http://www.casablancavalley.cl/web/en/mapa/ After lunch at Casas del Bosque, we proceeded to our second winery tour of the day, at Vina Emiliana. Emiliana leads the way in establishing new standards for fully organic wine. Although they have extensive rows of vines that extend to the far away hills, white wine varietals mostly again, there is no production taking place. Instead this is where new innovative and progressive methods are tested and established. Although there is a nice wine shop in the main building, it is mostly a reception hall for private events, and not a functioning winery. The entrance to this winery already differs from others in the abundance of flowers dividing the rows of grapes. Planted specially to sustain the beehives that are carefully maintained on the grounds. They serve a double purpose by... read more

Our last excursion in the Atacama Desert was to the salt flats, and some of the lagoons in the area. Although the first stop was supposed to be for swimming in Laguna Cejar, there are several species of flamingos living there currently, so we went to Laguna Piedra instead to swim. This turquoise colored swimming hole has seven times the amount of salt that you find in the sea. The result is that you feel like a cork bobbing in the water. LOL! The contrast between the very blue water and the white salt shells that have grown on the edges is remarkable. These shells are hard, and sharp, and when you get to the edge and look down there is water underneath them, but they have grown on the surface, and extend into the water. ... read more

Our next stop, also named by the same priest, was Valle de la Luna. This unearthy landscape is now a protected national park, and even picking up stones is forbidden. We went into one canyon which showed the results of the flash foods of the previous February. Apparently, they had more rain in one day than they had had for the entire month the previous year. Parks were closed, streets were flooded and here, in the desert, the rushing waters had carved complete new areas of the soil. The main attraction here was a cavern. The entrance was through beautiful small canyon like passage ways, and then we entered the cavern. Pitch black and barely seen through the flashing lights spread through the group, we crawled through passages too low to walk straight, climbed in some ... read more

Getting to the airport for the flight to San Pedro de Atacama was no problem. Laine's company has a car service that showed up at the scheduled time and dropped us off without any mishaps. We were checked in and boarded fairly on time and were on our way as scheduled. I was fortunate to sit by the window during the two hour flight, too entranced by the view to even remember to take pictures. The mountains we were flying over were beautiful. Some seemed to have been sheared off, and showed an unbelievable array of colors, from red to deep greens. Occasionally there was some greenery at the bottom of some canyon, which seemed very narrow from my high altitude, and whenever that happened it could be detected signs of habitation. Perfectly manicured patches of ... read more

Today was spent getting reacquainted with the wonderful neighborhood that Patricia and Laine live in. My flight landed early, which was a good thing because going through immigration and customs was a nightmare. Thousands of people from every nationality were being processed, and long lines seemed to be never ending. But nothing could dampen my enthusiasm. Did you know that Chile has very strict restrictions about what comes into the country in the manner of any products that could pose harm to the fauna or flora here? They are very vigilant. Fruit products, seeds, honey, cheese, wood. Anything that could contain contaminants is subject to fines if they discover you bringing them in. Even legal action could incur. It took so long to get through, that by the time I found the luggage carrousel my suitcase ... read more