Sweet recovery and a walk in the park

Red-eyed Robyn and the eucalyptus tree. Note the 12 layers of clothing Irene made me wear to ward off further viruses!





View of the beginning fall colours over the river.




Jorgé y Irene in the Park


So, after having had the flu for the past 2 days and mostly laying in bed and contemplating the ceiling paint, it was a relief to get up today, eat some food and go for a little explore with my Rancagua host family. I was very fortunate getting sick here (relatively) since my current host dad is a doctor and his wife is a medical assistant so they took my temperature and took care of me very, very well.

This afternoon we hopped in the truck and went to the Termas de Cualqueres for a walk. I thought it would be a hotspring site like we have in Canada, but it was quite different. There were about 30 individual rooms with a large marble tub in each and it was here where folks could soak and enjoy the thermal waters. I did not take any pictures of the baths because there were people in there and it felt rather intrusive, but above are some photos from the park near the baths. It is quite strange to leave spring in Nelson and land in fall, but since fall is often my favourite season, it will be fun to experience it twice this year. The trees are just starting to turn here and the colours are very similar to parts of Canada or the states. Lots of yellows, and some reds and oranges.

Today is a holiday in Chile - the day of the workers, so it was a very mellow pace today. Though one thing I have noticed here is that even on days when there is lots to do, there is much less stress about it than I notice in Canada or the US. People just kind of do their thing. After we finished our walk, we went to the restaurant on site and had onces,which is the Chilean version of teatime. It can be anything from just tea, usually with loads of sugar but no milk, to a full spread with tea plus sandwiches, cakes, toast, mashed up avocado, ham and cheese and whatever else you can dream up.

As you drive out of Rancagua, it is not hard to see the major industries here. There is a sort of a viaduct that brings the concentrate from the copper mines near here to the shipping points and there are numerous warehouses on either side of the highway with all the big names and small names of the agricultural industry written on them. Once the warehouses stop, the vineyards are everywhere. Copper and fruit and wine are the big engines here and Chile is very well placed with a new free trade agreement with China and increases in global trade.

Chile is currently awash with money because of the world price for copper going from 80 cents to about 3.50 in a very short time. It was interesting to talk to Jorgé about it because he works in the medical field and the two places Chileans are hoping to see progress are in health and education. It sounds like it will be a challenge to make changes because of the structure of the coalitions in the congress and the political games that go along with coalitions.

Hasta luego! Robyn