Friends for Christmas

Girls in Sprinkler 

It is New Year’s eve in a chilly campground near Chillan, south of Santiago.  We just spent two lovely weeks with friends so we aren’t noticing the cold. 

Christmas eve was celebrated with a visit in Vina del Mar with Cristian and his wife Soledad, her mom Gloria, daughter Cata and dog Pepa.  We had a lovely sunset walk in Vina del Mar, dinner at 10 starting with Pisco Sours, then presents at midnight.  We were so happy to be included in this family Christmas in such a beautiful home.  Sole’s mother, Gloria, said a lovely blessing at dinner, so my napkin was damp before the meal had even started.  Dinner (among many other things) was a turkey, rolled and stuffed with nuts and spinach and bacon.  Delicious! 

Gloria’s table

Gloria, Cristian, Jen, Soledad at the beach in Vina

Cristian and his girls

Cristian

Santa Cata

The next day we all drove a bit north to Concon where we all indulged in a delicious local seafood lunch.  A memorable meal for the amazing food, spectacular view and loving company.

The next morning we headed to Santiago to visit with our friends Diego and Catriona and their three lovely children, Emilio, Sammy and Ellie.  But first we drove into to Vina to drop off the keys at Cristian’s (we had taken the bus into town for Christmas and they had driven us back the next day).  I had not been behind the wheel for a few days, and our GPS maps for Chile were still directing us to places a few hundred meters into the ocean (fixed now).  I was not excited about the prospect of driving in two cities in one day, and managed to psyche myself out before we even get started.  The result was predictable, though I have destroyed the evidence (5 toll receipts – between van and moto – for a toll we never had to go through in the first place).  Six hours (or was it seven?), and a motorcycle tour of downtown Santiago later, we finally pulled into Diego and Catriona’s lovely neighborhood.  We were extremely happy to see them, as you can imagine.

We spent the next four days in their warm family embrace, and started missing them before we even got out (uneventfully) of Santiago.  I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

Sammy on Bridge Street

Emilio at the piano

Ellie and her friend after the sprinkler

Museo Chileno de Arte Precolmbino

Christian Boltanski retrospective at the Museo Nacional Bellas Artes

thinking of our friend Nuria in Santiago

Santiago Haircut

Ellie and Sammy camp out in the van

Rojas family

Happy New Year to our family and friends everywhere!  We miss you.