Terremoto and tsunami!

Yesterday we took a crowded bus to Santa Cruz, about three hours from Santiago, and I joked about not wanting to take the bus which was made in China.  The video had subtitles as shown below:

We arrive and,checked into our little B&B, Weekend and Wine (ha!).  Then, we went to find someplace for dinner and a pisco sour, but as we walked back, we noticed people pouring into the street, hands over their mouths, police congregating in the middle of the roads.  We watched as the telephone poles swayed, and we hustled back to the B&B where we learned on the news that there had been an 8.4 earthquake, and as we sat on our beds, listening to the television, we felt - or rather saw - our beds shimmy across the room, as the earthquake continued to manifest itself.  The news claimed that the coastal towns were being evacuated, and the news was sensationally wobbly as videos replayed the effects of the tremors insantiago and elsewhere.  The lovely women here brought us calming glasses of smooth caminere wine, and we slept soundly until 8:00, having no windows in our room... 

In the morning we learned that a tsunami had struck Coquimbo, the little port I had ridden the fat tired bike to a few days ago.  This was one of the images on the television, and I swear it is the same boat I had photographed when I had been there.  It all made me cry sad and very tentative.  Life is fragile indeed, but sometimes the only solution is to march on.  To the next vineyard.

We went on a tour of this vineyard that seems to have shaped the town and the region.

We took a little ride through the vineyards and learned about the conditions tart made the good wines, situated between the Andes and the other mountains.  We went through the facilities, took our own glass, and then had a little taste of our first wine.

We toured through the big vats of wine, learned about the complex process (don't ask), and then off to tasting...

These are the wines we tasted, and, frankly, I found them all rather astringent and not particularly tasty, but then' I am not a wine drinker.

As w left, I noticed this warning in case of earthquakes and thought it timely.

We returned to Santa Cruz and had a quick lunch before heading out to the next vineyard - Lapostolle in the Apalta region where five other vineyards are producing wines as well.  This particular vineyard is run by a French woman, and this location produces on 60,000 bottles a year, their main seller being a blend of carmenere, Cabernet and merlot.  We learned that wines can be labeled a particular kind of wine, ie., Cabernet, merlot, etc... As long as 85% of the blend is that wine, so many of our wines are really a blend of other wines.

We toured the floor that had the oak barrels, went to w lower level where they aged for a year,

And finally ended up where we had a tasting and where the real wines were stored, some for years, todetermine how well they could hold up.

This is the view from the top of the vineyard's processing facility, and it was magnificent.

The ride back to the town was uneventful but for these clouds which made me drag out my iPad yet again.  I've become a regular screen aficionado, pulling out the iPad and shoving in front of my face for a photograph whenever I am moved by something in my vision.  

We ate dinner at something called th Social Club where we were almost the only people, most people having dinner at or after 8:00, but it was 6:00, and we were hungry after a day of serious touring.  The town seems to have settled into pre- fiesta mode, as tomorrow is the MAJOR festival of their Independence Day.  Bleachers were being rigged, stores were shutting down, and preparations were being made for the day of all days when everybody will be partying, dancing, drinking, marching, singing and playing music - at least when they aren't consuming vast quantities of sausage and pig by products, grilled meats, etc.

We are staying inside the town to witness the festivities and I will report first hand because I just know how riveting it must seem to you, especially those of you who are readying for the Pope!!!