First to supermarket once again, to get flowers to bring along,, it is
so ludicrous, since everyplace we go to has these lovely gardens, with
usually huge roses of every imagineable color and size, but she gets
flowers, and a cake, and even tho I suggested no cake, because we are
going for tea, and of course, they will spread a feast, and want
to serve their pastry, she felt that maybe they are poor, and she
needed to bring them something to serve...  to me and my way
of thinking, that is an insult.... but,,,

Off we go, and she needs to find her way since it has been
a good while since she has gone to this neighborhood, and this
is really an old one, with sort of rundown buildings and not as
lovely as where she lives.  We ask directions in the gas station,
and it is very close, and going up one street and down another,
finally reach our destination...

As always, it is a house, with a gate you must be allowed to
enter, and behind the gate is a small garden with lovely roses and
very well kept lawn with other flowers,,,, but in the house...
Oh, this was really different... a tiny what can I call it,,,
a front room, with a couch and chair, and so small and such old
stuff and really old and plain, and nothing special, as what we have
already seen, but the people... so lovely... This woman was
Alba's godmother and her mothers best friends, and all the while Alba had
her mother, the 6 years she had her, the children were best friends,
and so were the parents... While Alba's mother was in hospital
for most of three years,,, she had what they thought was
anemia, but it was leukemia, and they didn't know it at that time,
Alba was constantly with these people, she and her sister (Astra) who was
2 years younger than Alba----- did I ever mention that all the
girls in the family were named by their father with the first initial
A,,, that is so interesting..  Anyway, there was Mindy, the oldest friend,
Alba, Rurry, the friend and Astra and they were always together, as well
as the brother, who now is 50 years old, and looks like
Yul Brynner with the bald head and the strong features... His name is
Gordo..  He came in from work while we were there also.
(Aside to David----- the brother is a Red Sox fan, and
was so enthusiastic when he found out that I come from Boston...)
The father has just turned 90 years old, and what a handsome
man, tall and straight and looking many years younger with a sharp wit
and bright intelligent eyes,,,, the mother is 86, and small and wizened,
but we just hit it off immediately, and there is an instant
raport with all of these people,,, it is as if they are my
family or dear friends also...  Well, Mindy, of them all, during the
time that there was a lot of political upheaval in Chile, moved with
her husband to Auckland and that is where they live now,,,
she is visiting her mother for a month or so.. promising
to be back for xmas with her husband,,,, they seem to be
extremely well off, she says they buy old houses and there are plenty,
they have a crew of 5 who fix them up and then they sell
them for a huge profit,,, and she travels for 6 months at a time,
with or without her husband if he is too busy or doesn't want
to go with her... She is so funny, she decides that she wants
to go,and off she goes even if she has to go herself...

They have this wonderful house, she says in Auckland, right across from the
pier where the cruise ships dock, too bad I didn't know this last
January,,, and she told Alba that she has to come there and
have the whole top floor to herself, with a huge kingsized bed, and
balcony looking over the sound..  Of course she speaks English, so I had
two people explaining to me what was being said...  Rurry, it seems,
is the old maid of the family... Alba says she was so
gorgeous, but now, she is still attractive, but very quiet, and sort of
like the Cinderella especially around Mindy who is very talkative and exciting
and easy to be around... Rurry, of course, as I expected
made a cake with apple, and there was on a full table,
some other pastry, ham, bread, whole wheat and the rolls that the
Chilean people call bread, juice, coffee, tea, butter, honey, wonderful brown big olives,
oh so much and there was also Alba's cake which didn't get much
takers...  After we sat in that little front room for a bit,
we then followed each other to the other end of the house,
thru halls, and narrow ways, it seemed forever, until we came to the
kitchen, which is big enuf for a dining room table and chairs,
and it was really a difference from what we had been in all
along...  Not that it was not clean, it was old, needing repair,
and the things in it were old, and cluttered, and not the
elegant style that I had seen in all the other houses... But, of
course there was a very large yard thru sliding doors, which I was
careful to be sure were open before I went out to take
pictures of it... with the flowers, trees, the junk room the
father tinkers there, his collection of shells, and some of the 7 dwarfs
scattered throughout the yard... I took lots of pix there, and of the
family, and Rurry also has a dog, one of the nondescript dogs, little,
and a female, I think, because Rurry has her all dressed up in a
dress, and the dog sits in her lap and she pets it all
the time.. And it comes up to everyone, and you know how I feel about
animals, dogs and cats.  The funny thing about this animal, is that when
she wants to go out in the yard, she would slide the door
open herself and let herself out... All of a sudden, I would see
the door open, and not know why, until I saw the dog doing
it herself... it was really funny.

Then the brother came in and he went around kissing everyone, his son
came in and he went around kissing everyone, not even knowing that he
doesn't know who the heck I am... it is wonderful... Everyone is
so friendly, you are immediately family..... like the Italians, like the Greeks,
like the Jewish people,,, incredible, the world is so small and
everyone on it is basically alike...  well, it was nonstop with
Mindy, and of course Alba had to bring everyone up to date,
and I showed my pix, and gave the son a deck of cards from
Las Vegas, and some quarters that everyone picked out what they wanted for
souvenirs... Mindy said that her daughter is going with a man who
is Jewish and he won't eat ham and shellfish and has to spend
the Sabbath with his folks for Friday nite supper, and she mentioned
that she thought the service in the temples were so wonderful, and
her daughter hopes someday to become Jewish,,, they didn't know I was
until the brother said I looked like a nun he knew who was the
supervisor in a school, and I said boy that is great, I am a
Jewish nun, and Mindy pounced on that and then the talk was all
about Judaism for a bit...  We were there at about 6 and
left almost at 10,,, and Alba and her godmother were crying,
and Mindy told me that it was such a stress for the father,
that they had to give him a pill to calm him down when
he knew that Alba was coming.... They hadn't seen each
other for 30 years...  they had been trying to find her,
but finally finally, Rurry was able to track her down thru banks,
and bribing people with chocolate, to try to find out where Alba
lived.... She has an unlisted number, so the fone book didn't help...

