Mendoza Argentina Photos

18,  plus or minus the ones I reject…..about 15 ???

This is Lady Liberty.   She has a very long story, for now in the mid 1800s   SPAIN ruled Chile,  Peru.   and Argentina.   The leaders of Chile, Peru, and Argentina agreed to unite and drive the Spaniards out out of S. America.  After several years of planning and fighting Liberty was gained.   Thus the statue…..Lady Liberty.

After the victory a Monument was required!!!  From 1911-1916 the Friezes….. bronze panels were made.

I was there on a COLD, WET day and the crowds were as you see here before I arrived,  while I was there and as my bus was leaving the steps to the LADY OF LIBERTY were crowded!!!   The decision to build the Monument was…..the right thing to do~!!!

 

END OF THE LINE…..

Every where you walk, bike, tour you will find/see small caves you might could sleep in and larger caves that a close family could live in.   This island has hundreds of caves on shore and at the shore.  Without question many were the homes to the indigenous tribes.

Here are two that were just across the hotel parking lot that are representative of the larger caves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THIS IS MY  “BUFFALO”  MOAI…..just for fun!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AND!!!   This is MOAI KAVAKAVA

He is a Ritual statue for ceremonial use.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Varua Ora Show and Dinner.

The theme of the show is to tell the story of the island in song and dance.

The cast is young and enthusiastic and for 2 hours, SING AND DANCE, audience members participate at times and I promise!!!  everyone has fun.

 

TSUNAMI MOAI

A modern-day tsunami struck Easter Island in May of 1960 and laid waste to the remains of the Tongariki ahi (platform), tossing 15 moai, some weighing up to 30 tons, over 700 yards inland. Japan came to help Easter Island with the salvage of the moia in 1992 and in  1996 the moai were installed into their new location seen in these photos.

A close frontal view level with the new pad they are mounted on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A broad view some 200 yards removed above the pad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Slightly below the pad and on the opposite  end of the moai.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Level with the moai and a view from behind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A view of the moai in queue with the new pad and a view of the magnificent new home for the moai.

 

 

 

 

 

EASTER ISLAND…….WOW!!!!!

The original islanders arrived from Polynesia around  1000 AD . The Polynesians lived in peace until the Peruvian  slave traders arrived in early 1860’s.  The strong men were transported to Peru as slaves .  By 1862 disease and hard labor had killed over 90% of the Polynesians.  French missionaries in late 1860’s converted the remaining population to Christianity.   Today the culture is a mix of Polynesian and Chilean.

The attraction to Easter Island is the MOAI STATUES.  The statues were hand carved for over 800 years,  We do not know the significance of the statues.   Religion is a possibility but there are no clues.  The MOAI statues, carved out of the volcanic tuff (rock) that forms the island have fascinated us for over 100 years.

 

 

will have more tomorrow……and the day after……..

 

 

Vega Wrapup

In the last blog we saw trailer loads of vegetables separated into parcels for a wholesaler or grocery store chain.

 

(1 A)     Large bundles of Vegetables get broken down into parcels for the smaller wholesaler and onsite sales to restaurants and families.

 

 

 

 

(2 A)      The small packages for the various beans and peas have been processed on site,   shelled, washed, weighed, and packaged into various sizes.  The smaller sizes are for families and small  restaurants,  which are in Santiago by the hundreds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(3A)     It was totally amazing for me,  the fruits and vegetables were so brilliant and perfect.  I had never seen the choices at a Kroger, Safeway, HEB or Trader Joe’s!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(4A)     The incredible selection is almost endless.  I did not count but there were dozens of choices and you know they are all fresh and perfect in every way.   The choice is YOURS.

 

 

 

 

(5A)     MY FAVORITE PHOTO!!!   The colors are perfect,  the fruit looks so  “ready to eat”,  so may choices!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everything comes to Vega as it was….IN THE FIELD!!!   It must be washed, trimmed, shelled, pealed,  packaged and displayed for its beauty it’s color…..a ton of scraps trimmed from: cabbage, lettuce, corn, 4 kinds of onions, banana stems, and and and…….it is time to clean the debris, tomorrow is just hours away!

Vega Central Market

La Vega is a fruit and vegetable market dating back to before 1895, it was recognized  by the city as a valuable asset in 1895…fish, pork, and beef have gained access but constitute a small percentage of the 3-4 acres of market area.  La Vega operates 7 days a week from 6AM until 4PM.  ENOUGH of this,  look at the photos,  Santiago, Chile is a city of 8 million hungry people……this is the major market for the city.

Photo #1

(1)     The photos are to help show How this huge, complex grocery store works.  This is only one of dozens of large trucks bring in the food.   At first sight you can not imagine where they will put all this food.

 

Photo #2

(2)     This truck has a mixture of products,   that is NOT uncommon.

 

 

 

 

 

Photo #3

(3)      Here multiple products with some repacking of the individual fruit/vegetable.

 

 

 

 

Photo #4

(4)   Trailer loads coming in from the farm are often pre packaged.  They may pre-sold but for sure they will be offered to the citizens of Santiago who are soon to be swarming the area buying “groceries” for home or a small kitchen/restaurant in town.

 

Photo # 5

(5)     The division into smaller units allows wholesalers to pick up less than trailer loads.  Each of these baskets will be delivered to wholesalers in the market.

 

 

 

Photo #6

(6)     Onions,  Tomatos,  Potatoes are by far the most common purchases.  Everyone takes these 3 items home…..

 

 

 

 

Photo # 7

(7)     Getting the truck loads to the retailer.

 

 

 

 

Photo # 8

(8)     Most is moved by carts or dollies but there are still a lot of young men that deliver boxes.

 

 

 

 

Photo # 9

(9)     You will see individual bags of beans and peas and and…..they are all packaged by hand.  She is selling packaged green beans…..she also shell peas and beans of every kind.  She shells the peas,  weighs them and packages them all by hand……

 

 

First try in 3 years…..

Cerro Santa Lucia (Santa Lucia Hill)

Photo on left is  Cerro Santa Lucia Hill

A lush park that was once the strategic defense fortress for the conquistador Pedro de Valdivia in 1541.

Outcroppings as you walk around the Fortress

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The outcroppings truly just jump out of the ground.  The total fortress area is no more than 10 -12 city blocks and today you have this fortress sitting in the center of a city of 8 million people.

I arrived in Santiago,  Feb.23  and today is my first blog.  Tons of problems!!!!  For now, I have excellent  internet service, a blog 2-3 times a week is my goal.