After a very busy day on Thursday and a fantastic BBQ on Friday at the home of some new friends, we decided to take a relaxing drive into the Elqui Valley.
Just outside of La Serena, the Elqui is a sprawling valley at the foothills of the Andes and one of the most famous wine-producing regions in Northern Chile. The Elqui Valley’s main export is pisco, used for the national drink, the Pisco Sour. Pisco Sour is a mix of lemon or lime juice, sugar, pisco, and egg white in “just the right amounts”. Of course the “right amount” varies widely depending on who you talk to and which part of the country you are in. Since one of our many goals before we leave Chile is to learn how to make a mean Pisco Sour, we decided a trip to the valley (in the name of research, of course) would be useful.
We drove out of town on Route 41 following the path of the Elqui River for 15 minutes. It wasn’t long before we started to see signs of majestic mountains and rolling hills not far in the distance.
After 10 minutes more of driving we began to head a little higher into the Puclaro region. Here the Elqui river is damed by the Puclaro Dam and forms a gigantic reservoir. The dam was built to break the cycle of flood and draught, insuring that the valley would have a controlled water supply. With a consistent water source, the area has turned into a fruit-farmers paradise; papaya, citrus, and (of course) grapes are all grown in the fertile valley.
Besides the fact that the ride in our little red Toyota was a little on the bumpy side, it was one of the most enjoyable rides we’ve taken in quite a while. In Florida, we never went for a Sunday drive; with flat roads and uninspiring scenery there was nothing to see. Here, we ached for a jaunt into the foothills of the Andes. We both thought driving over the mountains into the unknown was a perfect way to spend a day.
Before we even realized it, we were most of the way to Vicuña. Vicuña is a small mountain town, made famous by being the birthplace of Nobel Prize winning poet, Gabriel Mistral. Gabriel Mistral reminds me a bit of Emily Dickinson; while not nearly as isolated, she wrote about many human conditions that she herself never experienced (marriage, children, etc). Whatever your thoughts on her work, Mistral is a national hero, and Vicuña is her birthplace. The Gabriel Mistral museum is there and the town has prospered as a tourist attraction. David and I decided that we would turn off the road and visit since our drive had taken us so close.
In Vicuña we found what we expected, a quiet little place with gorgeous views of the mountains, a few lovely little shops to catch tourists’ eyes, and a well maintained Plaza de Armas. We parked the car and immediately stumbled upon a Natural Science Museum. It was filled with a small collection of butterflies, beetles, shells, minerals, rocks, and stuffed animals. The displays were old and the floors squeaky; but it was only marginally worse-off than many of the displays at National Parks across the Southwest US. I particularly liked the collection of Morpho butterflies from all over S. America, although it was disheartening to find that not one was a native of Chile. David was fascinated by the iridescent beetles.
After exploring the museum for a bit and walking by a number of street vendors, we decided to get a snack before heading home. We had heard bad things about Chilean ice-cream (our friend James told us it melted into puddles of oil, which did not sound appetizing), but we saw a small place that claimed to be “Artisanal” so we decided to take a chance. We paid 500 pesos or about $1 for a fairly large scope of ice cream that turned out to be some of the best we’ve ever had. I got pistachio while David had papaya. Both were more akin to sorbet or sherbet than ice cream with less dairy and more flavor.
So our Sunday drive was a huge success. We want to head back soon to visit the Mistral museum, browse the shops of local artisans, and try a different flavor of ice cream!
Just outside of La Serena, the Elqui is a sprawling valley at the foothills of the Andes and one of the most famous wine-producing regions in Northern Chile. The Elqui Valley’s main export is pisco, used for the national drink, the Pisco Sour. Pisco Sour is a mix of lemon or lime juice, sugar, pisco, and egg white in “just the right amounts”. Of course the “right amount” varies widely depending on who you talk to and which part of the country you are in. Since one of our many goals before we leave Chile is to learn how to make a mean Pisco Sour, we decided a trip to the valley (in the name of research, of course) would be useful.
We drove out of town on Route 41 following the path of the Elqui River for 15 minutes. It wasn’t long before we started to see signs of majestic mountains and rolling hills not far in the distance.
After 10 minutes more of driving we began to head a little higher into the Puclaro region. Here the Elqui river is damed by the Puclaro Dam and forms a gigantic reservoir. The dam was built to break the cycle of flood and draught, insuring that the valley would have a controlled water supply. With a consistent water source, the area has turned into a fruit-farmers paradise; papaya, citrus, and (of course) grapes are all grown in the fertile valley.
Besides the fact that the ride in our little red Toyota was a little on the bumpy side, it was one of the most enjoyable rides we’ve taken in quite a while. In Florida, we never went for a Sunday drive; with flat roads and uninspiring scenery there was nothing to see. Here, we ached for a jaunt into the foothills of the Andes. We both thought driving over the mountains into the unknown was a perfect way to spend a day.
Before we even realized it, we were most of the way to Vicuña. Vicuña is a small mountain town, made famous by being the birthplace of Nobel Prize winning poet, Gabriel Mistral. Gabriel Mistral reminds me a bit of Emily Dickinson; while not nearly as isolated, she wrote about many human conditions that she herself never experienced (marriage, children, etc). Whatever your thoughts on her work, Mistral is a national hero, and Vicuña is her birthplace. The Gabriel Mistral museum is there and the town has prospered as a tourist attraction. David and I decided that we would turn off the road and visit since our drive had taken us so close.
In Vicuña we found what we expected, a quiet little place with gorgeous views of the mountains, a few lovely little shops to catch tourists’ eyes, and a well maintained Plaza de Armas. We parked the car and immediately stumbled upon a Natural Science Museum. It was filled with a small collection of butterflies, beetles, shells, minerals, rocks, and stuffed animals. The displays were old and the floors squeaky; but it was only marginally worse-off than many of the displays at National Parks across the Southwest US. I particularly liked the collection of Morpho butterflies from all over S. America, although it was disheartening to find that not one was a native of Chile. David was fascinated by the iridescent beetles.
After exploring the museum for a bit and walking by a number of street vendors, we decided to get a snack before heading home. We had heard bad things about Chilean ice-cream (our friend James told us it melted into puddles of oil, which did not sound appetizing), but we saw a small place that claimed to be “Artisanal” so we decided to take a chance. We paid 500 pesos or about $1 for a fairly large scope of ice cream that turned out to be some of the best we’ve ever had. I got pistachio while David had papaya. Both were more akin to sorbet or sherbet than ice cream with less dairy and more flavor.
So our Sunday drive was a huge success. We want to head back soon to visit the Mistral museum, browse the shops of local artisans, and try a different flavor of ice cream!
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