So we had the opportunity to go to Corcovado, the hill with Cristo Redentor overlooking Rio, and we went. I guess since it now is one of the Wonders of the World the administratio thinks it can charge how ever much. R$35 per person! It was my third time in Rio so I had to visit even though the price was a bit outrageous.

Time with Abel and the Aggies was refreshing, a change of scenery. The churches in Cosmos and Jabour are so loving and welcoming. They even threw me a surprise going away party with a cake that we had on New Year’s Eve that I commented to the maker was delicious. The hostess of the girls wrote me a poem and gave me a shirt. The love here is incredible. It was one of the best times I had in Rio. Who knew Skip-bo could bring so many people together?

Now I am amongst more friends in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Moema and Roberto are a couple that hosted Brandon and I when we here in June. They insisted that I come back and stay with them for a bit, so I am. We’ve visited the local botanical garden, worshipped together, eaten great food, and walked through the city. Yesterday we went to a house church at the home of one of the missionary families here, Kevin and Benay. A man, Murray Wilton, spoke on how we regard each other and everyone around us.

I head out to Canela for a conference today. Should be good.

Alright. I got my act together and finally I am completing this saga (two weeks after the fact).

Well the next day, it was the day forecasted to have the best weather, we awoke, had breakfast, packed up, and set out. The prior night I stayed up very late copying a map of the park, Huerquehue National Park, from a book I borrowed from our new friend Jörgen, a Dane that has lived in Temuco for over a decade working as a tour guide. He was fun and had some top-notch advice; shame I didn’t take his photo. Anyway, we head out in our rental car towards the park. We tack up a hillside to get to the entrance and on the way I ask Jeff to stop and we get out and have a Sound of Music moment in a field on the hillside. Gorgeous.

We arrive at the park entrance, pay (I got the Chilean rate, thank you very much sir), and park. Immediately, as it would be, two dogs from a nearby restaurant/lodge run up and follow us in to the park. We thought after a while they might turn back, but they did not. We decided to call them Rapa and Nui (look it up, if you want to know). Well Nui, the larger dog got scared by some workmen sawing some posts, but Rapa continued on. He was this odd mix, short dog. He honestly must have been an angel guiding us, because he was with us all the way up and back.

Jörgen and the ranger at the entrance both had warned us that there would be snow prior to arriving to the first lake on the hike. Well, after ascending for about an hour, possibly less, we started coming across patches of easily-passable snow on the path. Eventually the amount grew, the trail was buried, and we had to carve our own way. We almost turned around at the worries and pains of one of my fellow hiking companions, but with the spurring of the other and Rapa forging ahead we followed. An it was worth it. We arrived at Lago Chico. Oh it was gorgeous, but very different from the previous visit, due to it being laced and partially covered by snow. Still the water was as clear and still as before.

We continued on, more snow, brief glimpses of the path, and made our way to Laguna Verde and Lago Toro. Oh it was exhilarating. One of the things I love about this park are the Araucaria trees, the national tree of Chile, that fill the forest at higher altitudes. We returned hiking down. Jeff and Mark had a few falls. I had a close call, but we all got back to the car safely and headed back to Pucón. We had dinner again at Café Fresia. Oh so good hummus.

The next day was cold and wet. We walked down to the shore of Lake Villarrica, followed, yes, by more dogs. These were strange dogs - they kissed. We did some shopping; I got a copy of the book Jörgen had let me borrow and the three of us purchased a wheel of locally made cheese. Yum! That evening we walked through the light rain to the bus station and caught our ride back to Santiago. I slept much better this time around. We arrived around six in the morning and the trip came to an end.

This past week Jeff, Mark, and I took a trip down to the ninth region of Chile, Araucanía. “The heart of southern Chile.”

I had about two hours to pack after arriving back in Santiago from the church retreat on Sunday before I needed to be at Jeff’s house. I packed my things, plugged in the battery chargers, formatted the SD cards, and headed out to catch a bus. Well, if you have not heard, Transantiago, the transit system of Santiago, is horrendous. Understandably in the morning and evening commutes, but on Sunday evening. COME ON! Well after waiting ten or more minutes, the first bus arrives - FULL. Fifteen minutes later, another bus, PACKED to the second step. I have two backpacks on my back and front side. There’s no way I am catching a bus. So, cheerfully I flag down a taxi after another full bus flies by. I arrive at Jeff’s, we catch a radio taxi to the bus station and await for our bus. These buses are no Greyhounds or Chinatown Lines (”ahem, Robert”), these buses (TurBus) have seats that fold out in to beds and attendants walking the aisle to serve you a drink and lay a blanket over you.

We arrive early Monday morning to Pucón and walk down Avenida Brasil to Hospedaje Sonia. We get a room ($5000/person/night ≈ $10/p/n) and settle in. I love hostel travelling. We make plans for hiking and sightseeing, visit the grocery store, rent a car, relax by the fire, and get to bed early. Poor Mark, he slept maybe two hours on the trip down.

Tuesday, we wake up early. I am talking about six o’clock hour. Nothing is open, but we head out to see the city and wait for the grocery store (Eltit) to open (we forgot to get eggs for breakfast). We went to one end of the city to see a casino/hotel that completely burned down last month. It was quite a sight and at the same moment and from that point on, we had dogs following us. These dogs were not typical dogs either. There was one, a rather large dog, that picked up a stone and carried it in its mouth as we walked. It whaled and I mean WHALED the whole time. It even tore up a municipal flower box before our eyes in an effort to bury the stone, yet it continued carrying the stone and whaling. Well Eltit opened, we bought some b-fast items, cooked at Sonia’s, and ate up. Mark took me across the plaza near the hostel to Gloria’s flower stand. They were incredible (take a look at the photos to see what they’re made out of). Later in the morning we headed out for Termas Geométricas, but ended up at Termas de Palguín. It was a nice soak and cheap. Jeff had an accident which will forever be remembered. He ripped apart a wood railing in a moment of rage. On the way back to Pucón, we stopped at Salto El León, which was gorgeous. That night we enjoyed a dinner of typical comida peruana at Viva Perú. Try the Seco de cordero; it’s amazing.