Alba too was so nervous and upset about this meeting, she felt it
would bring back lots of unhappy memories to her of when her mother
died..... Now she has another piece of her family back, and
will go with Mindy after I leave, possibly next weekend to their
old family area which is so far away, they will have
to go by plane...

Well, finally, we were on our way home, and back home, and hadn't
eaten any supper, and had some tomato soup, with crackers and cheese, and
that was that... Alba checked email, no word from the company,
I do my thing, and it is bedtime,,--- another day gone.

Saturday 23 October, 2004
Today, I was really annoyed at Alba, really annoyed...
And whatever happened today, like the South America trip, it was all
her fault, because I didn't want to go to the beach anyway.....

Yesterday, we discussed about the beach, I had told Alba, that I am
really not a beach person anymore, especially since the accident, I cannot sit
in the sun on the beach on sand with my legs stretched out
in front of me and burning when I don't even feel it,,,
and getting sand in me is not fun, and I can't go
in the water, and wont with my figure and I made it very
clear that we went to the beach area last week to Vina
and Valparaiso, and that was wonderful, but for me it is enuf...
I had wanted and expected to go to Adriana's this weekend, having
put it off going earlier because Alba was expecting to hear from
THE JOB, but we didn't go because Adriana was invited to her
granddaughter's birthday party, and even tho we could have gone, Alba is
mad at her cousins, because she had left her good jewelry with them
when she came to States and England, and they have MISPLACED the
pieces...  It seems that the family had bought a huge safe, I
think it is a vault, and it is so huge that it doesn't
go in the house, but is outside in the barn, and is perfectly
safe there, according to Alba, even a bomb couldn't open up the drawers...
Well, supposedly the jewelry was put in one of the locked drawers, and
because it was cold in the winter, noone would go to the barn
to check all the drawers, and find the jewelry,,, leading Alba
to believe the girls wanted it for themselves, since all of it is
from long ago family, and they just don't want to return it
to them,,,, soooooo until they see fit to return the jewels,
Alba is not talking to them, and consequently we did not go to
Adriana's today so she could go to the party... We will go
on Monday, because she will sleep over her daughters house and not
be back until tomorrow nite. WHEW!!!!

That over, let me retract.....

So I didn't want to go again to any beach, no matter how
lovely, I would rather stay home and read, and Alba even wanted to
sleep over, but I convinced her that is not an option for me,
so she agreed that we would go for the day, and she can
go with another friend when I am gone and stay as long as
they like...  So off we went,,, to the beach area, this time
not north like the others, we went west to another part of the
country with beaches every step or so... Again, the mountains surrounded us all
over front, back, right side, left side, all over the place, but
somehow, it was not as glorious and wonderful in this area
as it was last week.....

First we stopped at the beach Santa Domingo --- that is the area
Alba has her plot of land to sell... She had bought it
long ago, when all was right in her life and marriage, it is
hers alone, for the purpose of when retiring, or close to retiring,
she would sell her own house, and they would live at this
gorgeous and posh area.. .She would build a beautiful house, and there was
room in the plot to build two more houses in back, one for
each child....  Of course, this dream fell apart with her marriage and
the death of her daughter, so last year she decided to sell it...
It is given to an agent, who has yet as we found out today,
hasn't gone to the land to see what is there, and how to
market it, so Alba needed to give her a little push in
the right direction.  We looked around there, went to the beach, which
has black sand, for some reason, and is very stormy with rocks and
a tremendous wind that is cold at this time of year...
It is not a swimming beach, I am told, but good for
walking and fishing, and just enjoying the anger of the waves and ocean...

We then went further up, or down the coast, to other beaches,
next we ended up at the port, San Antonio,,, what a super
place, perfect for picture taking, lots of stores, like the pier at our
beaches, many people, fish sold right there, tugs taking people out, and going
out themselves for fishing... We stopped in at a restaurant on the
corner of the pier, to have lunch, it was after 1....
and ordered fish,,, we were told it would take about 15
minutes to get ready, and Alba didn't think it was good enuf
to wait,,, it was very cold in there and windy, but I
think it was not elegant enuf for her,,, at any rate,
I said I would like to go back to the car, and change from
my pedal pushers (I had thought we were going to lay on the
beach, and put those things on),  and put on my pants,
and as we got back, she decided that we should go further
and eat someplace else, and get to the sunbathing beach, and what
could I do... I wanted to go in the shops, I wanted to
take a million pictures, I wanted to walk around, but off we went...
I voice what I would like and Alba does exactly what she
intends to do in the first place, tho she says o.k......
maddening.... On the way to more beaches, we passed so many
places to take pix, I was so frustrated, one area in particular,
had fresh fish hanging from the rafters outside the store for people to
pick what they wanted... What a picture that would have made,
such a port town, with exciting things to see and record....
But we were off to another posh beach, that was
more to Alba's liking...

Passed beach after beach, is this the one,,, no, it is
not, there is another one, look at the houses, look at the rocks,
do you see the ocean, look at the flowers there, on and on,
and it was a good half hour or more before we finally came to
a place that Alba thought good enuf for us to have lunch in...
Here we lucked out.....

