Wellington T. Underfoot

We adopted a young "gato de la calle" before winter who impressed us with his street smarts and sharp looks.

He was aloof and noncommittal when we first spotted him on the roof of our guesthouse.

Sometimes he tried impossible feats of daring and had to reconsider.

But he was seldom embarrassed and never self conscious.

After introducing himself, he decided to let us get to know him better.

We learned he likes appetizers before dinner.

It didn't take long for him to impress us with his regal bearing and friendly demeanor. Henry suggested "Wellington" would be an appropriate name.

He loves entertaining our guests.

Here is his signature underfoot "flop and drop" technique for getting your personal attention.

Here he demonstrates his disapproval of email, Facebook and online mahjongg whenever he believes one has more pressing matters to attend to.

Is it lunchtime yet?

Henry and Wellington make a good team. We've arranged several visits to the vet for his vaccinations and plan to take him back to Utah when we return in 2010.

Second story escape from Henry's bedroom.

The art of the arbor traverse.

Master of his universe.

Las Araucarias

Looking out the window of our flight back to Temuco I got this photo of Volcan Llaima. The street we live on in Pucón is named after this volcano and we can see it from the slopes of Villarica ski area. So, when Susan returned to Boston to attend the wedding of her niece, Alyson, Henry and I determined we had to make the drive to ski here before the season ended.

The ski resort at Llaima is called Las Araucarias, named after the Araucaria trees that grow on the slopes of the volcano.

One chair lift and one surface tow were still operating this last week of the season.

The resort has one hotel and a day lodge with a restaurant.

The volcano continuously vents a plume of smoke from its summit.

Henry looks into a steep gully below the summit before committing himself.

From the top of the lift it is possible to climb up to the summit of the volcano in a few hours.

We had a great day in the sun skiing at Las Araucarias.

Santiago

Santiago is a big city with tall skyscrapers, busy freeways, crowded barrios and five million inhabitants. But for all its isolation in a distant continent far away from the developed world, Santiago has long aspired to be in the first rank. Since its founding by Pedro De Valdivia in 1541, town planners laid out grand neighborhoods and broad boulevards. And, over the centuries, some places in the city have been created that deliberately evoke memories of the way life was in the familiar old world back in Europe.

Our visit with Martin and Joni Plaehn was coming to an end, so we decided to walk around some of these European style cobblestone streets near the old Iglesia de San Francisco or St. Francis Church built in 1554.

We were fortunate to visit on a Sunday morning when there were fewer cars and people so we could feel the true ambiance of the area without the press of the metropolis upon us.

This quaint intersection is at the heart of the deliberately designed neighborhood.

Could this be Montmartre in Paris? No, the snow-covered peak in the distance tells otherwise, but the feeling is familiar just the same.

Another quiet street to soothe the nerves of a homesick European expatriate.

The area was designed by architects Cruz Montt and Larrain Bravo, both graduates of the Ecole des Beaux Artes.

Some doors and

grills in the

homes of the neighborhood.

This is the 18th century Cathedral Metropolitana at the Plaza de Armas. When the city was founded in 1541, there was a military armoury located in the plaza and the name stuck. All distances along the Pan American Highway in Chile are measured from "Kilometro Cero", a metal tablet here in the square.

This is the fifth cathedral to stand on the east facing site, all the earlier ones having been destroyed by fire or earthquake.

The altar of the cathedral.

Here the cathedral is reflected in the mirrored surface of a nearby skyscraper in the northwest corner of the plaza.

Santa Rita Vineyard

Chile is reknowned for its wines and some of the best known are produced at the Santa Rita winery in the Alto Juahel area of the Maipo Valley about 45 minutes southeast of Santiago. We decided to spend our last day with the Plaehns by visiting the Santa Rita wine estate and seeing how their famous Cabernet Sauvignons and Carménère wines are produced.

The Santa Rita winery was created on the site of an older estate around 1880. Local legend tells the story of 120 Chilean patriot soldiers who hid here during the Chilean revolution while fighting for Chilean independence from Spain and from that history the Santa Rita popular wine "120" takes its name.

This is the garden next to the Casa Real restaurant where we had a so-so lunch in a beautiful old building with heavy beams and high ceilings.

The Maipo Valley is at an altitude about 1200 feet above sea level which provides ideal conditions for producing the complex and long-lasting Cabernet Sauvignon and other red wines of the region. We were intrigued by the use of helicopters to move the morning frost off the vines.

Some old wine presses are kept on display for comparison with the modern equipment the winery uses today.

When the grapes are harvested, they are placed in large stainless hoppers and lifted by conveyor into the processing line where they are washed, crushed and steamed in huge cookers.

These are a few of the initial vats where the juice is filtered and processed.

The temperature in each of the many fermentation tanks is closely monitored on remote temperature panels in each area.

The various types of wine are produced separately in huge stainless steel vats with individual testing and monitoring controls.

Here is one of the cellars under the estate where oaken casks of separate vintages are stored under ideal conditions for aging.

Some of the casks are made from American oak and others come from France.

After aging in oak, the wines are bottled in this modern facility.

Bottled vintages are stored in "bodegas" by group at cool underground temperatures in the cellars of the vineyard.

Each vintage has documentation about its production and disposition.

One vintage.

Ready for shipment.