Valpariso a Port on the Coast of Chile

About a 2 hour drive west of Santiago, through a very long tunnel and over a low coastal mountain range you descend into the city of Valpariso. This bustling port city is built on steep hills which desend to the harbor. This harbor is filled with working vessels from many nations.

Valpariso is a national heritage site because of its many historic buildings. Most of them date to the 1800's and are jammed into close proximity to all the others. They also have electric busses which attach to overhead lines so even the air space is crowded.

They are preserving the outer shells of their historic buildings so they keep the facade and build a modern building on the inside. This one is gutted and awaits a new interior.

This blue building is the original government building and plaza.

Elder Davis and Elder Dixon enjoying the plaza and hoping not to get hit by a bus or taxi.

In order to get up the hills you take the vernicular which is really a shack on tracks that is hauled up on cables. It costs about 200 pescos for a very brief ride to the top. The city has many verniculars to transport you up. They are worth it .....the climb is exhausting.

The view from the top is worth the walk or the pescos.

Our amigos Cathy Dixon and Steve Boyden.

This historic home was situated at the top of one of the verniculars. It belonged to the Lyon family and is very ornate.

This old mansion was in a tumbled down state. In fact, much of the town is covered in pealing paint, rusty iron fencing, broken tiles and concrete.

There must be a colony of artist in Valpariso as most old surfaces are embellished in some outlandish and charming manner.

This is an example of building the house to fit the lot. I wonder if any room is wide enough for a double bed? Notice the hairpin turns for that road. At least it is paved; some were just ruts with bushes growning in the middle.

More neighborhood art. Wonder if we couldn't do something with those plain fences around our subdivision?

In spite of the fall date, it feels a lot like summer heat. We managed to climb to the top of this hill on the narrow side walks.

This is a good example of rutted roads with bushes in the center. I suspect that they do not have a neighborhood association approving all the house paint colors. And that is what makes Valpariso so charming!! Click on the picture to enlarge it and notice that every step is painted a different color.

Time now for a rest over a delightful lunch with good friends and a beautiful view.

This blue thing floating in the harbor is actually a floating dry dock used for ship repairs.

Out side of t0wn, on a very winding and windy road is a look out with a light house. Please notice what looks like apartment buildings on the right hand side of the picture on the very edge. I'll tell you about those pretty soon.

In this picture you are looking south down the coast of Chile toward the South Pole.

Here we have Eileen Gonzales rejoicing that she is out of the office and out of Santiago and enjoying the ocean breezes.

Now about the apartment buildings.......they are actually crypts for the dead. I understand that you put your loved one in a large one for a couple of years and then when they have dried out and gotten smaller they move the remains to a smaller crypt. I wonder what they call a remains remover? Maybe a body snatcher?

And now for the most precious thing is Chile........my husband, Elder Davis.

Trip to Concepcion

After a 6 hour drive south of Santiago, we arrived in Temuco to spend four glorious nights in a Holiday Inn which felt just like North America. It was a little vacation from the cultural immersion which we have been experiencing for the past 9 months. This picture is us unloading the van in the soggy weather which was also a treat after not seeing or feeling rain for the past 9 months. The first thing Bryce did was get us wired up to the internet so we would be in touch with our kids and he could serf U Tube. I was busy checking out the king size bed, soft sheets and hot water in the bathroom tap. What a treat!!!

Going out to dinner is one of the pleasures of this mission. We go to dinner about once a week with other senior missionaries. Generally, the food isn't great but the company is always worth the trip.

We had 2 days before we had to go to work so we drove to Pucon which is at the foot of the Andes in the Lake District. Note the lovely condos on the lake. This community is an upscale resort area which is very busy during the summer months. Since it is now fall it was quiet and wet and windy.

This picture gives you a good sense of the surrounding scenery. There is a fantastic volcano which we couldn't see because of the low clouds. It literally rises out of the lake. I was disappointed but now we have a reason to return.

This is Mi Amiga, Cathy who has become a very good friend. She is a nurse, bagpipe player, golfer and wife of the doctor.

This scene of the streets of Pucon I especially liked. This town reminded me of McCall, Idaho in some ways. It is apparent to us that you do not need to travel around the world to find beauty. It is often in your own backyard.

This colorful convenience store was in Villarica which is at the other end of the lake. These resort towns cater to the rich and upper middle class. We were surprised to learn that many Chilenos never leave their town during there life. They may only live 2 hours from the ocean but never have the means to take the bus and stay there. We see the missions that the Latino serve in South America as an opportunity to grow in more ways than just service. One of the challenges they have to overcome is regional prejudice as they are put in companionships with missionaries from other countries.

This cute couple is enjoying the sites back in Temuco.

Temuco a town of about 270,000 population is situated in country that looks and feels like Coeur d Alene, Idaho. It is a reasonable quiet and clean city. There were reminders however that we were still in South America. I liked the sidewalk shops that sell all sorts of wares. This basket business was especially attractive.

A donkey on a city street is certainly not something you would see in Idaho.

Woodstoves for sale was another unique site. These stoves are really attractive and seemed like a flash from the past.

Among the cars and busses you see a few of these horse and cart vehicles everyday. They appear to be working animals and people.

The vacation is now over and the work of the Area Mental Health Advisor and the Area Medical Advisor begins. These young men sat with us at lunch on the first day of the zone conferences. We spent 3 days doing the conferences which are marathon meetings with presentations and meetings with individuals who have health needs.

Since our presentations are done with powerpoints it is always a little tense making sure the devil isn't in the technology. Since our presentation has a video and music in it that is usually where the glitch will be. We were fortunate that all went well with this conference.

This is Me Amigo, David who is the area doctor. He is 80 years young and so much fun that we feel blessed that we all arrived in Chile to serve together.

This is Elder and Sister Davis with one of our dear sister missionaries. We got to know her on the phone as we helped her adjust to her mission. It was very fun to meet her in person. You might notice that she is a very little person. We feel big in South America.

This is President and Sister Swenson. They are an outstanding couple who manage the 170 missionaries in the Concepcion South Mission. I would feel confident having them watch over one of my children as they served.

This is the view from the balconey of their condo. We spent one night with them and enjoyed late night pizza and good visits.

This is the interior of the condo which boasted 4 bedrooms and central heat. The Swensons will live in Concepcion for 3 years as they fulfill their assignment. Their children are all adults and are in the US.

This is the exterior of the condo. It looks like hanging gardens which is really very common on the apartment buildings in Chile. This was our last day in Concepcion. On the way out the skies

cleared a little and if you look very carefully you will see the tip of the volcano peaking out of the clouds. We still want to come back!

The roads in Chile are great. There is one long high way, Ruta 5, that runs the length of Chile. It is a great road. The highway patrol don't drive up and down the road. They park on the side and using a radar gun flag you over if you are speeding. It works like a charm and saves a lot of fuel. I even saw patrolmen without a patrol car.