Since we arrived in Chile we have been toying with the idea of working part-time at a vineyard. Chilean wine is fantastic, we are interested in wine (too interested sometimes ;) and we live a mere 40 minutes from the Casablanca Valley so it's a no-brainer. Located about 80 km northwest of Santiago and 26 km from the Pacific coast (where we live), Casablanca's vines were planted in the 1980's, creating Chile's first maritime/mediterranean wine-producing region. It's Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are now internationally recognized for their deliciousness.
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The Game Changer /
fter having the Suzuki for exactly only one year, we finally got rid of the car that had given us more headaches and trouble than the old rusty bucket, the Nissan Patrol (RIP 1983-2011) we bought when we first arrived. We tried selling the Suzuki online as is customary here but no takers. Probably due to the fact that it had 11 owners in just as many years...Our new ride is amazing - it gets us where we're going without having to worry about wheels falling off or engines blowing up. It's a panic attack free vehicle and we couldn't be happier.
Read MoreLasso the Moon /
All three Christmases we've spent here were strange. It's tough to get used to the Christmas in Summer, Southern Hemisphere thing. The first year (2009) we had just arrived and hadn't met any friends yet so we went to a gringo bar uptown where they served good beers and Mexican (NACHOS!) - I called my family on Skype on my iPod touch with no video.
Read MoreTourist for a Week and other happenings /
After about four hours of riding clutching onto my horse for dear life our guide Matias led us all to one of the famous seafood restaurants in nearby Con Con for some seafood empanadas. Pretty spectacular end to our day.The next day was the 4th of July and was spent eating some very American pulled pork sandwiches and other assorted meat products with friends of ours on Cerro Polanco in Valparaiso.
Read MorePost En Route /
The last few weeks have been crazy and though I've had a bunch of things to say unfortunately laziness has won out over blogging. My only excuse is that our car was in the shop for eighteen days during which we were working every day. Additionally, there happened to be a rain front (or whatever it's called when it rains every single day) that came through at exactly the same time.
Read MoreProgress Isn't Cheap /
It's rainy season in Valparaiso again. Torrential downpours for three straight days means no sun. No sun means no solar power for the house for a little while. We're fully stocked with cut wood for the wood stove, soup fixings and enough red wine to keep us warm and happy. Unfortunately though, our work schedule doesn't allow us to be indoors all day as we would like, installed in front of the wood stove and instead must venture out into the rainy, muddy days. An added bonus is the fact that our car is again in the shop being fixed as it turns out the 'great mechanic' we had here in Laguna turned out to be a real jerk and a bad mechanic when our car's engine almost exploded last week. What's new.But it's been much worse.
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