After we were seated, right in front of us, at the head of
the restaurant, is a huge room, that was put together for a party,
tables set up for lots of people in sort of a square, and
facing us, right in the middle, were the honorees,,,,, a couple
married for 50 years...  She was beautiful, with lovely white hair
and looked to be about 65, tho she had to be about 70
or so, he was very professional looking with thinning hair, and glasses which
were on a cord around his neck... He looked like he might be or
had been a lawyer... All around them were their children, family and friends, and it was
so sweet... Someone toasted the bride and groom, called them the
bride and groom, and they hugged and kissed, and he was teary eyed,
and she kept kissing and hugging him, and it was the most lovely
thing to see.. This just made the day.....
More toasts, and kisses and clinking of glasses, and after the shrimp
appetizer, a troubador came from the back,,, of course he had on jeans
and a shirt, but a big guitar, and sang special songs, and songs
of their era, like Besame Mucho, and other songs that I had
sung both in the Spanish and English, leading me to believe that they
were close to my age... One of the guests even harmonized with
the singer in a song, and it was sooo great that everyone,
including us, clapped when it was done...  It was just lovely
and simply made this day which wasn't going well at all...

We finally left, after having fried fish, too much and took home,
with potatoes, and Coke, and finally finally, got the the beach that
Alba likes...  Again it was windy, but truly beautiful, water from green
to blue and sand full and lots of little tiny shells, and huge
rocks in the water with the waves spraying up against them...
The water was cold, but there were some kids on the edge,
and lots of people sitting there and sunbathing... Alba said we should
sit against the wall, so as not to be right in the strong
wind, so that is what we did... But I just can't do that,
my legs were getting hot, I can't sit there and just sit and
do nothing,,, I am just not made anymore for sunbathing,,,
I took my turn going down to the water and looking for
stones and shells, and on the edge of the water, I reached
for something and the wave came and I lost my balance and went
practically face first in the water... I was soaked...  not hurt
of course, but, my camera was all wet, and I was furious and
worried that I ruined the thing, I rushed back to Alba, got the
towel, dried and dried the camera, hurriedly took the last two pictures so I
could see if water had seeping inside, it hadn't, and I hope it
is o.k. and the what to do with me who was soaking wet...
What a mess... Happily I had brought different clothes,, not knowing what
the weather would be in the places, so somehow I managed to get
out of my shirt and put on another shirt, you know how you
do things at the beach, so noone sees... funny,,,, then after Alba
had her walk, and dip, I went back to the car to get
the bottom changed, and told Alba I wasn't coming back to the
beach, she should sit as long as she wanted, I was
going to wander around or something...

I didn't wander, I opened the windows in the back of the car,
and just sat there and just about fell asleep, and was so
comfortable until almost 6 when I thought for sure Alba would have thought
I had gotten lost, and then went back to get her.
And off we went back home...

Oh, while on the beach, of course there were vendors, and I
bought a couple long long beads hand made with lovely stones, that you
wrap and wrap around your neck or use as a belt...
They were cheap, and another trinket for someone.  So off we
went, and started back home... We went another way and thru two
tunnels under the mountains, and again the mountains, always there around you,
and after two hours got home... I suggested we get a pizza,
and Pizza Hut was close to home, in the restaurant, on the
counter, was the menu, and happily one was in Spanish, and one in
English,  so I paid for a small pizza and we brought it home,
ate it, and Alba is bathing to get the salt off her
body, I am just getting off my mail, because the rest of the
evening is going to be spent in reading or doing nothing,,,
and this day is also over...  Almost ten o'clock here any
any rate... late enuf.. We will have some dessert now and
then --------------  no more beaches...

And this day was all Alba´s fault, good or bad...
STILL,,, you just can't be mad at Alba, it is like
being mad at Maria in Sound of Music, you can't
pin a wave upon the sand.......

Sunday 24 October, 2004
Well, second time around, I had just finished a long story, and ready
to send it and something else came on the screen, and I tried
to get rid of it, and lost the whole damn story, can't find
it anyway, so here I am again.... and it is going to
be shorter that it was before.

After doing the usual things this AM, we took off for downtown
to go to the flea market that is every sunday there...
We took the car to a T (Metro) station, and left it handy, got
on the T... and I took pictures of the cars, the station, people,
and Alba was embarassed because I looked like a tourist, but I told
her, I was a tourist and I had to take pictures....
It was a long ride, and each station was decorated, one of which
was decorated by Ramon, the man whose wife's birthday it was and we
visited last week,,, at the last station where we got off,
it was like Downtown Crossing, only of course so much cleaner, and
larger and the decorations there were original drawings from some famous Chilean
artist who was commissioned to do the decorating there.  more pictures..

Outside it was like Downtown Crossing, with the cobblestone walks and the
booths set up and people milling around and entertainers starting to set up
their stages, and most of it was antique stuff, but nice and many
many booths of books, and jewelry and artifacts, and some stores like
McDonald and other small places were open.  We started to look at booths,
and then one of the entertainment started, and it was old dancing and
music, with the entertainers dressed in the local costumes, and the
instruments old ones...  Two from the band got up and did a
traditional dance, and then more music and people got into the act from
the audience and danced... Alba was itching to do something, so she
asked a man next to us if he wanted to dance, and he
said no, but she persisted and asked someone else, and he said yes,
and off they went, and she was soo happy...  lots more pictures,,,,
Finally I told her to stay put and enjoy I was going to
look at some more booths, and I did, and found a nice piece
of jewelry that I bought that Al can pay for...
It is a lovely moonstone bracelet in silver, hand made, and since it
was too long, I had the jeweler take off the two last
moonstones and I can use them for earrings,,,, stupidly when he asked
if I wanted him to make the earrings for me with the hooks,
I said no I would do it at home, and it would have
only cost one more dollar, and I could have had them in my
ears all day... Sometimes we do such stupid things.

O.K. wanted to get Al a belt, but no sizes, and David didn't
answer me when I asked what size, and I didn't want to find
a man who looked like Al's size,so he is just not going
to get a belt... Poor Al, I simply can't find something for him,,,
the chocolates are what are in the super market and that is just
junk as far as I can see. I saw only one chocolate store in
a mall, and I didn't like what they had, and no dark chocolate...