More to come…

Last weekend the church retreated less than two hours to the south to a small town called Rosario for the annual church retreat. This year’s theme was the same as the title of this blog (”Following the Footsteps of the Master”). I had the pleasure of being part of the planning committee. We had some superb discussion and, man!, having the Word read and acted out loud is so powerful. The turn-out of the youth was excellent. The photos are better than my words.

Enjoy.

Last Monday, I, again, had the pleasure and honor, rather, honored pleasure to cook with two fine gentlemen. As it has become a tradition, every once in a while Jeff, Mark, and I get together to cook something divine. This round was of the Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Jeff had the Kielbasa; Mark had the Mixed Berries Custard Kuchen, and I had the Hot Potato Salad. Scrumptious.

Yes, it’s still there.

Sauerkraut und Äpfel = yum-oh!

KUCHEN!

Oh so good.

Vinegar, EVERYWHERE!

Freundschaft Hat beim Kochen Vereint

Berry Custard Kuchen

-from allrecipes.com

Ingredients
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup cold butter or margarine
* 2 tablespoons whipping cream
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 3 cups fresh raspberries (or bag of mixed frozen berries)
TOPPING:
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
* 2 eggs, beaten
* 1 cup whipping cream
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a bowl, combine 1 cup flour and salt; cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cream; pat into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan. Combine the sugar and remaining flour; sprinkle over crust. Arrange raspberries over crust. For topping, combine sugar and flour. Stir in eggs, cream and vanilla; pour over berries. Bake at 375 degrees F for 40-45 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm or chilled. Store in refrigerator.

Kielbasa

-from allrecipes.com

Ingredients
* 6 apples - peeled, cored and chopped
* 1 (32 ounce) package sauerkraut
* 1/4 cup brown sugar
* 2 pounds kielbasa sausage, sliced

Combine the apples and sauerkraut in a deep skillet over medium heat. Bring to a simmer then cook for about 10 minutes, until apples are starting to soften. Stir in the brown sugar and kielbasa. Cook for another 5 minutes, or until heated through. It took a bit longer. Also cook with lid off to reduce vinegar conent.

What Jeff said:

We used three cups of sauerkraut and four apples. I added green onion toward the end, but this should have waited until just before serving. I spiced it up some with some cruched red pepper. Also, using a pound and a quarter of sausage, the sausage was browned some in a separate pan before adding to the apple/saurkraut mixture.

Hot German Potato Salad

-from about.com

Ingredients
* 1/4 cup butter
* 1 onion, chopped
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 3 Tbsp. flour
* 3/4 cup cider vinegar
* 1 cup water
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1 lb. fully cooked Polish sausage, cut into chunks
* 6 cups cooked, peeled, sliced potatoes (6 medium russets)
* 1/2 cup sour cream
* 1 tsp. salt
* 1/4 tsp. pepper

Melt butter; add onion and garlic. Cook and stir until crisp tender. Add flour; cook and stir for one minute. Add vinegar, water, and sugar; bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add sliced potatoes and sausage and stir. Add sour cream, salt and pepper and heat thoroughly (do NOT boil), stirring gently.

There has been quite alot going on recently. At various moments I have the opportunity to read or do something on the Internet. These are a few of those things I’ve been tuning in to recently:

My brother’s photos (I would like to see what their house looks like)
Candidates + issues matrix
Robert in DC
“Janet Reno likes folk music?”

Interesting stuff. I’ll post soon, I promise, about what’s going on in my life.

Enjoy.

So, if you did not know, I love to cook. A my favorite people to cook with are here in Santiago; who would have thought? A year after cooking our infamous paella together, Jeff, Mark, and I convened on the house of Dean to return to our Spanish roots.

The menu:

Apple & Murcia Cheese Salad with Walnuts
Esparragos de Mariscos (Seafood Asparagus)
Tortilla de Patatas (Potato Omelette)
Jeff’s Concocted Chicken in a White Wine Mushroom Sauce

Tapas are very easy to make and are rich in flavor. I recommend the apple and cheese salad and seafood asparagus. The two are simple and make a great light meal together.

Denise get out of the kitchen.

Huh?


Yo Pierce!

Nice job, Pierce.

A proud man and his tortilla.

Refreshments

In the words of Mace Williamson, “Oh yes daddy.”

Testing

Happy gentlemen.

This past weekend. I left Antigua for three days with a few friends for Lanking, Semuc Champey, and Coban. It was a good trip. At Lanking I got a terrible headache and was out for one night, but that day we went to Semuc Champey. It´s a natural limestone bridge with pools of water, under it flows a raging river. Amazing.

See more at flickr.

Last week my Spanish teacher took me to visit a finca (farm/plantation) in her home town of Pastores, about five minutes by chicken bus outside of Antigua. Carmen, mi maestra, showed me her home as well. Pastores was flooded and had considerable damage near the local river last year and is now preparing for this rain season, which we re in the beginning of.

Ve mas fotos a flickr.

These past few weeks Antigua celebrated the found ing of the city. Here are some photos of the local festivities:

Ve mas fotos a flickr.