Life Surrounded by Mountains in Central Chile

I love Maplewoodstock; and I am so sorry that I will be missing it. Maplewoodstock and the Summit Toastmasters meetings are irreplaceable. The Moth I can get on podcasts. Enjoy it for me.

Maybe there's Toastmasters there?? A friend came to visit here last week and I finally got to visit a local club (after 19years absence!).

Here you go:

http://allevents.in/viña%20del%20mar/toastmasters-english-meeting/1462967223968334

There's also a Spanish meeting at the same place.

Thanks. I am going to give it a try tomorrow evening.

Woo hoo!

Last night I was reading a historical novel by Antonio Skarmeta called La Insurreccion, about the Sandinista movement in Nicaragua. I remember that conflict in the news in the early 80s, and I never understood what they were fighting for or why the US should care. In the novel there is a very vivid and terrifying scene where the military comes into a small village to look for a soldier who is AWOL. I switched my reading to Wikkipedia to learn about the Sandinistas, and I fell asleep.

This morning when I awoke I was dreaming that I was in a strange village, not unlike one I had visited two days ago, and in the dream I was being asked if I knew where a woman whom I have never met was, just like in the novel. Two days ago I was stopped by the police who were conducting a document check, and as I was leaving I asked the police officers if they knew a friend of my mom's who I dearly loved. In my dream I was very scared, so I woke up. I was dreaming in Spanish about the village in the novel that looked like what I saw two days ago.

I had been disappointed by the foods in Chile; I expected more given that it is an exporter of food to the world. But that is part of the problem, for example, you can't find Chilean sea bass anywhere in Chile; you have to go to New York to find it. I am told that the rights to catch corvina and merlusa negra were sold to large commercial fishing companies, so that it is illegal to fish it locally. This is why the fishermen were protesting a month or so ago when the President came to town. The grapes have also been disappointing, but I assumed that it was because it's winter here. But today I found the real reason: I was shopping in the supermarket, and the good stuff is sold in the feria. That market is composed of nearly a hundred vendors all competing for attention with quality and price. They make Whole Foods look bad, though it is held in a dried stream full of mud. Here is a sample of what I found.

The first picture is of a fruit that grows on a cactus called tunas; it has lots of tiny seeds which give it a very crunchy taste. These fancy artichokes I had never seen before; they are gorgeous. The next picture is a zapallo, a staple in Chilean cuisine. It is a type of squash which they add to bean soups, and they also mix it with flower to make a type of donut or tortilla; it is semi-sweet. Then there is garlic. The next picture is sea weed which I have never tasted; I understand that they make it into a soup which is mixed with zapallo. The next picture is a picture of toninambur, a tubular root, which is somewhat like a potato, but sweet; it tastes more like an artichoke. The last item was my lunch today: crab legs. Finally, there's the avocados. I have seen at least a dozen different varieties. They even separate the avocados by the age of the tree. Naturally, an older trees avocado is creamier and more expensive. More on avocados later.

Beautiful.

(The final avocado picture didn't load.)

You have prickly pears!!! Yum-o! Wear thick gloves when you strip the prickles off the skin to get at the flesh, and use tongs too.

Globe artichokes that open are delicious, and so much nicer than Jerusalem artichokes, which mainly give you gas. Bit of a Latin delicacy, usually in season when fresh asparagus is and eaten in much the same way (according to my mum).

Your pumpkin is what we'd call a Jap pumpkin, or a Jarrahdale; massive wheels of delicious sweet orange-fleshed gourd. We make soup, bread, scones (English style to eat with butter for morning tea), roast/bake, mash, as chips, as baby food...

Copihue, did you go to the Toastmaster meeting?

joanne said:
...
Copihue, did you go to the Toastmaster meeting?

