Our trip to el sur de Chile ended back in Santiago with a feast where I was honored to meet Mariana's and Raul's entire family. (Thank you Claudia and Roberto for hosting the evening.) The evening was one for a very special private memory and the pictures have been shared with the family directly.

Sunday dawned and the guard changed. Raul y Mariana needed a rest and some personal time, so my care was handed to other good friends, Jamie and Mariela. Jamie picked me up for a lightening-quick tour of down Santiago, starting with the home of El Presidente (now La Presidente) and ended with a trip atop a high hill that held the Castillo Hidalgo. I have a few pictures of the tour to share.

After the tour, we stopped at my hotel and picked up my bathing suit for a dip in thier pool. It was a beautiful autumn day and the air was warm. With thoughts of the hot springs at Terma Huife, I put on my suit and got ready to take a swim. WHOA! Not a hot spring at all. I have used warmer ice cubes in my day. Jamie y Mairela managed to just "dive in." Not your stalwart visitor, however. Slowly I entered, inch by inch, millimeter by millimeter, until I was neck deep. Jamie got out, took a picture (to prove I was there and did it) and I exited about as fast as a person can leave the water. My skin color gave a new definition to the word "azul." I was soon back in my street clothes and being treated to a wonderful meal made of a cornmeal and ground beef mixed and cooked in a crockery container. As Mariela is a very accomplished potter, the service bowls and plates were beautiful pieces of her art and the meal was excellent.

As the evening wound to a close, I asked Mariela about her pottery and she agreed to give me a quick lesson on making the large urns she was working on. Jamie caught some of the lesson with my camera, as you can see.

As the sun set and the stars appeared we headed out, but not without taking a few moments to look at the Southern Cross twinkling high overhead. This was the third or fourth viewing for me. As a Northern Hemisphere dweller, we don't get to see this special Southern Hemisphere constellation unless we travel. As the song says, "When you see the Southern Cross for the first time, you wonder why you never came this way..." What a spectacular way to end the visit in Chile.