Soooo well, it was finally time to leave, and on the way back,
there was a procession like in the North End..  People carrying
one of the statues, this lady was the lady of the miracles, and
lots of people following the statue, and holding cards in hands and
hands in position of prayer...  Alba said they were people from Peru,
since their church was there on the square.  She doesn't think very
highly of these people, thinks they are dirty and cheap, and not nice
and that there are too many of them here in Chile and they
don't pull their weight...  Sometimes the class distinctions show her upbringing and
there is a distinct gap.  O.K. we took the bus back to where
the car was, and it was also a long ride tho of course
not underground... This country has earthquakes, and Alba is a bit afraid
to be underground for long, because of that,, the thought of being
underground during an earthquake is quite traumatic to her...
same when we go thru the tunnels on the way to beaches.

We stopped at a huge supermarket... We were having company for tea
at about 5:30 or so, and Alba had to shop...
We got cheese, ham, apple tart, croissants, pisco sour (the local drink),
olives, some filled with anchovies, some with almonds, and some with pimento...
good... some artichokes, all kinds of stuff, bread, which to me are
rolls, and then she let me buy some nuts to share also with
the drink...  So back to the apartment, set the table, got things ready
and in came the company.... And there was Dennis all over again...
Everyone has a double you know..  Well this man, Julio
Velasco Urbina, is 86 and looks like he is not even 70...
Amazing, they must do something to keep the men especially looking so
young here in Chile.... He is over 6 feet tall, slim, dressed in
a suit and tie, as the men mostly dress here, gray thinning hair,
and handsome, and when he smiled, oh god, I was sure Dennis
was here... The exact same smile as Dennis with the teeth all
showing, and some gum, and wide and big teeth... amazing...
His wife Tewy, is about 20 years younger and they have been
married for about 25 years, he has a daughter from a former
marriage, they have none together and she has none before...
She get this, looks like Auntie Dorothy... incredible...  she owns a
beauty parlor, but doesn't work there anymore. And they are so lovely
and a wonderful couple... He is a writer, and has published two
novels, both of which are mysteries that the reader has to decide the
end... And writes for papers and magazines..  He is always waiting to
strike it big,so he showed the lottery ticket he had in his
pocket and said this day was going to be a lucky one.
He was so happy be be able to use his limited English on
me, and spoke very well all thru the tea and after...
And he is very knowledgeable and has a great knowledge of
all things...  I of course showed pix, gave my quarters out, and postal
card of Boston.. He has read of Boston, he said and thinks it
is the most beautiful of all the US well, I think that
is right also.  We had a wonderful evening... and hugged and kissed when they
left, and I gave him my card, and he gave us his card,
and it seems that everyone I have met of Alba's friends are
just wonderful and so smart, and all artists in one way or
another... When he wins the lottery, Julio says, he will come right
away to Boston, that is the first thing he will do...
We sat out on the balcony for a bit, and the mountains and the
sunset were so magnificent that I was able to get many pictures
of both, and I hadn't been able to do that for a while.

So the evening went,,, and they had walked over, they live not far
away but closer to the city, and it was so nice out,
and then Alba took them home in the car... I begged off,
and I did the dishes and cleaned up and put things away, and
when she got back, talked a bit,,, I wrote my first story
about today that I lost, and after she tried to find it
for me, I am not finishing up the second one... And this had
better take...  I think I didn't leave anything out of this day...
Tomorrow we leave for Adriana's and will stay overnite or maybe
until Wednesday....

I want to add a little paragraph to the end of this story...
This is the first time we had tea here, and I wanted to elaborate on
how it was served and what we did...
When we shopped Alba bought many things, and when she also bought
some dessert I asked why when we had so much pastry and she
answered that is after the tea... Well, this is how it went...
First we had the dessert... which is just custard with caramel
sauce on it...  Alba said it was a special Chilean
dessert that has to be cooked in the oven... it was custard...
Then we had the pastry, the apple tart,and the sweet croissants,
and tea or coffee, then we had the bread and the ham and
the cheese and the olives and the artichoke and whatever and also a
juice.... After all of this then we had the pisco sour,
with the nuts, and the cheese and crackers this time..... and that
was the tea....  enuf for an army, and no supper
after that for me...for sure...

Monday 25 October, 2004
Today we are off to the FARM,, which I had heard so much
of, and longed to go to,,, and this is the day...
staying only overnite, because Alba says so, but I am up early
and ready to go, and Alba is in no hurry, having told
Adriana we would not be there for lunch, so----- by 11:30,
after the bank, after the supermarket, after the gas, we are on
our way, once again thru all of Santiago with the heavy traffic
until we get to the main southern route.... as luck would have
it, we were talking, and Alba missed the exit and had to
ask several people until we finally got on the right one and
we were on our way.  Mountains all around us, and we head for
San Antonio, but veer off just before to take another way to the
farm... We brought nibbles, and didn't stop for anything, just ate nuts on
the way, and watched the scenery, which is magnificent as is the
scenery anywhere in this country, and Alba takes little side journeys to show
me this new area, and finally we get to a long dirt road...
All the people who live here, don't want the county to pave this
road, because then it would be a short cut to other places and
too much traffic, so it stays dirt, and you can imagine the dust
it kicks up as we go along, and as other cars pass us.
All along the way, we pass many vineyards, this is wine country,
and many orange trees, some of them growing in the streets, and we
see cows, and horses, and lambs, this is also lambing country, even
imagine, some ostritch...... I never expected to find them here in
this country.... We did see some in Africa, but here also.