Sure did, and I must give a speech next Monday. I am the only "native speaker" in the group; most are young professionals who need to improve their skills in order to make work presentations. There is one fellow who is an English teacher who really needs to be sent to the US to teach "native speakers"; he is nothing short of fabulous.

musicmz said:
Beautiful.
(The final avocado picture didn't load.)

Thanks. I am not sure what happened to my avocado shot. It had all the varieties next to one another, and that is not going to be an easy shot to reproduce, because the fruit is seasonal. The Market has multiple varieties, but they are all sold by different vendors. My avocado shot was taken at the grocery store, where the different varieties were displayed next to each other. It was my favorite shot too, because the rich colors and the round, shiny texture of the fruit is wonderful.

This sign is across the street from where I live, a daily reminder of where I live: above the tidal wave danger zone like the one where thousands were killed only a few years ago. My cousin tells me that a tidal wave is unlikely to strike the bay of Valparaiso, because it is so deep so close to land. I am not sure I accept the argument. Even if I am above the danger zone, there would be massive displacement of people to where I am, and that can't be a happy event.

Fires are yet another danger. In the three months I have been here, it's rained altogether one day. Last year the fires devastated parts of Valparaiso.

My cousin and I went on a ride on Sunday over the mountain ridge of the Cordillera de la Costa where the views reminded me of the Alps. The highest peak, El Cerro La Campana, is over 2,500 meters high. It was lovely, but he said he would not live there because of fire. There is no way to get fire trucks up there if a fire gets started. The roads are very narrow, some tracks are only one way lanes with steep turns and no guard rails; a fire truck would be unable to negotiate the turns, and even driving out of the canyons would be slow and dangerous. Steep, high mountains, draught that kills vegetation also spells mud slides if the rains are torrential.

Then there are earthquakes. I believe that this is probably the most active earthquake region in the planet. We've had two tremors since I have been here already.

Chile is beautiful, the climate in Reñaca is idyllic, but it also exposed to every natural disaster in the Planet. It's fair to call it Natural Disaster Central.

(see photo below, upright thanks to oneofthegirls).

Copihue said:
This sign is across the street from where I live, a daily reminder of where I live: above the tidal wave danger zone like the one where thousands were killed only a few years ago.

I am really enjoying your blog and am happy to help with the sideways pics.

Sad to say, Chilean sea bass almost doesn't exist any more because it has been fished so extensively. These days, when a restaurant menu says "Chilean sea bass," it is almost guaranteed to be another mild, white fish. Makes me mad, because it is so deceptive. So don't feel bad that Chile doesn't have it any more... no one does, not really.

PeggyC, you bring up interesting issues. After scanning the literature on the web, I could find no consensus about whether or the fish is endangered or not; I would think that if it is threatened, that there would be no disagreement. There does seem to be consensus that some of the fish is caught illegally, but a fact sheet from the US Commerce Dept states that US Customs will not allow the fish to enter the country unless it is thoroughly documented as having been caught legally.

My guess is that illegally caught fish is going to other countries. Of course your local restaurant or vendor could be selling you cod and charging you Chilean sea bass prices, but that would be an internal issue within the US, not a problem of fish that is coming from abroad.

Everything I read also says that you should ask your vendor if the fish is certified and legally caught.

Some of the avocados from the feria:

And the seafood from the feria; the next to the last shot is not pretty, but they are abelones, a delicacy. Pan fried abalone goes for about US$55 in a California restaurant. They don't look good, because they are wrapped in plastic. http://www.bbc.com/news/business-27387448

And some of the fruits that you might not be familiar with. The first picture is of lucuma which has a very strong flavor. It's not eaten by itself, instead its intense flavor and dry consistency is a popular addition to icecream as well as many cakes, yogurts and pastries. The next photo is of chirimoya which has white, delicate flesh with seeds that look like watermelon seeds. It is usually served accompanied with fresh orange juice. Next are pepinos which sometimes I see in Whole Foods. It is a very juicy, light fruit with a delicate flavor and meat. Papayas is next. This variety of papayas are boiled and served in its own sweetened juice. It is a very solid texture. Melons followed by quince and granadas. Granadas have tons of antioxidants, and I usually have a glass when I go to the fair mixed with orange juice. Yum.

