The hunt for food

We were hoping to get out and see more of Santiago this weekend, but instead we’ve been earning our hunter-gatherer badge.  It seems like the last few days since we arrived we’ve been spending every second of every day figuring out how to get food.  If we were planning to eat out every meal, it’d be easy as pie.  There are a million beautiful cafes and restaurants at every turn here, but since we are doing this trip on a serious budget, it was critical that we scope out the grocery situation and start cooking at home as soon as possible.  I really underestimated how much effort this would take, stocking a kitchen from scratch without a car (sometimes furnished places we’ve stayed in before have come with a semi-stocked pantry of carry-over dried goods, spices, etc.—however, the only thing food-wise in this kitchen when we arrived was a half-full salt-shaker).  Jonathan made a trip on the first day and loaded up the back pack and carried as many bags as he could beyond that.  Then yesterday I did the same thing, and then today I went AGAIN to a different grocery store and brought home another batch.  We now have enough food to last us through tomorrow’s lunch.  Maybe.   It makes me realize how much I rely on the stash of stuff that has accumulated in my pantry over a long period of time.  Tomorrow I’m going to scope out La Vega Central (the Central Market).  All the descriptions I’ve read make it out to be something like Pike’s Place Market on steroids. 

In a shop just down the street from us where they sell nuts, legumes, and other dried goods, I asked the proprietor where people generally go to buy fruits and vegetables.  He told me that pretty much everyone goes to La Vega Central.  I was doubtful that the entire 6.2 million population of Santiago shops for their fruit & veg at the central market, and in fact I did have that cleared up later when I talked to some other folks.  However, it will still be fun to go there and check it out.  Apparently it will be very busy!  J

While I was tied up trying to figure out how we would eat the next few meals, Jonathan spent the afternoon getting our phones unlocked in order for us to buy local SIM cards and finally have phone service here.  For a short while this afternoon our internet at the apartment died, interrupting his efforts.  We had our fingers crossed that it would re-ignite since we have no other form of communication yet—we couldn’t even let our landlady know that our internet wasn’t working!  Sure enough, it kicked back into gear about half an hour later.

This evening we met up with a musician and professor at the university who knows several of my friends in Pittsburgh.  He and his family met us in the park near our house and we had a lovely time visiting with them.  They answered a ton of questions for us, and also showed us the main public library which, unbeknownst to us, is just a short distance from our house.  They were incredibly friendly (and patient with our rusty Spanish skills) and made us feel absolutely welcome here.  In addition, it looks as though their 15-year-old daughter may turn out to be the girls’ nanny/Spanish tutor while we are here. 

And tomorrow “real life” begins: Jonathan is off to work at the University, home school with the girls officially commences, and somewhere in there I need to practice and do a bunch of computer work….. oh, and find some more food for our next meal!

Our first homecooked meal in Chile

(lentils, of course!)

Sabbatical in Santiago--the adventure begins!

We are in Santiago!  Now that we’re ensconced in our Providencia apartment, and have gotten the basic lay of the land (meaning that we walked to a restaurant and we know where the closest grocery store is!), I’ve been reflecting over the final push of getting ready to leave Pittsburgh.  Hands down, the highlight was taking 10 minutes out to have an improv jam session with the girls.  We were sending Bear’s cello back to the rental company because when we return from Chile we will be purchasing her next cello.  So just before we boxed up her old cello, she wanted to have one last play.  Bugs joined in the fun with her violin, and it was an absolutely sweet oasis of calm and fun amidst the rest of the madness of packing, cleaning, lists, and deadlines.

Although we didn’t have anything catastrophic happen on the trip, we did manage at least a tiny dose of drama.  Before we boarded our first flight in Atlanta, the airline informed us that we needed to have actual proof that we were going to be leaving Chile at some point during our stay (the max tourist visa is for 90 days and our stay will be just longer than that).  We knew we would need to leave and re-enter the country at some point, but didn’t realize that we had to have proof of our plans in advance.  We have been planning all along to make a long weekend trip to Buenos Aires, and thus naturally break up our Chile stints into two segments that were each shorter than 90 days.  However, the airline led us to believe that they wouldn’t let us on the Santiago flight unless we had documentation.  So about 15 minutes before we boarded the Pittsburgh-Atlanta flight, Jonathan was frantically buying e-tickets for our Buenos Aires trip.  I don’t think we’ve ever, in the history of our marriage, planned an international family vacation so speedily and concisely!  At any rate, I can now announce that we will be in Argentina from March 12-17!  As it turns out, no one even blinked or bothered to ask us anything about this issue—not boarding the Santiago flight nor at Chile immigration.  However, we now have one less thing to arrange for later!