Finally we go in a main entrance, and there is the farm...
All along the road, the land we saw all belonged to Adriana,
acres and acres of it... It is measured in hectares, the old
Roman measure and don't know what the break down is, but maybe a
few thousand acres... Here they grow grapes, all kinds, some on vines, some
in bushes, all lined up so majestically in rows and kept so
neat, and oranges, and lemons, and almonds, and figs, and olives, and
beautiful fragrant eucalyptus trees, so heavenly, and incredible big trees with lots
of shade and in her yard, there is this huge huge tree with
blackberries the size of strawberries, that you pick from the tree and
the branches spread out all over the yard, to make a shade
large enuf to spread out a barbeque and sit many people on a
hot summer day.  There had been a barbeque yesterday, when a large lamb
was cooked on a skewer that revolved, for a party that Alba
didn't want to go to because she is mad at her nieces,,,
so I didn't get to see that wonderful sight or enjoy that fun...

All the relatives came out to greet us, and kiss and hug and
welcome, and Adriana is a bit older than I am, she has started Parkinsons,
but it is very slow and she is o.k. with it, but she
has high blood pressure and that isn't good, so she is dizzy
a lot.  She is watched like a hawk by her daughter Marina, and
husband Waldo, to whom she has given all the land, and they
have divided it amongst their 4 children each sharing a portion, and doing
what they want with the land...  Marina is building a new house ready
next month on her property at the top of a hill, and the
view of the mountains all around is magnificent.  Also in attendance
is the nanny, Amada, and Benito, who drives them everywhere and also runs
the farm, and another helper Alemedo, and they have been with Adriana
for 30 or more years and know everything and take care of
everything...  The house is very old, and seems rather small, but this
is the main house, and somehow Alba thought that Marina had shown me
another section more modern of it, but noone had so all the time
I was there I was wondering how all the family and children come
to the barbeques and parties and visits and have no place to sleep....
There are three more huge rooms for these people...  There is a wide
veranda all around the house, and the furniture is real old, and
beautifully made and they have very unusual forms made from one piece
of wood --- one of which is a snake in the hallway, or a
dragon, with a long tail or maybe it is an alligator,
I don't know,, it is something special,.... Also in the
long sitting room with windows facing the front of the house, is
another couple one piece of wood sculptures,,, one is Christ, and the
other is a woman almost like a mannequin, very interesting,,, pictures of all.

We had tea in the huge dining room, where about 14 people can
sit, Alba tells me, when necessary, and tea was toasted bread or rolls,
some garlic bread that Marina had made in the bread machine, tea
or coffee, jam she made, marmalade, she made, cheese made on the farm,
chocolate cake she had made, cookies homemade, I don't remember what else,
lots of food, and we ate...

Alemedo took us in the pickup truck around the farm for a bit,
and showed places where more grapes, more oranges, more products, were, and in
the back were chickens...
and Marina took me there, and gave me
the feed, and I was feeding the chix,,, it was so cool...
I had her take my pix doing that... I had fun...
Saw where they laid their eggs, and the roosters crowing to beat the
band, and some of the chickens are typical Chilean, they have no
tail, so they really look unfinished...

Please Click The Photos For A full-Sized image I was taken to my room, and of course Alba had to tell me
where I should run to in case of earthquake, and there
were two beds, of course I chose the one near the window...
All the windows have wooden slats over them to lock out the sun
if you want, or to keep apart when you want the light to come
in.  wonderful.  and so old.  The bed was so lumpy and
had about a million blankets to weigh you down when you slept...
Poor me, I am used to a very light down blanket and that
is enuf... The coverlet and sham of the beds, were handmade
patchwork quilts, but Marina didn't make them,,, and she sort of
dismissed my asking because she didn't make them...

Adriana is very sweet, and looks like my cousin Sylvia, more like her
mother, Aunt Rosie, with a long face, and wonderful salt and pepper hair...
Funny, I keep seeing family in all these people..

Well, I was all excited because I was hoping to see the Magellanic
Clouds, that Alba says you can see at night from here, when the
night comes, and there are no street lights, there are a million
stars and shooting stars and satellites passing, and the Milky Way and
other distant galaxies--- and I was so looking forward to this,
but it was so cloudy, and then it started to rain, and
I was so unhappy, because we would go back tomorrow and I
wouldn't get a chance to see this,,,,, as it was, I was
up several times this night and looked out my window to see if
it had stopped raining, but no, it just wasn't to be and it
didn't stop until early AM ...when the roosters signaled the dawn...

Well, 8 o'clock came and it was time for supper, and we had
same stuff, same bread what ever was left from the tea, same cookies,
what was left, same cheese, same jam, some chix soup, some beef and
pasta with cheese, good, and then tiramisu for dessert... it was real
good, and Marina made me real coffee from ground.... Waldo speaks a
bit of English, and everyone was eager to try out what they knew,
so they all spoke the bit they could to me,, Adriana of
course didn't speak any English, but we made each other known to the
other, and her piercing blue eyes were very clear and spoke to me
in any language..  Right after supper, she went to bed to rest,
because her pressure wasn't good, and she was dizzy.  And we hung
around until 10 and then to bed...

They gave me my own bathroom since there were two in the hall
right near the bed, Marina gave me a flashlite to find my
way in the night, and after I tried to find a place in
the lumpy whatever I was sleeping on, and tried to breathe with the
heavy million blankets on me, I fell asleep... and this day was over.

The story of the land is an interesting one... Alba's father had
been married before, and they had several children... Then there was a
divorce of such, and years later, her father married her mother who was
so sick and lived for a couple years longer... So most of
Alba's life was brought up by Adriana, others who are so much
older than Alba... But the father was an engineer, and Adriana was
married to a lovely man who was wonderful except that he like to
gamble, they had moved to Italy and she had 3 children and the
husband gambled all the money away, so Adriana wrote to her dad,
telling him that they were destitute and he bought all these farms up
in this area, and had her come back with her husband and
children and gave them to her...  Since there was no casino around there,
and noone wanted to gamble with her husband, he was content to
stay there and run the farm, and so it came to be...

