Easter in Talca

We spent Easter in Talca, a town known as a jumping-off point for many of the wineries south of Santiago. Because it was Easter, none of the wineries were open. Instead, Jason, Debbie and I relaxed in our lovely hostel (the nicest we've been to in Chile so far), wandered through the near-deserted streets of Talca, and took a train to Constitución.

The coastal town of Constitución is only about 1.5 hours away from Talca by bus, but we decided to take the more scenic 5-hour train ride. We arrived at the train station to see a very modern, clean, well kept 15-car train. Unfortunately, that train was going to Santiago. We walked past it to our old, rickety, three car train. The seats were ripped and burned in places, the aisles were packed with people, and the amenities were non existent, but the scenery really was beautiful.

Once we arrived in Constitución, we immediately took a local bus to Putu, then walked for 45 minutes to the sand dunes. The dunes get only the briefest of mentions in the guide books, but they are well-worth the long walk. We didn't realize that the dunes were on the coast, and were surprised to discover the ocean after several minutes walk through the sand. It is not only the largest beach we had ever seen, but also the most private. As you can see in the photos, we were often the only people visible on the shoreline.

Constitución itself also boasts a beautiful coastline. Its strong currents and towering rock formations make much of the beach unsuitable for swimming, but perfect for photography.

Jennifer

Idle words/Cheese, how we love thee

Not surprisingly, I suppose, Chile and Argentina share quite a few traits. I found a blog called Idle Words by a former Vermonter that lived in Argentina for a little while, and he writes some very funny things.

His essay, Argentina on Two Steaks a Day, which describes food and eating in Argentina, is not only amusing -- it also is quite accurate in some respects regarding the eating habits of Chileans, too.

After you've read it, this list will make more sense, but his comments about: the mayo, the milk, the veggies, the coffee (or so I've been told), especially the dulce deleche (called manjar and pronounced "man-har" here in Chile), the ice cream, the lack of breakfasts and odd eating schedule otherwise... All applicable to Chile. Steak is not nearly the cultural institution here that it is in Argentina, but they do like meat an awful lot...

In general, the food is decent, if you go to the right places. I know I have mentioned the veggies, and "en pobre" (beef, chicken or whatever with fried onions and a fried egg on top). But so far, the food we miss the most... is cheese.

We miss the many options for cheese that are available in the US (we have been referred to as "cheese snobs" upon occasion). It isn't that they don't have any cheese here... in fact, they have many cheeses: goat cheese, fresh goat cheese, goat cheese with chives, goat cheese with garlic, blue cheese without any actual "blue" in it, gouda. Did I mention goat cheese? Oh, and this cheese called quesillo, which is sort of like fresh mozzarella, only without the taste. It is just that the cheeses they have are all the same.

There is a shop called El Mundo Del Queso not far from our apartment, and they do have a larger selection, but nine kinds of cheese rather than five kinds of cheese should not qualify you as a "mundo de queso."

So, first stop when we are back in the States? The cheese store.

Jason

PS - Entirely unrelated to Chile, an article the guy from Idle Words wrote about the Alameda-Weehawken Burrito Tunnel is one of the funniest things I have read.