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We now leave Santiago for a 90 mins drive up into one of the best wine growing regions in Chile; Casablanca. It's a pleasant drive across farming country, quite deserted in some areas but green and sunny, the odd house here and there and then towards the end of our journey the vines begin. Long curving orderly lines up the hillsides thick with grapes just coming to the end of the growing season. Harvesting will start in ernest in a couple of weeks or so but right now it's just quiet and sunny out there and the grapes have another 2 wks to get a bit plumper.
The hotel where we are staying is an old single story wooden building shaped around a lovely garden with only 8 rooms. The owners have a vineyard just a few minutes drive down the road and we visit there the next day. This vineyard produces 4 different wines including Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay . We taste these after a tour of their wine making plant. This is not yet 11.00 am so probably not really appreciated, the tasting that is, the tour of the winery was interesting. The driver from the hotel who brought us here put bikes on the back of the van so we could cycle back. We take to the paths through the wine groves to do this and it's pure pleasure. It's warm and sunny and we take about an hour to make the return journey. We stop, of course, to try the grapes and also have to make a stop at a farmyard we pass through to allow the men herding steers to get past us. They're doing this on horse back and so I make sure dad gets a photo. Spurs and all. A great way to spend a morning and then back at the hotel I have a swim and while away the rest of the day with a book.
Tomorrow we will return to Santiago and fly up to Lima. Then it's the Sacred Valley, Machupicchu, Cusco and finally back to Atlanta. At this stage Atlanta is beginning to seem like home. Don't worry Esme not planning on taking over your kitchen! It will however be lovely to see you. Not much more than a week now and the trip will be done!
Hope your trip to Scotland is going well Tom; give my love to Edinburgh. There used to be a club called Nicky Tam's in the old town. If you see it I would love to know how it's doing now.
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