Adriana was very smart about this, and ran the farm to perfection,
making it was it is today... But now, she doesn't have her
hand in it, and Marina and Waldo run it,
and it isn't as it was years ago...

Tuesday 26 October, 2004
After a pretty much sleepless night, checking to see if it ever
stopped raining, so that I could see all the wonders of the
universe (to no avail), I was up at about 8...
Breakfast consisting of an egg, the way I just don't like it,,,
and other goodies from yesterday,,,,, and while we were yakking around
the table, Marina went and brought me a wonderful needlepoint
piece that she had made that needs to be made into a pillow
cover, with just a plain backing...  I picked the one I liked, and that
was that...  Alba surprised me by asking did I want to stay another day
and perhaps see a beautiful sky at night, and I was so eager to
do so that I thanked her, and forgot the upset of yesterday
when I thought we would stay only the one day..
And all was forgiven, and off we went to see the whole farm
in all its glory...  Before we left however, I was called to the
kitchen, to see a newly killed chicken just the way I used to
see when we used to buy them just fresh,,,, it was opened with
the eggs still warm and fresh inside the body, a whole egg with
a shell, a large yolk, and some smaller yolks, these would all be
put into a soup, and prepared for lunch...  pictures of course...
Then off we all went in the pickup truck, Alba, Marina, Adriana,
to see the entire farm and the new house that is being
built for Marina and Waldo...  there were acres and acres of grapes
growing, many different kinds, and depending on which kind, whether they were
growing on arbors, or vines or trees, or where and how, but
such a huge amount--- there were rows and rows of fragrant
eucalyptus trees, which I thought were only in Australia,,, they were just
wonderful,,, they are very old trees, and very tall, and the
bark comes off the trees and lays on the ground, and the
leaves are wonderful, and the smell is just superb and it is a
magical place... There are vegetable gardens, there is a whole grove of
orange trees, with large oranges just falling to the ground, ready to eat,
and so sweet and juicy, they just melt in your mouth...
There is a huge blackberry tree,,, not a bush, with wide
spread branches and spread out over the whole yard, and under which you
can spread picnic tables for many people in the shade of a hot
summer afternoon...  The berries are about an inch long and just
pick them off the trees and eat them... There are horses, and there
are mud huts in which wood is smoked for a fragrant barbecue...
Everywhere you look are mountains, north south east or west...

The new house is on a rise and the foundation is all set..
It will show the entire land, and will be very modern and
beautiful... and will be ready November sometime.  there is a
little pond in a place hidden on this land, in which Alba
remembers swinging from the weeping willow trees over the pond and dropping
in to swim.... It is surrounded by eucalyptus trees, and breathe deeply to enjoy
the fragrance... Weeping willows also surround this pond... oh. oh.
It is just a magical place.. and so huge...  Waldo says he
thinks it is about 300 hectares, and hectare is the old Roman
way of figuring out acres, and it could be about 3000 or
so acres, maybe more...not quite sure...

Please Click The Photos For A full-Sized image Before returning for lunch, Marina had to stop at a local store to
get some cigarettes, she smokes like a fish, and I have to
get far away from her when she lights up...  Lunch was the same,
we had chix soup from the killed chix, and some of the boiled
chix from the soup--- more same mashed potatoes, the same pastry
left from the day before, and the same cheese, and bread, and
whatever was yesterday is now today..

I took myself on the porch, and read a bit, and relaxed, and
wandered around by myself... That was nice, Alba was hovering around
Adriana, and it was time for tea, with the same old same
old--- just filling the belly and that is it....

After lunch, we took Adriana in the car and went off to
explore the area a bit.. Next door, which is really not next
door since property is so large,,, we stopped at a church.....
This church was built by the owner of the property adjacent to
Adriana's land, and his is all ringed with a cement fence....
The story goes thus...  This man was a wonderful man who
gave up a lucrative business to come to this area an build a
house,,, it seems that he wanted to marry Adriana, but she
wasn't interested, and he married someone else and has about 15 kids...
He is extremely wealthy and built a mansion and made his property
into a showplace... and built the church, since he was a
very religious man..  Unfortunately it was closed, but we did see
the caretaker of the property and he allowed us to enter and
look around...  oh. oh,  you cannot imagine how lovely--- a pond
filled with lillies, and fish, gorgeous trees and landscaped roses and
other flowers, wonderful paths, all finished and beautifully kept and clean, a
Japanese bridge and copy of a Japanese garden he had visited,
this bridge goes over the lily pond --  the flowers were starting
to close as the day was ending..  Up on a hill was the
house, which of course we didn't go near... On some of the
grass a couple of spiders had laid their webs, and it made such
an unusual picture that I had to take several... Adriana and I
walked hand in hand and Alba walked ahead with the young caretaker
as he explained the garden..  It was just incredibly beautiful and
peaceful...  We finally left and then spent some time reflecting
and resting in the church yard,and then we went
back to the house..

On the way before we reached the wooden bridge which is hand made,
and just like the covered bridges in New Hampshire, but not covered
we saw a Gaucho riding his horse and a dog following, and it
was a needing picture perfect combination, which happily I took...
He even posed for me,,, Alba telling me later, that he did
that because he knows the family and I wasn't a stranger to
him, because of Adriana and the family.

So back again to the farm, and I took Adriana's pic with me,
and I read a bit, and it was time for dinner...
I kept the family waiting, because just as we were starting to
sit, I noticed that the sun was setting and it was simply
wonderful, and I just needed to get some pix... I said I
would be right back, but they didn't like it I think, and
sent Waldo after me to get me to come in to eat...
So I quickly took what I could and back to the table for more
of the same we had for lunch---- only this time, we had
a bit of meat that was real hard...  Oh well, I was
really surprised expecting on the farm to have much better fare.
Amada, the nanny, and the cook, and whatever, is very sweet, and I
took her picture... Benito is the man who runs the farm,
and Alemedo is the man who took us in the truck to see
the farm...  These people have been with Adriana as long as she has
been here, and are very well regarded and loved by all..