Custard apples! Quinces! Pomegranates! The little fruits that could almost be olives (3rd pic, top row) are they actually feijoa? Although, come to think of it, I remember them as different...these look too shiny and melon like. We have the others, we generically call them 'Pawpaw' or (5th pic) melon. All really juicy and yummy.

Those zapallo scones sound fabulous, Joanne. I have to make them.

There are so many wonderful ingredients here, that I need to start cooking. My kitchen is a huge barrier, it is peanut sized, but I have to get over it. Eventually I will get a bigger house and bigger kitchen. Meantime, this was my lunch which did not even need to be rinsed: berrios, avocado and mushrooms. I had never eaten berrios before, and they are very delicate and wonderful. They need to be eaten immediately, by the afternoon the berrios in the refrigerator had begun to wilt.

Cherimoya turned up in the ingredient basket on "Chopped," and no one had a clue what it was or what to do with it. And my mother-in-law once sent us a goody basket with pepinos in it. At least, I think that was them... do they have a very large pit, Copihue?

Cherimoya (custard apple) can be chopped and eaten raw (no peel or pith, no seeds). Amazing! Or you could pulp into a smoothie, add to a fruit salad or compote style dessert (say, trifle or parfait, or the stewed fruit layer of a filled sponge). It's a little like eating the fruit from a monstera plant (called a 'fruit salad spike'), only sloppier. It's sweet, juicy, soft, tastes bland like stewed apples in a bowl with egg custard; nice with with banana, or figs, or just scooped from the skin with a spoon.

Of course the others are pepino so -thank you Peggy! Years since I ate one, but they're easily available here. Lots of little seeds in a stringy hollow that you scoop out.

You got it, Joanne! Pepinos are not olive sized, they just look like that in the picture, because there are so many. Pepinos have a thin skin, and they are mostly hollow on the inside. There is a skinny thread with seeds on them.

Chirimoyas are very popular here mixed in smoothies with other fruits. I always like the fruit raw, without damaging the texture, but that's me. They also make ice cream out of them, but the flavor is so subtle, that I don't like it in icecream. I never tasted chirimoyas with cream, but that would probably be a good combo as well.

I'm like you, just eat it raw with a spoon - over a tea-towel!! you really need a bib when they're ripe, the skin looks so thick and tough but it's very fragile. The seeds are big and polished black things, would make pretty jewelry. Or maybe you could sprout new trees/vines? They grow best from grafts, though.

I reckon cream would ruin it... My MIL would sometimes serve it with ice cream but never made into ice cream. I can't get used to the idea of warm/hot avocado, either, or avocado ice cream. (Shudder)

Must send you that scone recipe.

Copihue, when you send photos with all those eucalypts, or familiar fruits, I can see why so many South Americans have settled in Australia. Also, why at one stage we wanted to purchase part of the central bit of South America. Our climate and terrain seem to have so much in common.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Australia

Copihue, that first fruit pic: sapote? Chocolate pudding fruit, we call it here; has the colour and texture of dark chocolate mousse. There's one fruit in your pic that appears to be peeling, revealing a different flesh, which confuses me.

Ignore me: didn't realise you'd added names and descriptions above. And Black Sapote isn't related to the Lucuma.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diospyros_infra

I am seeing the similarities too, Joanne.

I have been surprised by the number of young folks, I am talking in their early 20s, who want to go to Australia or New Zealand. In my generation everyone wanted to go to the US, but the new generation is different.

Just read in NY Times.com tonight that scientists have traced an ancient DNA link between Amazonians and Australasians. Maybe there is an ancient connection.

Yes, for many flora and fauna. But most of the population here aren't indigenous, having migrated from mainly European-originating stock within the last couple of hundred years.