Feeling at home in the Andes

After convincing Chilean customs that my reason for not declaring my Brazilian black beans was that I was sincerely being an absent minded idiot and not a malicious bean smuggler, we were on to country number two: Chile.

We spent about a total of 24 hours wandering the streets and seeing the sights of Santiago, then set off south to a reserve called Cascada de las Animas.

Not sure if it's the restaurant that sells an $8 Carmenere, the decor of antiques that remind me of my mother or the fact that it's a cozy mountain refuge, but Cascada de las Animas almost immediately felt like home for us. When we stepped outside for breakfast the first morning, the frosted yellow leaves on the trees, crisp fresh air and looming rocky mountains had me convinced I was back in Colorado...except there was an alpaca in the yard in place of my family's golden doodle :)

The land has been owned, run and passionately protected by the Astorga Moreno family since 1840, during which time they've battled against behemoths like gas companies and the Chilean government to maintain the land's integrity. While our first day was rather lazy due to prior night's over consumption of said Carmenere, our second day we capitalized on the gorgeous trails of the refuge. The trek was about a four hour loop highlighted by waterfalls, a cliff overlook and Zach and me taking a short cut through a barn that involved hopping through a bull's pen.

Aside from the delicious raw tomatoes and avocados that we brought from Santiago, we depend on the hotel's restaurant for our meals, and they do not disappoint. Our favorite meal has been cazuela de vicuña: a traditional broth soup served boiling in a cauldron with rice, a cob of corn, peeled potato, chunk of squash and a slice of vicuña shank. If you aren't familiar with what a vicuña is (we weren't) here's a pic of the funny looking guy:

The restaurant is cozy and intimate, and not just because Zach and I are often the only ones there since it is the off season, but also from the crackling wood fires, the view of the mountains and river and the occasional kitty that will curl up on a vacant chair at your table.

More to come soon, but as the sun is setting, Zach and I have to build the fire in the old wood stove in our room (he'll probably build, I'll, um, supervise...) that keeps us from completely freezing each night.