Evidence of Bravery

In our first post I chose the title, 'Let the Adventure Begin." Little did I realize the extent of what was in store living in a new country with no language skills. Travelling about and shopping have presented some anxious feelings. But, it had to be done. Last Thursday was our first real time alone in Santiago. We had to go get our National ID card. We had help to that point, but from then on it was just us Gringo's. We saw an old palace that the citizens want restored. It looks like a total redo would be better.

We then found our way through town with the help of modern technology called waze. Some of you are familiar and may even know our voice lady named Jane. She can give directions, but she is not a spanish speaker. Barbara and I find great humor in how she pronounces some of the street names. But, she gets us there. Once at the mall we were greeted with a bit of home town feeling and it took off some tension from the shopping that was about to take place.

When shopping was complete, the three of us, Barbara, Jane and I made our way home without getting lost in Santiago. Thank you app designers.

Later that day great bravery was presented by Barbara. She was in the wash room and when she heard me in the driveway she calmly called for me to get the camera. As I went in the house to get the camera I was thinking, "That must be some clean towel." But there was something else she wanted to preserve.

Her first tarantula had made it's appearance. She was calm and interested only in getting a good picture. Later that day I installed a piece of cardboard on the door to keep out any returns.

Our next big adventure came of our own choosing. Many of you may know that we love hot springs and hot tubs. Being on the Pacific Ring of Fire, Chile is prime for hot springs. In fact there are over 270 in the country. So, we decided to take our first non essential excursion to check out a hot spring. The trip was about 144 km, that's 90 miles for you in the states, to get to the hot springs. We didn't know anything about the place and although it was pretty cool, we were disappointed. I'll let you figure out why.

A cool little church on the property.

A beautiful outside dining area off the courtyard.

Our first look into the hot spring area. Around 2 hundred years old.

And here to solve the question you have all been waiting for. . . one of the tubs.

Not what I had envisioned!

But it was in a pretty setting with some real charm.

A hanging and bouncy bridge.

Jane brought us home again, and I might say we tried a different route. . . . either brave or stupid.

One last picture for my brother in England on his current Farmland mission. I remember him talking about these cars from his original mission. So for him, some long ago memories.