LAST DAYS IN PICHILEMU on MY WAY to TEMUCO πŸ‡¨πŸ‡± 🚍 πŸ™️ ✈️

 ¡Hola! πŸ¦‹


Tuesday 4/16

My friend Paulo Isbej drove me to Cahuil (where there is a huge estuary - a lagoon where fresh and seawater meet, like Elkhorn Slough - and where they gather and dry artisanal salt) and Bucalemu, a small coastal town more remote than Pichilemu. We saw an elephant seal swimming near the shore.

Bags of salt


Notice how the water level changes. They reduce the water level until it is shallow enough for the water to evaporate and leave just the salt behind.


 Beautiful Laguna Cahuil! Paulo takes people for Stand Up Paddling lessons here.



A salt hill!


A shot with Paulo, my field trip host and driver


Salinas means salt flats. Did you know that? I wonder if they make salt in Salinas, California.


The pools with different depths of water


Ocean view driving to Bucalemu. 

You used to have to cross on a barge-ferry, but now there’s a bridge.


The beach in Bucalemu, with fishing boats like in Pichiliemu.


The elephant seal - hard to catch a good shot


Beautiful coastline


Lagoon next to the beach, and a surfer! 

Paulo says the waves aren’t good for surfing, but they give lessons anyway.

Pichilemu means “little forest” and Bucalemu means “big forest”


A beautiful valley on the opposite side of the road from the coast


A sunset ocean view on the way back


A shot of Pichilemu in the mist coming from the south


Back in Pichilemu, a shot that goes all the way to the morros at Punta de Lobos


I went to the Pharmacy to buy medication for my cold and took a walk on the beach at sunset on my way back to Yutty’s



I had onces (evening tea time) with Ruth's daughter Ruth Mery and her husband Rodrigo aka Negro. (Negro used to surf with Joe.) They had just return from Brazil that evening. 


Ruth's other daughter Elizabeth and her family, and Ruth's son AndrΓ©s and his family also came home. (They live with her.) It was nice to see all 3 "kids" (who were in our Children's Bible Class in the 1990s) with their own kids.

Andres & Andrea con Samuel, Jose, Pedro & Gabriel (plus another son on the way). 

In front is Gonzalo, Elizabeth’s son

Florencia, Camilo, Elizabeth & Gonzalo


Wednesday 4/17

I woke up feeling a lot better. (Thanks to the Nastizol medicine.) So I walked to Pura Vida for the Baile Entretenido Dance Exercise class. I took my swimsuit in case I felt like using the pool afterward. After dance class, the ladies invited me to a water aerobics class they were trying out for the first time. So I did that, too. Then I used the hot tub & sauna.


After showering, I walked up to Juliette's house to return her boots (which I had managed to get pretty clean with paint thinner and lots of scrubbing). I ended up joining them for a lunch of homemade Mexican food. Her son Nathan and his family were there as well as Jessica and Tristan. (Janelle, Michael and her husband Abraham, and Katrina are in Hawaii.)

Nathan with Tristan and Jessica


Nathan’s family: Cole, Noelle, and Micah


On my way back to Yutty's I stopped at the Bus Terminal to check the schedule to Rancagua or Santiago for the next day.


That evening I had onces with MarΓ­a JosΓ© and Daniela (also attended our Children's Bible Class) and their kids and their mom, Nana. Nana and MarΓ­a JosΓ© are also widows.  MarΓ­a JosΓ© works as a counseling therapist at Pura Vida.  Her husband drowned while fishing a couple of years ago, leaving her with two young children. So we talked a lot about widowhood.  Daniela joined YWAM and married a man from Mozambique.  She and her husband Santos have the only black children in Pichilemu. It's such a blessing to see all God has done in the lives of the kids we ministered to years ago!

I didn’t get a photo of Maria Jose or Daniela’s family. 

This one is Daniela’s family with the McCroskeys in December




Thursday 4/18


I got up & went to Pura Vida for Baile Entretenido.  Afterward, I saw Carlos O'Brian, a dear friend of our family since he was about 12 or so.

In front of the Pura Vida swimming pool building


I brought my bus ticket to Rancagua on the way "home", where I packed my bags and then had lunch. Ruth made me a special  ice cream dessert in a cup-shaped cone.

 


At 2:00, Ruth walked with me to the bus terminal, and I left at 2:25. (I wrote the first part of this post on the 4-hour bus ride πŸ™‚)

Buses between towns in Chile are pretty comfortable


Heading out of town


Pichilemu’s version of Highway 17


The closest large “city” to Pichilemu is Santa Cruz! About 2 hours by bus.


Sunset over the mountains instead of the ocean (from the bus) at 6 p.m.

(The seasons are opposite in the southern hemisphere, so it’s fall here)


Approaching Rancagua, with tall buildings



I spent the night with JosΓ© Luis and VerΓ³nica in Rancagua. Their claim to fame with our family is that Joy and Silas stayed with them when Lisa was born. JosΓ© Luis picked me up at the Bus Terminal and took me to his house.  When VerΓ³nica got home, she announced that they had planned a Girls' Night Out with me. We went to a Chilean/Asian restaurant called Alma. 

Me, Corina, VerΓ³nica, and Angela (who is also a widow)


We got back to their house in time for me to attend the last hour of my GriefShare Support Group on Zoom, 10:30-11:30 my time.


Friday, 4/19

In the morning We had breakfast and prayed together. Then JosΓ© Luis took me to catch the bus to Santiago, where I transferred to a bus to the airport for my short flight to Temuco, Chile. I wrote the last part of this post from the nice, comfy double-decker bus. I sat in the first row of the upper deck. So I had a great view of the freeway and Chilean landscape, surrounded by mountains, as we traveled to the metropolis of Santiago. 


The view from the top deck


Me in my comfy seat


Mostly countryside between Rancagua and Santiago


The buildings, and the smog, begin to appear





Arriving at the Bus Station, where I transferred to another bus which took me to the airport.


Comments

  1. Such an adventure you are on! So glad you're feeling better. Can't wait to hear about your time in NZ and Australia. By the way, Bernardita let me know this morning that Vicky had her baby last night. :) (And 37 years ago today, you had me!) Love you so much!

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  2. So blessed to share this time with you via your great blog!

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