet & snow conditions, big trucks carrying copper, workers, fuel...
Sewell was a great treat. We saw the buildings built into the mountainside, like Grandma described. Saw the stairs; including the central staircase that served as the central plaza or meeting place. We saw the hospital where Winnie was born. None of the US family homes remain. We made several friends on the tour, and we were the only US tourists there. They were interested to hear why we wanted to see Sewell.
The mine, El Teniente, still is fully operational, but no one lives in Sewell. They're bused up from Rancagua. The museum was awesome, with copper artifacts from around the world. Also, many photos from the era our family was there -- 1918 to 1925. I tried to photo all those that were posted, in hopes one of us will see Fred, Creta or one of the children.
There were no lists of personnel, babies born, etc, to see. Most burned up in fires in the 60's.
We took so many photos, we burned up our batteries and can't download, so we'll post most to Drop Box when we get back. Here are a couple.
An "Al Gallup memory:" Our tour included dinner, so as we returned down the mountain, we dined at the Coya Golf Club, which Dad had told me "not to miss." He golfed here when he and Winnie visited in 1974.
Tomorrow we drive back to Santiago, fly to US overnight. Back in the USA July 4th!
Signing off,
Cindy & Amanda

Pomaire and Rancagua

Hello, Everyone - Activities of the past 2 days have been a visit to Pomaire, a touristy town west of Santiago, and today, arrival in Rancagua.
Pomaire is known for dark clay pottery, handicrafts, and "typical" Chilean foods. Our hosts in Santiago are Lutheran missionaries, Rev. Jim Tino and his wife, Liisa Tino. Liisa, Amanda and I enjoyed lunch in Pomaire, where both Cazuela and Humitas were on the menu. (Nancy and I enjoyed both those dishes as children, when Grandma Creta fixed them.)
Today Amanda and I rented a car and arrived Rancagua before lunch. We spent much of the afternoon trying to find Braden Copper Co files that were reported to be with other human resource docs in a Codelco (Chilean Mining Co) office in Olivar Bajo, southwest of Rancagua. We searched for a couple hours but never found a Codelco office :-(  We did find, quite by accident, the office of the miners' union of Braden Copper Co on a side street in Rancagua. We didn't find anyone there to interview.
Being the resourceful people we are, we stopped at a vineyard on the way back to Rancagua and bought a couple bottles of Carminere and Cabernet. No tasting, though!
I'm attaching a photo of our grandfather's "manta" (poncho) that he bought way back when. It has been in cedar for almost 100 years, and has NO moth holes. As we read about the Rancagua area, we find there is a town where those mantas are made for the cowboys or "huasos" who put on annual rodeos in April. Grandpa Fred had not only the manta, but boots, spurs, and hat that still are worn in the rodeos. We hope to get to see Donihue, the weavers' town, before leaving the area Sunday.
Tomorrow night we'll report on our tour to Sewell, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Cazuela and Grandpa's manta:

Day 3 on Rapa Nui

Hello - Day 3 (Wednesday) was an attempt to see as many Moai and as much Rapa Nui culture as we could squeeze into our remaining morning on the island. The Anthropology Museum was very good; the island's cemetery was fascinating, unlike anything we've ever seen, with Rapa Nui and Catholic symbols decorating the graves. There's a riot of color, too, since flowers are abundant on RN, and are used on most the graves.
We returned to Santiago in the evening, to temps of 45 F.

Day 2 on Rapa Nui

Day 2 highlights on Rapa Nui: Today was our opportunity to see the large statues (Moai) on the island, the quarry where they were carved, the path(s) they were transported to the coast, and all this from the point of view of a native Rapa Nui-an whose perspective was that of a cultural anthropologist and defender of the heritage and language. We learned a lot; saw a lot. Wonderful experience, lots of walking on rocky ground.
Tonight we shared raw tuna with lemon, olive oil and capers; then a fish called cara cara with roasted vegetables. Tuna is the most common catch on the island. Oh yes, we enjoyed a pisco sour and toasted Al and Winnie!
Wed afternoon, back to Santiago.

Day 1 on Rapa Nui

Day 1 on Rapa Nui (Easter Is.). We arrived here with 300? others on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. They get 4 flights/wk from Santiago and 1/wk from Tahiti. The place definitely has a Polynesian feel, with a lot of Chilean Spanish spoken.
The majority of the island is a Chilean National Park, and all visitors pay a $60 park entrance fee upon arriving.
Our mode of transport today: we rented a four-wheeler (& helmets). Amanda's driving. It made quick work of getting to the top of Rano Kau volcano to see the crater lake. That spot also overlooks a couple small islands noteworthy because a native Rapa Nui competition was to dive off the cliff, swim to the island for an egg from the nesting birds, and the first to return with egg in tact was de facto political leader. Hey, seems like an idea for Nov 2016!
Our travels today took us on road and off road to see several sites where Moai (statues) were destroyed and not restored. The Chileans seem to have lookouts at all these spots to prevent tourists from spoiling them or taking trophies.
Tonight we dined on the main road in Hanga Roa, the island's only town. We enjoyed Caldillo -- a stew of tuna, shrimp, squid, scallops, plus sweet potato, squash, & plantain. Delicious!
Having trouble posting pictures. Will try tomorrow.

Welcome to our blog

Hi, Sister, Cousins, Children, and Friends:
Amanda and I are beginning our Chile adventure together. We met up at the airport hotel in Santiago, following Amanda's overnight flight and my conclusion to a week-long mission trip in Chile.
Tomorrow we fly to Rapa Nui (Easter Island) for a couple days. Photos begin tomorrow, although we don't know if we can post to our blog from the south Pacific. If you don't see something Monday or Tuesday, we'll post when we get back to Santiago on Wednesday evening.
Cindy