Monico Family Travels

Monthly Archives: December 2018

• !Christmas Extraveganza!

  Posted at 9:23 pm by Millie, on December 26, 2018

  

  

  We spent Christmas in a town in Chile called Valparaiso.  There were lots of hills (thats what the town was known for) and there were these funny little lifts all around the town that help you get up the steep hills.  Valparaiso is famous for these lifts and protected because of them.

  

  

  At night it was amazing because the whole hill would be lit up by sparkly lights of all shapes and sizes.

  

  

  In the mornings it was always foggy and you couldn’t see much out of the window, but when you got outside and it started getting a little later it was actually very colourful and I liked the flags in the streets.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  This street art is not as good as the art in Buenas Aires but it was still cool to see all sorts of artists and the artworks they had done.  My favourite was the ostrich because its quite funny and its colourful.

  

  

  We did our own self-guided walking tour with a digital map and Bella and I navigated.  We kept getting distracted though by cute animals. I found a really lovely orange tabby kitten who was sitting in a mans lap outside a fruit stall.  I was allowed to pick her up and stroke her.  She bit a little because she was teething, but it was a kind of tickly not hurty.

  

  We tried to go to church and listen to some carols on the 24th but we didn’t end up doing it because it wasn’t really like English carols.  It was more of just listening to some very loud noise that they were making and blasting through the speakers for half an hour.  There was a beautiful crib so we ended up saying a prayer in front of it and then bailing.

  On Christmas day everybody work up and rushed into our room (Dinnie and Grandpa were with us as well as Mummy and Daddy) because I guess we HAD all been nice after all.  We jumped into bed and started taking it in turns to open our stockings, starting with the youngest (me!!!!), and then going to the oldest (Grandpa!!!).

  For lunch we went to a lovely restaurant with an amazing view over the harbour.

  

  

  Before lunch we ate we opened 2 presents each and played Exploding Kittens.  I got this game from my best friend Catrin.  You needed to have a good strategy and it was very fun and funny.

  

  Grandpa got these face jigsaw pieces in his stocking that you could hang from your nose and have crazy faces.  You had to get the right size and skin colour for it to be really funny.

  

  

  

  

  We went for a quick walk to the docks in the afternoon and filmed the twelfth day of Christmas for our 2018 jingle, and then vegged out for the rest of the evening watching the Queens speech and a movie.  Dinnie had brought mince pies (which were really good) and were a great addition to make it feel more Christmasy.

   

   

  Posted in Colombia, Countries | 10 Comments

• Santiago and a winey break!

  Posted at 5:12 pm by Charlotte, on December 23, 2018

  Santiago brought many blessings and a handful of curses.  As is often the case when we arrive in a big city we had a list of shopping (exacerbated this time by proximity to Christmas!) and admin tasks to complete which can interfere with making the most of the museums and sites.

  Day one though we hiked up to Cerro San Cristobal to get our bearings and enjoy an incredible panorama across the city.  As the sun set, we joined Dinnie and Grandpa in the famous funicular for a slightly faster descent!

  

  

  

  The vast Costanera shopping centre brought various pains the next day, the least of which being blasted by blatant consumerism (from which we have mostly been shielded during our trip), and the worst of it being some toerag stealing my backpack (containing credit cards/laptop etc) as I was helping the girls pick meals from a Spanish menu (in a Chinese restaurant!) over lunch.  Being ripped off in various taxis became par for the course.

  A more serene experience was Sunday Mass in the Cathedral.  We were warmly included in the service, and during moments when comprehension of the Spanish liturgy eluded us, we enjoyed soaking up the intricate detail of the decor, and a wonderful life-size crib.

  

  

  Bravely (on my part!) James and I went for our first ever haircut-a-deux!  When ‘The Grinch’ indicated that he would be be chopping my locks I wept a tear for you Hide, and surrendered to ‘that hand’!

  

  

  A Santiago highlight was a town tour with Seb (a great schoolfriend of Robin’s) and his daughter Sofia, followed by dinner at the eclectic Peluqueria Francesa: a converted hair salon packed with curiosities.

  

  

  

  On leaving the city we landed in an oasis of calm in the form of the Santa Rita vineyard.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  The house overlooked the most spectacular gardens peppered with walkways, statues, secret roman baths, gargantuan trees, and lush green grass all watered by a network of rivulets (which tickled Father’s farming fancy).

  And the flowers speak for themselves – I have never seen such prolific bougainvillea.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  We spent many happy hours relaxing on the terrace, enjoying the vineyards best vintages, playing cards, reading books and watching sunsets.

  

  There were so many hidden gems to be found………

  

  

  

  

  

  

  ……that we we created a bespoke treasure hunt for the girls which consumed a very happy afternoon.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  It was thirsty work!