Here is our embarrassingly huge stash of luggage:  5 checked suitcases, a huge box with the digital piano, two big packpacks with all our trekking gear, four small backpacks, a carry-on suitcase with all my music, plus Bugs' violin.  Since we normally travel with one carry-on suitcase plus a small backpack apiece, this just felt absolutely ridiculous!

Have instrument, will travel

On the 10 hr flight to Santiago we were in the center section of the plane, but because the plane was not very full, we managed to score two whole rows of seats:  Jonathan and I had 3 seats, and the girls--right behind us--also had 3 seats.  I’d love to be able to say that this translated out to us all sleeping ALL NIGHT and arriving in Santiago feeling rested and refreshed. 

However, that would be a lie….

Despite being tired on arrival, we blasted through customs and immigration, got our monstrous mountain of luggage and made it to our apartment in record  time—so soon that the landlady wasn’t expecting us for another hour!  She is a very friendly and sweet woman and was happy to let us crash on the couch while she finished turning over the apartment for us. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent finding food, and of course taking a dip in the pool in our apartment complex.  We haven’t quite figured out the best place to buy groceries, but we did find a place that was able to supply us with enough for dinner last night and breakfast this morning.  Jonathan did the grocery run and his assessment was that although the store was the biggest anywhere around, it made our tiny Giant Eagle in Squirrel Hill look like a Costco.  Haha!  I have a thing for small grocery stores, so I will probably love it.  However, we may have to actually take the metro to a bigger store to get certain things now and then.  Today we’ll get a better feel for what’s around so we can hopefully fall into a rhythm.

Our apartment is tiny and perfect.  It would be great if there were more hooks to hang things on, and more strategic storage, but the space is plenty big enough for us and all our stuff.  We got completely unpacked and our luggage miraculously fit into the various closets so that we don’t have empty suitcases cluttering every room. 

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the heat.  Oh my!  It is so hot here that the girls nearly died when we walked into Bellavista (our little neighborhood) to find a late lunch.  Between the heat and being tired from the flight, they both fell dead asleep at the table while waiting for the food!  I nudged Bugs when the food came.   She sat up immediately, downed her whole plate of penne pasta in about 2 minutes, and fell straight back to sleep.    Thankfully it cools down considerably at night so we were completely comfortable and even used blankets.  Jonathan headed out for a run this morning while it was still in the 50s, but it’s heading up to 91F  later today.

Peru

I'm sitting down to start blogging about our sabbatical time in Santiago and realized that I never wrote about our Peru trip.  We went to Peru during October 2014 to help celebrate the wedding of Louise and Patricio Palanco.  The beautiful wedding took place in Lima, and after that we traveled with many of the members of the family and wedding party to visit some of the more famous historical sites in Peru, among them Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca.  I documented this trip fairly thoroughly in the photo albums posted on my Facebook page, so I will not duplicate that here.  This is just a short post to place that trip in the timeline of our other trips documented on this blog.

2013 Summer West Coast Trip

Awesome time on the West Coast this summer.  Spent the first weekend with Marit and Bob in Ferndale, but commuted up to Abbotsford to spend time with Great Grandma and the rest of the Westtstein clan.  A bit of stress due to the fact that we didn't bring correct paperwork to take the girls across Canadian border.  Resolving it involved Elisa coming to our house late at night, digging through dirt with her iPhone light to find the hideaway key, as it wasn't where it was supposed to be, rifling through our important papers and emailing us copies of their birth certificates. In the end, they gave us a rough time at the border, but did let us through.  Won't make that mistake again!

Following week on Orcas Island to celebrate Dad's 70th with Mom & Dad, Greg and Christy and gang.  We were sad that Paul and Sheena couldn't make it.  Spectacular view of the islands and Mt. Baker from our rental house on Fox Cove Ct near the (defunct, or at least mid-renovation) Bartwood Lodge.  Hiked Mt. Constitution, shopped the shops, met local artists, went whale watching and hit the jackpot (guides said was one of the best outings they had in 10 days' time--and they do the run twice a day), kayaked to the nature reserve two days running and spotted tons of seals, eagles, every kind of amazing bird, even a porpoise on one day!  Spectacular!  Could have stayed there forever!