I wanted to call David with my calling card, but somehow it didn't
work here very well, and couldn't be done... I also needed to
confirm my flight and the time was growing short to do this and
I was getting anxious about it, but couldn't do anything about that also.
The other disappointment was the sky was perfectly clear and very
bright because there was a full moon, and it just made the sky
like a bright light, couldn't even see one star...

I checked this again all night long, to no avail,,,
I just wasn't destined to see the Magellanic Clouds, or the
wonderful thousands of stars and galaxies that are ordinarily viewed from here.

I read a bit, got into bed, tried to find a spot that wasn't
as lumpy as the rest, tried to not be smothered
with all the heavy mattresses,  and slept....

Wednesday 27 October, 2004
I am up early today, really getting anxious and eager to get
back (home) so I could call the airline and be sure I am
listed to go home.. Shades of our trip to Mexico
years ago, when we forgot to confirm the trip back, and Al
had to spend the night in the airport to be sure that we
were on the right plane to get home...
What a harrowing experience that was...

I had wanted to call the airport on Monday before we left,
but Alba was so insistent that it was not necessary and way too
early to confirm, that I just finally gave in to her, after all,
we were to return home the next day, and that was surely
enuf time to check.  But here it is Wednesday and I am
leaving tomorrow and still no confirmation... She wouldn't stop anyplace
for me to try to use the local fones, saying that we
were too far away and it was not good, every point
I raised, she broke down, we were really at loose ends with
each other and ready for a great big fight----

Finally we left at 9:30 having stalled until Waldo came back from his
work to say goodbye to us, and after many hugs and kisses and
good wishes and oranges to take and whatever, we were finally on our
way.... By this time I was so nervous that Alba wanted to
divert to show me more of this lovely old place, and just
being stubborn, I refused,,, stupid me,,,  and we went on our way home.

When we approached Santiago, we stopped at another nephew's house, hoping he
was home and there I could make my call--- she felt that
it wasn't right to ask someone to use the fone, maybe it
would be expensive... I retaliated with I would of course expect to
pay for the call, I just was eager to be sure I was
scheduled to leave tomorrow, she said, of course they would not accept
my money, but it wasn't done in her country, and we went
round and round and got nowhere... She promised to stop as soon
as we reached Santiago so I could call someplace..

As luck had it, both her nephew and his wife were not home,,,
he had gone to visit Adriana, who is his mother, where we had
just come from, and she was in the school doing some work,,,
but she asked for us to stay for an hour, till she
came home and then we could have lunch, at which time, I am
sure, I would have asked to use the fone, and it would
have been done. But there again, Alba stymied me, and said no
we wouldn't wait, had to get home, didn't meet these lovely people
didn't get lunch, just off again to get home... She really was
in a mood to just not give one inch and relent a bit...

We did stay for a bit, because Alba wanted to, and met the
nanny, who was going to run for office in that district,,,
but who changed her mind, it would take her too much away
from her nanny job, which was worth a fortune with no hassle
which she would find in govt. work,,,, smart lady...
We had a drink, and walked around a bit, this is a beautiful house,
very modern, not like any of the others we had been in,
lovely and brand new..... It is right behind his business which is
lumber, and has spacious land, with ducks, and chix, and dogs, and
a barbecue made from an old drum,,, very ingenious..

Leaving there, no more stops, till we got home, and then being
just 2pm, I immediately called American Airlines, and the confirmation
was made... It was o.k. I should have called within 72 hours, but it was
still good, and I was scheduled.  I am to be at airport
3 hours before take off.

Whew!!!! What a relief, and now I am content...

I showered, washed some clothes, rested, had lunch, and at 7:30 went
off to visit another friend,,, Encarna Ibanez--- she has an
import business across from her apartment building, and Alba says she has
to be about 70 or so, but if she is I will eat my hat...
She looks no more than at the most 60... young and slim....
Encarna speaks some English, her only son lives in Los Angeles,
and she is going to visit him soon and goes very frequently...
The children speak English, and she tries to do her best...
She is very sweet...  her place is just gorgeous... Again, the
wonderful original paintings on the walls, the very elegant furniture, the
inevitable balcony, on which I did not go to take sunset pix,
from the 8th floor, really right in the heart of town...

We had a very tasty tea/supper, once again, the inevitable ham, cheese,
bread, at least this time it was assorted, and something I liked,
a very gooey and sweet dessert, and tea, and some pepperoni----
Took pictures, stayed the required time, and left with cards
exchanged, and hugs and kisses...

This night was a full eclipse of the moon, and the sky was
very clear--- we stopped at a park and watched the earth
move across the moon for a bit, then went back to the
apartment, and watched more thru Alba's bathroom window,, that was the only
area in which we could see the whole eclipse...  It took about
4 hours, and I waited until the moon was fully covered, and then
I had had it and went to bed---- Alba stayed until it
all went out the other side and the eclipse was over..

Mind busy about leaving tomorrow, legs cramping for some reason, so a
restless night, but this is the last nite I sleep in this bed,
and I relish it...  Tomorrow nite, I sleep somewhat
on the plane and then home...

Thursday 28 October, 2004
Last day in Santiago, today I go home.... It has been a
lovely three weeks, I am really glad that I have come and I had a
wonderful time, but now it is time to go home, and I am glad for
that, and eager to be at home, and back to my regular
rushing around, and my huge comfortable bed, and arguing with Al when
necessary...  Life is good.!!!!