  We were generally reluctant to leave the sanctuary of Santa Rita, but ventured out once for an entertaining excursion to the local Empenadaeria.  We parked (with the best of them!) on the roundabout (genius!)……..

  

  ……before tucking into some tasty local fare:

  

  

  

  

  As a finale we took at horse-and carriage tour of the vineyard.

  

  We learned about old and new techniques for perfecting the vines:

  

  

  

  

  

  

  And celebrated Santa Rita’s rediscovery of Carmenere: a grape which originated from the vineyards of Bordeaux, but which had fallen victim to the phylloxera louse in the 1860s.  Prior to this, some enterprising Chilean vignerons had taken cuttings of what they thought was Merlot back to Chile, in a move that unconsciously saved the Carmenere grape from extinction, as it was later discovered!

  

  A plaque to celebrate the rediscovery of Carmenere (we quite enjoyed our first time discovery of it too!)

  Plenty of old disused machinery abounded to tick the Farmer Goz intrigue box.

  

  

  

  

  And some vast newer machines and barrels to titillate the engineers of the family.

  

  

  All was nicely rounded off by wine and cheese tasting.  The girls tasted with us, and took great delight in identifying aroma of ‘old saddle’ and ‘mouldy dog breath’ (and that wasn’t just the cheese!).

  

  

  Such happy memories from our time with the Gosling Grandparents – WE MISS YOU!

  Posted in Chile, Countries | 5 Comments

• Chilly Chile

  Posted at 4:51 pm by Bella, on December 21, 2018

  We went to Patagonia with Dinnie and Grandpa.

  

  Here is the view from our cabin

  

  This is the view facing the other direction

  This was our first boat tour going to see the Serrano glacier.

  

  

  

  We made some stops along the way to see some sea lions squidged on a small rock trying to share heat, and some chilly looking penguins clinging to a rock.

  

  

  I was surprised by how blue the glacier was when we finally saw it.

  

  

  

  

  

  We stopped to have a traditional Chilean meal, but Emily and I were a lot more interested in the cute puppy and the slightly grumpy horse we found in a corral out the back.

  

  

  

  On our second day we walked to a hotel for lunch which which was a converted meat packing and refrigeration factory.  It had an art gallery at the top in a huge open loft, with some scary floorboard that you could see through, and bounced when you walked on them.

  

  

  

  Downstairs there was lots of old machinery that made Grandpa Gosling get quite excited.

  

  

  

  

  

  That evening Mummy and Daddy forced us to go to a gin making distillery in the local town.  Mummy ran there and the rest of us took a taxi.

  

  

  

  We had a tour and the guy made us put our heads in the making-pot which smelt REALLY bad.

  

  

  Here is the whole family when we went to see the Grey Glacier.

  

  We had to cross a bridge which wobbled crazily as we walked.  The worrying thing was that if it broke or we fell in, the water was below freezing temperature so we could die.  When we were approaching the glacier the wind became very strong and you had to hold onto your hat unless you wanted to lose it in the lake.

  

  

  

  The glacier was huge and very craggy.  We managed to get close to it in the boat, even though there were lots of icebergs floating in the water.

  

  

  Afterwards we had a drink that was cooled by glacier ice!

  

  On the long boat journey we did our puzzle books with Grandpa.

  

  We went on a 4*4 car tour to the Torres del Paine national park and we stopped at some beautiful places.  The first one was what they called the ‘Two Horns’.  After that we went to see a waterfall that was amazingly powerful.  We stopped to see some really really cute guanacos (fluffier llamas) which were very friendly so we took a selfie.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  On the last day before we got on the airplane we decided to go horseriding so as not to waste the day waiting inside.  We got GRANDPA ON A HORSE!!!!!  He looked really good.

  

  

  

  

  

  I rode a horse which was the biggest and the most grumpy so he didn’t want to go near any of the other horses.

  

  On the way to the airport we saw a beautiful rainbow coming over the mountains so we stopped to take a picture!

  

  It was sad to leave Patagonia but at the same time we were excited because it was Christmas next, and Dinnie and Grandpa would be with us to celebrate.

  Posted in Chile, Countries | 5 Comments

• A proper scorcher!

  Posted at 12:13 pm by Charlotte, on December 8, 2018

  We have just about recovered from 5 days camping in the driest desert in the world, although our bogies have remained on the crunchy side!  Our route through the Atacama Desert in the North of Chile was not for the faint hearted, but overall it was an incredible life experience and Monicofamilytravels rose beautifully to all the challenges that came our way, and everyone pitched in with all the daily chores of camping life.