Picked up by Bob in his boat and traveled across the Sound to Sequim for Storms family reunion to celebrate Bob's 75th.  Really fun times with great food, Storms family olympics, music and dancing, boat outings and more.  Cute cabins right on the bay, nice location for a big family get-together.  Main cabin was perfect for hosting the group as a whole for meals, activities, etc.  Had fun sharing our little cabin with Brian and Tina and the kids.

Second week we spent back with Marit and Bob in Ferndale.  We took the girls up on their first ever backpacking trip and they did so great!  We hiked along Baker Lake to Anderson Point--the perfect first hike carrying packs.  2 miles in, then a nice day hike the next day and then hike out.  Marit and Bob came up and hiked in with us.  The girls really enjoyed it and I think we'll be able to convince them to do it again!!

The remaining days we just relaxed and hung out at the house, enjoying the comforts of home, and lots of good food and company.  Spent a lot of my "down" time nursing my obsession for yurts.  Jonathan helped with computer troubles and edited his essay, and the girls played, played, played.  They really enjoyed spending time with the two cats.

Pgh to DC bike trip--final day

Last day on the trail!  Paul, Sheena and I left from the Lockhouse around 8:30am and stopped at Great Falls to meet the rest of the gang. After a short hangout we rode about 9 miles further and stopped again so Jonathan and the girls could join us for the last stretch. Lots of pedestrian dodging, but it was so fun rolling into DC on our bikes!  We had to search a bit for the Zero mile marker of the C&O towpath but eventually we found it, tucked around the corner from a kayak rental operation. We took lots of pictures and then pedaled on up to the Lincoln Memorial where mom and dad were waiting. They were camera-ready and snapped a bunch of shots of our bike caravan rolling into the plaza. 

We did it!!!!!  Sheena is the only one who rode every single mile of the trip so she's dubbed the queen of the trail.  Yay for Sheena!!!

Pgh to DC bike trip day 6

Laundry was top priority this morning. Even though we had rinsed things out in the shower, they were still pretty gross. Sheena and I went to the laundromat and Paul took the bike bags back to the car wash to give them a good spray down. While we were there we saw someone else throwing completely muddy clothes into a washer so we knew exactly what they'd been up to!  It's fun to meet the other people on the trail that are riding through. 

Although it wasn't raining today we were sure the trail would still be really muddy, however, almost all the water was drained off. It was so great, we were just beside ourselves!  All the through-bikers that we passed had such huge smiles on their faces--everyone was so psyched to have good weather and dry trail after the last two treacherous days. 

It was fun to see Harper's Ferry--we didn't go into the town but could see how cute it was from the bridge. There was a train coming out of the tunnel just as we got there and they have the train bridge fenced so that you can go up and stand really close to the passing train. It's quite an experience!

Right around that area there were a ton of people walking around so it was a bit of an obstacle course riding through and dodging all the pedestrians.  Once we got past that section we passed an area where the Potomac goes through some little rapids--maybe class 1 or 2 at the most, but it was fun to see since the river has been so wide and languorous the whole time we've been following it. 

We met Mom and Dad and the girls in Brunswick for lunch. We found this great Mexican place--El Sloppy Taco that had wonderful food!  I told the owner she needs to move to Pittsburgh because we don't have any good Mexican restaurants there. She said in a few years when she branches out and expands, she'll put one right next to my house. :-) 

We thought the girls might ride with us after lunch but Evelyn didn't want to and Sierra had some issue with her leg.  Turns out it was probably for the best because Jonathan's knees got really bad again on the last stretch and he had to call for a car pickup. 

While we were still riding together, though, we got really close to a great blue heron.  It didn't take flight until we were about three feet away from it!  You see these birds from a distance and you know they are big, but seeing one that close with its wings spread open made me realize just how incredibly huge they are!  

