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.

A Trip to Tome

Hurray, a package from home with supplies for the office and a few things for us. Sara put the picture on the box to help keep the postal workers honest. It did help, but their were still a few things gone missing. 

 On April 10th we went to Tome to buy wool blankets for the new group of missionaries that would be coming soon. They have a really nice woolen mill there and the blankets are very durable and have a reasonable price. The blankets are sold in these nice heavy plastic bags and the sales ladies would not let me help carry them out. I felt kind of foolish just standing there watching so I took a few pictures.

 Elder L is loading them in to the back of the van. Notice the brick streets, they look really neat but are sure bumpy to drive on.

 Inside the wool store there was lots of old antiques used over a hundred years ago in the factory. It was like having a museum in the store.

 This is a picture of the sign outside the store and factory. The brand is supposed to be world famous.

 I am standing outside the store, you would never believe it is world famous.

 This is one of the chapels found in Tome.

 They also have beautiful beaches here. Elder L. took a walk on the beach while I . . .

 decided to exercise at the exercise park. I did not want to get sand trapped in my nylons. The locals thought it quite funny to see the large German lady exercising in a dress. I found it to be quite refreshing.

 This is another picture of their beautiful coastline.

 Tome has a really cool cemetery and Elder L and I love walking around cemeteries in the different countries that we visit. This cemetery overlooks the Pacific Ocean.

 Some of the plots were lucky enough to have nice green, well cared for grass.

 The richer folks have family mausoleums.

 On the west side of the cemetery you look straight down onto the beach and then the ocean. When they clean the graves of old flowers, weeds, broken bricks and etc., they just toss it over the side and down below.

 Looking out across the ocean from the cemetery.

 This is where the cheaper plots are, they are just stacked one on top of the other. The also have tiny vaults for ashes.

 The plots and sidewalks are very close together. Look at the blue ocean in the background.

 This is how some of the smaller vaults looks. These are for ashes, children or babies.

 A view of the cemetery from the road. See the mountains in the background. Between the mountains and the ocean it is a very picturesque cemetery.

 This is another one of the chapels in Tome.

Notice how the homes just stack up the hillside. It is crazy how they have to climb a steep mountain to get to and from their front door. Tome is a fun city to visit.

The Huascar . . . or not!

 On April 5th, LDS General Conference weekend, we decided to take another field trip with the other couples in the building. We went in the morning before conference started and then got back to our apartments in time to watch conference. We were on a 3 hour time difference so conference didn't start for us until 1:00.

 We decided to go out to the naval base in Talcahuano Harbor and visit the "Huascar". The "Huascar" is one of the oldest floating museum ships in the world.

 The morning was cool and misty. If you looked to your left you could see the mountains, if you looked to the right you could see the ocean. Both just a few yards away.

 We walked by this old vacant government building. It was a beautiful building but too unstable for any one to be allowed any exploration of the premises. It had a yellow tape around it warning people to keep away.

As we looked out into the harbor we saw a fleet of ships that looked like ghost ships because of the mist.

 We were happy to find out that instead of visiting the "Huascar" we were actually visiting a fleet of ships called a floating embassy. We were lucky to be able to see them and board them. There was a ship from each South American country and this was the last day to visit them because they would be setting sail on Monday.

 This is the "Esmerelda", a Chilean ship. It was built in 1952 in Cadiz, Spain. Elder L spent some time in Cadiz on his 1st mission. The ship is still used today as part of Chile's naval academy training.

 Elder Pendly looks on as we pose for a pictures. It was fun watching the naval cadets use toothbrushes to polish and shine this ship.

 We were all impressed with the large crow's nest.

 The six of us saying cheese for the camera. We are still aboard the "Esmerelda".

 This is a view of the harbor from the "Esmerelda".

 It was fun to explore the boats, they let us go up and down the stairs.

 The 3 hermanas having fun with the pirate. This ship was from Ecuador.

 This ship was covered with flags and looked very festive. It was named "Gloria" and represented Colombia.

 The ship in the background named "Cisne Branco"is from Brazil. The ship was actually built in Amsterdam. The mates on board were playing very loud music.

 The top deck of the "Cisne Branco".

 The coat of arms sported by the "Cisne Branco".

 This is an etched window in the dining room of the "Simon Bolivar" from Venzuela.

 The "Libertad" was from Argentina, I liked how the flags started at the bottom and then went way up to the top.

 The Pendley's deciding which ship to looke at next. Each ship is used and taken care of by that countries navy. The personnel aboard each ship was sharply dressed in their naval uniforms and looked very spiffy as did the ships.

 This is me on the "Libertad" looking at the people down below on the boardwalk.

 This is Elder L standing by one of the guns on the "Libertad".

 Having fun with the pirate's hook. Yo ho ho!

 Goodbye to a great morning and a special treat. You never know what you are going to find when you decide to go exploring!

We will save the Huascar for a different day.