Alas, I didn't find hiking trousers, however my hosts did introduce me to Havanna, with its fabulous biscuits, chocolate and condensed-milk caramel. [Note that this link takes you through to a page on A Nice Cup of Tea and a Sit Down, a site that I believe Neale, Chris, Lila or Nerida discovered some years back. I was a little too excited by this!]
I discovered a couple of interesting facts during this shopping expedition:
- Guinea pig is a Peruvian delicacy that is sometimes served in Chile. I won't be trying it. Like chicken, it has a lucky bone but, rather than the wishbone, it's one of the earbones. Luke couldn't tell me if it was the hammer, anvil or stirrup - I will find out!
- 'Embarazada' means 'pregnant' in Chile and, predictably, has the same root as their term for 'embarrassed'. If you the actual word for pregnant (somthing like 'preganento'), it's an insult. You would use this term for cows or dogs. [Well, I thought it was interesting!]
Day 19: Tuesday 19 February 2008. The weather was beautiful - sunny and 31. Breakfast was popped kiwicha and mote (a grain historically eaten by peasants) with fruit & yoghurt; for lunch we had fresh salmon and corvina (aka 'white seabass') with quinoa and fresh vegetables. Yum! [Plus, my luggage arrived between breakfast and lunch. Yay!]
The fresh produce was awesome. Before lunch, Luke and I explored the extensive vegetable & fish markets at La Vega & Mercado Central, which were not that far from Providencia (where Luke & Aurora live). The hot-food vendors at Mercado Central pushed their wares forcefully and I learned to use the phrase "No, la pesca fresca" very quickly. I was thankful for my cold: from the look of others walking past the fish stalls, I could tell that some of the smells were not pleasant.
I also had my first coffee for a couple of days and, at around $AU2 (900 pesos) from Cafe Expresso, it was great. My guidebook told me that there was no good coffee in Chile. Apparently, this place had opened recently so I was not about to doubt my information just yet.
Although we aimed for sunset, we reached Cerro San Cristobal just after. The 22m-tall statue of the Virgin Mary dominates the city as she looks over it. Standing at her feet, I found the panorama of Santiago's surrounding hills and main arteries to be incredible. Perth just doesn't have hills like that - for me, they were mountains! The tiered gardens and religious choral music set the ambience perfectly for me as the sky transitioned through sunset hues to dark blue. It was spectacular to witness the moon appearing over another of Santiago's hills. I was awestruck.
On our way back to Luke & Aurora's, I met Chilelo, the cat who thinks he is a dog. Chilelo belongs to Juan, Aurora's supervisor at the University. Juan is in Australia at the moment and Aurora has been given babysitting duties. Lucky her!
Our meals were so late that I could only manage a light dinner - honeydew melon and avocado on Vegemite toast. [Even though Aurora is Mexican, she is as addicted to Vegemite as much as Luke. The day she 'invented' the Vegemite/avocado combination, Luke was so proud!]
By the time I got to bed, I had razorblades in my throat. The long-haul flights and changes in climate had started to take their toll in the form of a really bad cold...
1 comment:
Hello Hannah dear - your blog is so fascinatingly detailed I can hardly believe you have had the time with all your activities! Make sure you rest up with a nice cup of tea and will see you when you get back. xx pauline
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