Breakfast, pack, shower, Alba has gone out to do some errands this AM,
and left me all alone to do my thing... When she arrives,
we have a lunch together, go out once again, I had forgotten
to buy some postal cards in all the places we were, and wanted
to try to get some.  We went to the huge supermarket,
and at a booth in the store was able to buy some lovely
cards... The only thing was that I wanted 12, they wouldn't take a
credit card, I had limited Chilean money, they wouldn't take U.S. dollars, so I
settled for about 7 cards, and we went home.  Rested some more,
and finally about 5pm we were off for the airport...
I needed to be there by 6 or 6:30 and not knowing
the traffic or getting lost, we opted to leave earlier....
But, somehow, this time, no problem, and arrived in jig time, and at
the curb, I insisted that Alba leave me, and not wait with
me while the meter eats up her cash,,, and off she went
amid tears and hugs and kisses, and I went in with my
luggage to wait in line for my turn.

There were lots of people in front of me, but noone at the
desks, noone at all showed up until 6:30, and then slowly the
line moved forward until it was my turn.  Checked in, no problem,
I have my seat, and I walk to the gate, having so much
time and it is a lovely airport... I stop in a duty free shop,
and buy some more souvenirs, just in case I didn't have enuf...
I get some bracelets in copper, which is so good for arthritis,
supposedly, and one for Al, which makes me happy...  I buy some
pisco sour at the liquor store, for all of 3.68.... cheap enuf,
and glad I did, because we do not have it here...
I try to get some cigars, but couldn't get just a few and
didn't want to spend 100 for a box, not even knowing what Al
would like. Finally, I mosey thru security twice, get some coffee
at Dunkin, a real cup of coffee, it was small, but good,
and eat my snack that I brought and drink the coffee and wait...

This plane is very full, and I have a woman with me sharing the
bulkhead, but I don't feel like talking or being even nice and
just sit in my corner and do what I ordinarily do
on the plane... nothing.  Watch a movie, try to sleep,
stretch legs, I am getting so tired of these long flights....
8½ hours later, we have changed the clock back one hour,
we arrive in Miami, it is 5 AM and now it is

Friday 29 October, 2004
A nice lady from the Dominican Republic takes me in the wheelchair,
and she is non stop, and loves the Red Sox, who have
finally after 86 years won the World Series (Al and David are
ecstatic) security gives me a real hard time,,, practically strip searching
me, because my jewelry dings,,, has to look all thru my
back pack because the film is all enclosed in the heavy solid
bag,,, finally they let me go, and I feel like a
criminal....  (god, they let people go on the plane who don't
even have a valid passport, and they stop me, a little old
lady with gray hair who couldn't hurt a flea and make me
feel like I stole the statue of liberty...  what a system--
something is very wrong, I tell you..)

Well, finally get to gate 48, it is 6am and so sleepy and
plane leaves at 7:30 another hour to wait.  On this plane I
don't have the bulkhead, but the seat in back,,, I squawk,,
it seems the plane that gave me the bulkhead was changed to
another plane, that doesn't have bulkhead,,, all the bulkhead seats are
exit seats, and they are not going to give a handicap
person an exit seat..  I tell them, there is nothing wrong with my
arms or upper body, just my legs are hurt, but I am talking
to a brick wall, and just get nowhere,,, if I argue any more,
they are going to put me off the plane,  so I finally
shut up and sit in my seat...  It is really quite
comfortable, lots of room, and the center seat is vacant, so I
can stretch out a bit, and raise the arm so it is
even... The nice southern man in the aisle seat has boots and a
big brimmed hat, and is a real gentleman, so the 2½
hour flight goes quickly, and we are finally back in Boston.

I am so happy to be here, I can just about kiss the ground,,,
I call Judy from someone's cell fone, and wait for the luggage,,,
there are signs and balloons all over exalting the winning of the
World Series by Red Sox, and I (even tho I hate them)
have tears in my eyes and am so happy for them, and us...

Luggage all gotten, I wait outside and finally Judy shows up, and we
are on our way home, and I am so deliriously happy----
talk about the trip on the way back to Northeastern,,,,
Judy gets lost a couple times, but we arrive, I drop
her off, and I am on my way home...

Take out the luggage, drag both suitcases into the house, and welcome
home, Ruthe... This trip is over..... Tonite Judy and I
and Fran go to Wheelock to see the first of three plays
this year, and tomorrow Al gets home -----  so now to
get back to my regular routine of rushing around, doing a million
things at once, and regretting that I have no time to do
nothing and relax...  but I am so happy.
I AM HOME...

EPILOGUE
I have to tell you about Al.... I was so happy,
my idea of doing a separate trip, knowing that Al would not
be enjoying what Alba and I did on this jaunt,,, and sending
him to David was really a god send.  He had a good
time,,, they did not kill each other, they argued a couple of
times, but mostly got on very well,,,, Al was not in
David's way, and vice versa, Al did a few things in the
house to help David, spent a lot of time on the lovely
porch, and spoke to Carl, the man next door... David and he
went out to eat a couple times, and they had fun with
Jackie Elaine and Shane, and saw Chrissy...  They so enjoyed
the Red Sox games, and the Red Sox performed so well,
in winning the pennant, as well as the World Series...
Was so glad that Al was with David for that, because if
he were home and I were home, I would have ragged him
each and every game, and promised that they would lose in the end...
As it was, the curse of Babe Ruth was broken finally
after 86 years, and also the curse of Ruthe Paige was
broken, and the Red Sox did themselves and boston proud...
David wore his Red Sox cap thru each game, and stayed up
late with Al, and on the winning night, Debbie and her husband
and three kids came over to watch the last innings and toast
the winners with champagne..  It was a lovely time for
them both, and they bonded very well...  It is do-able
another time if need be.... 

Please click the photo for a full-size image

And so----