Moon through the telescope at an Observatory in the Elqui Valley, Chile
In 2017, I was blessed with an opportunity to visit my Maternal Ancestral Homeland…..CHILE. My friend Sandra and I had planned a big trip to Peru and the Galapagos Islands. In due course, we learned that the Galapagos Cruise Tour did not fill up and they could not offer us alternate dates that would jive with the rest of the tour….. so we would end up with only our two week Peru Tour. I said “why don’t we go to Chile and see where my Mom lived and my Grandfather was buried”. She was game and so we did.
We landed in Santiago after a 2 hour flight from Lima. The Immigration and Custom’s line was long and it took us over an hour to snake our way through. We were stamped and given an Entry Document which we were required to carry in our passport. We located a taxi and at last we were on our way into Santiago and our hotel which was located in the Los Condos district. Once the taxi finally located the address for the hotel we had booked…our nightmare Check-in began. About 2 hours later after Sandra cried and I yelled…we finally had the manager escort us to our new hotel…The Rugendas..a lovely hotel, where she basically told the staff to treat us nicely for our entire stay. We will be forever grateful to this young woman, who had actually studied in Thunder Bay, Canada…maybe this was a Pay-it-Forward situation.
On Saturday morning, after a good nights sleep, we were picked up by a shuttle and taken to a central location where we joined our Day Tour to Valpariso and Vina del Mar. It was from this harbor that my Grandfather had sailed on his trips up and down the coast of Chile in the 1890’s and 1900’s while working for the Pacific Steamship Navigation Company.
Looking towards Valpariso Port
Valpariso…. the locals waiting for the bus after a day of Saturday Shopping
Looking northwest to Vina del Mar
Valpariso with its steep streets and quirky art
Heading down to the port
Transatlantic shipping now goes via the Panama Canal
Buildings in Old Port
Fishing Boats
Container Shipping
Built in 2015 and sailing under the Flag of Panama
Chilean Navy training ships
Monday morning we were off to La Serena and Coquimbo. I can’t tell you how excited I was as we stepped off the plane onto the tarmack at the tiny La Serena Airport…I was really here!
La Serena, Chile Airport
We took a taxi to our Boutique Hostel….Terra Diaguita in central La Serena. What an amazing place… we were awed to say the least. The rooms were like cottages around a garden and there was art and artifacts everywhere.
Terra Diaguita
The origin of the Diaguita culture is traced back to an archaeological culture known as El Molle Complex which existed from 300 to 700 CE. Later this culture was replaced in Chile by Las Animas Complex that developed between 800 and 1000 CE. It is from this last culture that the Archaeological Diaguita culture emerged around 1000 CE. The classical Diaguita period was characterized by advanced irrigation systems and by pottery painted in red/black and white. The Chilean Diaguitas were conquered by Spaniards coming from Peru.
My room..which Murchie really enjoyed
More decorations
We settled in and went looking for a place to eat…turned out to be a great place just across the street. Then I set out to explore the city. It was late in the afternoon and people and students were everywhere.
I walked a couple of blocks through the shopping streets, found the Cathedral, and one of the major pedestrian areas.
Central La Serena
Beautiful time of year – April in La Serena
Sun sets early at this latitude
Kunza (extinct languages of Chile) He was my Spirit Cat and waited for me outside my room
Our Lady of Mercy Cathedral on the Plaza De Armas
Tomorrow was the day I had really been looking forward to…I would be taking an all day private tour of the entire area and ending in up Coquimbo, the place where my mom had been born in 1908. That Special Day deserves it own story in another Blog…..
A Genealogist goes Wandering 
Thank you Louise. I remember your family was from Chile. Cant wait to hear your mother’s story from her homeland.
Pearl
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Love your narration – you captured every thing we saw and did beautifully.
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