A Wonderful Detour

 On April 12th we took a fun little jaunt down the coast to Arauco. We were able to take some beautiful pictures of the ocean.

 This little coastal town is Lota.

 We see a lot of homes this size in all of the towns we visit. This little home is along the coast in Lota.

 A beach shot at the the town Arauco.

 Elder L is enjoying a walk on the beach. This Idaho farm boy cannot get enough of the ocean and beaches.

In Arauco, we found that they were having a youth rodeo so we decided to stop and take a look around. Unfortunately the rodeo had just finished. Hopefully we will be able to attend one while we are in Chile.

 I am having fun shopping at the local Saturday market. We have much better prices on our fruit and vegetables in Concepcion.

 For a Saturday market, they just block a street off and the vendors put their wares out on blankets or tables. It is kind of like a big garage sale.

 This is the mission van and this is also a typical Chilean way of parking, bumper to bumper. When somebody is ready to leave and they can't move an inch, they just get in their cars and start honking until someone moves.

 This is the chapel in Arauco.

 After leaving Arauco we took a scenic route through the mountains to Lebu. It was amazing to see the ocean and within in a few minutes we could be up in the tops of the mountains. This is one of the beautiful valleys with a nice herd of cattle grazing in the fields.

 Most of the forests in Chile seem to be under private ownership or contract. They clear cut the trees to harvest them and then go in and replant the ground with another crop of seedlings.

 A forest road where the forest has been clear cut.

 Another valley shot from off of the mountain. You can see how they planted straight rows of trees in the forest.

 This wonderful trip became an exciting adventure as we had to make an unexpected road detour through the mountains and onto some dirt roads. Another adventure with Elder L.

 I am standing next to a eucalyptus tree. They have huge forests of eucalyptus around this area of Chile. They smell so good and they say a few eucalyptus branches placed strategically in your house keeps the pulgas (fleas) away.

 We finally found some copihue growing in its natural habitat. It is the national flower of Chile.

 We found the flowers on the end of long vines that were crawling up tree trunks and around fence posts. The vine is very strong and like a wire. The flowers are very thick, like a thick plastic flower. They are very lovely and very durable.

Looking down on Lebu. It was a fun and an adventurous day.