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hi everyone, things are happening quickly we are flying out in six hours and isabel and stu are not up to much 'a bit of the old tummy bug i think we can´t wait to get home. will write more on our travels from home 0 so chow
made it back home now - here was the blog i was going to send:
hi everyone - this is my last report from the otherside of the world.we are about to fly back to nz, tommorrow night. we have had a great time making discoveries in chile - as you can see from the photographs i found some of my ancestors in valparaiso, which was most rewarding, and exciting. I ended up having quite a historic reunion with the past - and made some great inroads for further research.but first i will tell you about a little place nr Talca we stayed at for four days. It was called Refugio de Triacahue, and it was based next to a private park in the area also called the same name. it was a good 40 minutes drive out of Talca, and so quite isolated, even though there was a big hydro scheme there, controlling some of the waters in the region. We arrived there late in the afternoon and were met by Dimitri, a former belgium, come to find the better life in isolated chile. He and his wife Betty, and their two small children, made us feel very welcome. After settling into their little cottage, that had two four bunk dorms, and two double-beds, the kids had a swim in the little swimming pool and i made tea. the next day, we went on a seven hour walk and isabel and mum just made it! It was a lovely day though, and we saw several tranchulas....which are supposedly harmless....and discovered a few interesting plants and trees. The next day we went fishing up one of the rivers, and although we didn't even get a bite, it was a lovely secluded spot which we had all to ourselves, and if it had been warmer, we might have gone for a swim! Infact Nicola did an impromtu one, and ended up drying off her clothes on the hot rocks! At the end of the day, which it had a long walk involved in getting up the river and the wind was terrifily strong - almost blew us over! We treated the kids to a sauna - which dimitri had built himself. the pool was the plunge pool - it was cold enough! quite a unique experience and one that we all really enjoyed doing as a family,We did one more walk the next day and visited a waterfall, where stu had another fish, but again not a bite - i think the locals had fleeced the place andthe rivers. there are laws in chile, but these are often flaunted and the law tends to turn a blind eye...afterall people need to eat. there is a huge difference between rich and poor here. national parks often have cows wandering in them.we said goodbye to dimitri and betty the next day - promising to keep in touch. it was a fine day and we made it to Valdivia by early afternoon - saw the sea lions in the tidal river and a museum that had displays about the mapuche indians that once ruled these lands. there are now about a million indians left and really the average tourist doesn't really see much of them or hear about them. all the stuff in the museum was in spanish - so only pictures to tell the tale for us. the craft stalls do sell wooden and woollen gifts, some of which the kids have bought home. There was some silver and gem jewllery there too, which i found difficult to choose from, and not that exotic.FRom valdividia we went to valparaiso in one day - a big days travelling - and by the end of it, we were all ready for sleep. however as usual road signage was not good once we hit town, and it took us at least an hr to get orientated and using the correct one way roads! we finally get up to Cerre Algere, the suburb we wanted, and spent another hour or two trying to find accommodation, eveutally, we drove around and found a bed and breakfast sign and decided to try our luck. a chilian answered the nextdoor place when we knocked - and then dashed inside to retrieve someone else. next thing we hear, is hello, can i help you? My god english, we were blown away! We soon got to know Ed and bargained a good deal for our accommodation - he was very helpful and left us to it, we had the whole place to ourselves - no other visitors in, so it was marvellous. it was like having our own two storied house. We spent three days there - and spent a large part of that time following leads on my family ancestry with some very rewarding results! please see photo albums. One of my ancestors was in the fire brigade!
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