I waited with Jonathan at White's Ferry for dad to come with the van. It turns out that Paul and Sheena were with him--they had been riding ahead of us since lunch and had already arrived by the time Jonathan called.  It was about six more miles down to the Lockhouse where we were staying for the night (Lockhouse 25) so I rode by myself the last stretch. Just as I was pulling onto the trail to start out, there was another through-biker that passed. I was relieved to not feel alone on the trail so I rode behind him for some time. However, he was all loaded down with a ton of gear and I was itching to ride faster as I had been riding slow with Jonathan the last 20 miles. Finally I passed the guy, realizing that if anything happened to me he'd be coming down the trail shortly.   Turns out I must have really been hauling because  I made it to the Lockhouse just after dad, Jonathan, Paul and Sheena got back in the van!

The Lockhouse is really cute but even more primitive than the other one. No electricity, and the water is little hike away rather than being right there in the yard of the house.  In the other house we used the dishes and washed them the "old-fashioned" way, but I have to admit that hiking 15 minutes to get water has broken our resolve and we are resorting to paper plates. So much for being authentic! :-)

The strange thing is that the other Lockhouse (with more convenient amenities) was really secluded and private, whereas this one is not at all.  It's right adjacent to a popular boat launch so there's a whole parking lot full of cars right by us and plenty of people around--one kind lady even hopped out of her car with her dog, walked him around so he could poop right beside our front porch, then hopped in the car and drove off. Oh well. Most of the people we've seen have been really friendly and many of them wanted to know how we reserved the Lockhouse to stay there. 

The girls did a show for us out by the lock--they'd been rehearsing it for at least an hour. Their "set" included such areas as: their house, the playground, the choir practice area, and the donut shop. There was a lot of going to sleep, getting up and going to choir practice.  

No lights here, so supposedly we are going to bed with the sun. Except I'm here writing the blog by battery-powered iPad and Jonathan is reading an academic paper by the light of some sort of wind-up flashlight. Makes for an interesting backup soundtrack to accompany the crickets out our window--the cranking of the flashlight every minute or so. 

Tomorrow it's only 30 miles down to the National Mall in Washington DC!  Hard to believe the trip is coming to an end! 

Pgh to DC bike trip day 5

Rain again.  Got up early and headed up to Hancock. Jonathan's knees were still out so he wisely took the day off of riding. Paul, Sheena, and I booked it the 15 miles back down to the Lockhouse for breakfast. After we ate, we helped pack up the van and get the place cleaned up. Then we set off in the rain again. The day before was soaking wet but I think because the last 10 miles happened to be paved, we were drenched when we arrived, but not that dirty. Today was just muddy and nasty. At first we tried to swerve the puddles, but ended up slipping more in the mud that way. It was better to just plow right into the center of the puddle so that your tire stayed on the most firmly packed part of the lane. Consequently we were covered pretty much head to toe with mud spray. That just about epitomizes our entire day--now multiply it by 50 miles and you've got the picture. 

Our favorite part of the day, hands down, is when we were going along Big Slackwater--a portion of the Potomac that is dammed up and more like a wide long lake--they had shored up the trail in many places with concrete embankments and in those places the trail was paved. So we had several decent little patches of paved trail. What a difference that makes!!

Also at points during the day we saw on the trail a huge snapper turtle, probably a foot across on its shell; a crawdad that reared up on its tail and opened its pincers as wide as it could, apparently trying to look its scariest; lots of deer and rabbits; a chicken that had escaped from a nearby farmhouse; and Paul and Sheena even saw a red fox!

The last few miles were really hard, not the least of which was because the map was off. Our destination was supposed to be at the 74 mile marker (counting down to DC) but in reality it was 2 miles further at 72.  That, and when we got close we saw a guy walking (always a good sign you're within spitting distance of a parking lot). He was dressed all in white and didn't look the slightest bit dirty--a nice contrast to us!--and he was carrying an umbrella and a couple of other things just loose in his hands and fiddling with his cell phone. We were totally sure that the parking lot was right around the corner. Turns out it was still three miles away at that point. We shake our fist at you, deceptive man!!!!

Luckily when we finally got to our Comfort Inn in Shepherdstown, it turned out there was a car wash and laundromat exactly next to the hotel. We drove into the car wash and hosed down not just the muddy bikes but our own bodies, so we could walk into the hotel without leaving a nasty trail and clogging up the shower drains. 

After we got cleaned up we realized that we had put all our bike bags into large garbage sacks to keep the mud contained, and we forgot to get them out at the carwash to rinse off. Another job for the morning...

We went down to Kazu, a local Asian eatery and had our fill of delicious food. Shepherdstown is a really cute community--lots of great restaurants and boutiques. So many places we have to come back to!