We awoke and soon were greeted by Oswaldo and a maid from the vineyard who proceeded to the kitchen to cook us breakfast – eggs, fresh bread, juice, etc. Also, cocoa puffs. An al fresco meal on our patio seemed perfect, until the swarm of bees descended upon us, so we finished up inside.
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| Pre-Bee Swarming |
After packing up, we headed back to Matetic for our horseback lesson/ride. We were not sure what to expect, but upon walking back in, we met Emilio, our guide and we were off.
As it turns out, Emilio was actually a guide in Explora Patagonia for several years and was the perfect match for what we were looking for…well, maybe a bit better for me than GG. This would actually be the first time I would get one on one attention and not be scared of getting bucked off my horse while the guide and guacho were tending to other members of the group.
As it turns out, Emilio was actually a guide in Explora Patagonia for several years and was the perfect match for what we were looking for…well, maybe a bit better for me than GG. This would actually be the first time I would get one on one attention and not be scared of getting bucked off my horse while the guide and guacho were tending to other members of the group.
Emilio and the gaucho toured us all around the massive Matetic property over the next 2 hours and I actually felt comfortable. In fact, by the tail end of the lesson, I actually cantered for the first time and I liked it. It did hurt a bit, but I guess I could start to see why people find this activity enjoyable.
And with Emilio’s Explora experience, he knew we definitely wanted some great photos to document this special ride. So, without further adieu, photos by Emilio…
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| Our fearless Guacho, Maurice, joins us for this pic. |
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| Wild Alpacas come by to say hi! |
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| Bonnie and Clyde |
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| Relaxing in the saddle... |
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| How we miss you already, Matetic... |
From there, it was off to a relaxing lunch at House of Marande in Casablanca Valley Santiago
The setting was excellent – a large porch outdoors but covered by a wooden curved overhang looking directly into their vineyard. I started for a twist on a traditional Empanada – filled with braised rabbit atop a cabbage salad which was actually quite tasty. GG snuck held out for just an entrée.
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| Underneath all that is a very solid rabbit empanada... |
GG opted for the Rapa Nui (Easter Island ) Tuna which was on top of a fresh pea and vegetable puree and finished with hearts of palm. It was perfectly cooked – black and blue – but a huge portion which we could not finish.
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| The closest we got to Easter Island on this trip... |
The house specialty was a fresh swordfish steak in a lentil bean stew, finished with roe. It didn’t look pretty, but it was full of flavor, quite enjoyable, and also huge. To accompany my meal, I had their Edicion Limitada Carmenere which was excellent. Carmenere (along with Bonarda) was one of our favorite discoveries of the trip – not too fruity, especially smooth, and very versatile. We’ll have to find some good ones when we get back home.
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| I know...not pretty at all. But tasty.... |
From there, it was time to hit the big city. Using Emilio’s succinct directions, we almost got to the Budget Rental Car office without getting lost. Unfortunately, there was one unclear direction that led us into a mall parking garage which led us to an attendant who spoke very quick Spanish and no English which (through some exceptionally lucky interpretation skills on our part) somehow got us to our destination. We unloaded, paid our bill and headed to the W Santiago where T-Bone hooked us up once again.
The hotel was perfect – exactly what we needed at that point in the trip – amazing, English speaking service, full amenities, comfortable rooms, surrounded by lots of interesting people. We opted to relax on the roof deck upon our arrival and I snuck in a swim as well. The pool was a long and narrow infinity pool – surely not built for anything athletic – yet I was able to find a way to embarrass GG and strap on my waterproof ipod goggles and do some serious kick-turns.
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| Just before the flip turning ensued... |
Lacking the energy to go out and explore and based on many recommendations we heard, we decided to eat in Osaka
The place was packed and loud when we arrived around 10:15pm on a Tuesday night. We had already enjoyed an aperitif in the lobby while checking email (Pisco Sour and a fresh blueberry caiprinha) so we moved on to sake and beer.
The menu was fusion-y which is not really my sushi style preference (aside from Katsu-Ya), but we went with the flow and some recommendations from our server. First off, we ordered traditional Peruvian ceviche with sea bass and Chilean corn which came in 6 spoonful bites and was fresh and tasty, although I could have dealt with only 4 spoonfuls to share with GG.
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| A whole lot of ceviche... |
Crab is a specialty across the region so we then got a fresh crab maki with avocado and toasted quinoa. This, I guess, is the Peruvian twist instead of tempura flakes. And I have to say, I really enjoyed it. Plus, quinoa is actually quite healthy so even better.
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| Crispy goodness from quinoa?! |
From there we did some handrolls…GG went for something with avocado, salmon and load of spicy sauce and then I got two more – one with crab and parmesean (a very popular Chilean dish, we learned, is shellfish with melted parmesean), combined with tempura shrimp and avocado which was good but a lot of things going on; the other was asparagus tempura with whitefish carpaccio and one other quinoa-ified object I can’t recall which was also good. Not amazing, but interesting.
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| handroll with lots of sauce... |
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| they even snuck in some Parmesan crab in this one... |
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| Satisfied, and pensive about this fusion-y feeding frenzy... |
Most importantly, we had a really fun time and the trip back to our room to pass out was the best commute we’d had of the entire trip – one elevator ride!
Tomorrow we've got our one and only full day to explore Santiago.
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