  

  

  Our trusty steed was Diversity from WickedCampers.  She colourfully represented our values and our sense of fun, and kept us safe for the duration of our mini-adventure. Sleeping in the rooftop tent was more than a bit like sardines, but technically we all fitted in.  As the nights progressed we figured out that ‘prawns & shrimps’ worked best (ie head to tail) and it made a lot of difference how flat we were parked or we ended up in a grumpy heap in the corner!

  

  

  

  Avoiding all the main tourist spots we took advantage of our freedom with Diversity to visit less well known natural landmarks, and camp away from civilisation.  Sometimes this served us better than others, but it was beautiful regardless:

  

  Camping spot night 1: Near the Lagunas Baltinoche.  Loved the crazy remoteness and ‘other worldliness’

  

  Camping spot night 2: Knockout views, but at 3800M we battled frost on the inside of the tent all night and 2 bouts of altitude sickness –  bailed at 5am to head down the mountain!

  

  Camping spot 3: an easy warm night at 1500M, with some trees to provide shelter from the wind, and hundreds of dancing dragonflies

  

  Camping spot 4: hit all our criteria.  Bella: remoteness (no roads/cars to be seen), Emily: low enough altitude not to be sick (!), Dad: 360 stargazing, me: a stonking sunset.  WINNER ON ALL FRONTS!

  By day it was scorching, and by night the temperatures dropped to somewhere between 0 and -15 depending on our altitude.  We figured out over time not to sleep above 3200M as that resulted in frost on the INSIDE of the tent, multiple bouts of altitude sickness and a 5am pack up and descend that was preferably not to be repeated. Other natural hazards included the wind (lots) dust devils (mini dust hurricanes – lots), and the sun (lots).  Em rocked her own indubitable style to deal with whatever came her way:

  

  

  

  The landscapes and colours were so spectacular it was hard to put the cameras away:

  

  We visited some remote salt lagoons in the south of the salt flats that regular tourists rarely reach:

  

  

  

  

  

  One day we bathed in a ‘hot’ stream – which was bliss until we had to dry off in gale force freezing winds.

  

  

  Our highest point was this spectacular 4K M lake covered with flamingos which we reached via a 50KM off road track.  The wind was howling up there, but its desolation only added to its beauty, and we managed to battle the gusts long enough to appreciate it for an hour or so before retreating to the safety of a descent in Diversity.

  

  

  

  

  On the way up we saw some fabulous llamas which were gracious enough to stop and pose for us.

  

  

  And some goats which were less amenable:

  

  After one lovely picnic lunch spot by a picture postcard stream (and a game of ‘float and catch the flip flop’) we stumbled across the valley of the giant catcuses – there were some woppers to awe at:

  

  For food we ended up cooking over our camp fire at night, before the obligatory chocolate bananas.  Between us we managed some quite ambitious meals including chickpea and chorizo stew, and pork steaks with special fried rice.  The fruit and veg we picked up was so spectacular, nothing more needed for lunch than a wrap with avocado and veggies stuffed inside.  On the occasions when it all got to much (generally on the wind/dust front) I resorted to kiwi/yoghurt/granola……….topped with chopped marshmallows……….in the car.

  

  

  

  

  I couldn’t blog about the desert without mentioning the sunsets.  Whichever way we faced they were spectacular. I have about 1000 photos, but hear are 6 of the best:

  

  

  

  

  

  And to the stars!  2 of the 4 nights we had a complete 360 view.  Orion was always our first find, then Mars, but we had also learned a fair bit at a stargazing / telescope tour  before setting out, so from identifying Orion’s shield, to finding Taurus, Pegasus and the great dog Cerberus (with bright Sirius in his collar) we had more to spot, and fun to be had with the stargazing apps on our devices.  Probably our most exciting view was the Megellanic Clouds: 2 dwarf sister galaxies which orbit the Milky Way.

  

  There wasn’t much in the way of wildlife – it was too dry.  One of our camping spots in the Tambilla woods was festooned with dragon flies dancing around us.  We saw the occasional tiny lizard, and plenty of llamas and donkeys and goats as we hit the higher altitudes, but that was literally it other than the flamingos.  Despite all the hardships of the desert we got a full respite from mosquitos!

  

  We took a fabulous hike on our last morning through canyons and dry river beds:

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Our final hurrah was to get our WickedCamping ‘shot’…….its de rigueur to pose naked with your Wicked Vehicle apparently.  Slightly hot business!

  

  On our return it was hard to say goodbye to darling Diversity, but oooooooo that shower was good.  Rivers of mud ran off us, but it was nice to be able to brush my hair again without a sledgehammer!

   

  Posted in Chile, Countries | 4 Comments

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