So, what's next? You must not miss this one out...

        After Pichilemu, the next place we went was even sicker!

      In Spanish, they call the place "Siete Tazas" (traslate: 7 tea cups)? Why? You'll see...jajaja

     The drive from Pichilemu to Siete Tazas was quite rough for the last hour. We were basically on gravel road for 1 hour straight. No AC in the van, the air was filled with dirt & dust and a lot of stinky kayakers (a full car of them)...But it was well worth all these suffering!

     The place we stayed is called "Hosteria la Flor de la Canela." Its facility includes 20 beds and small size camping area. The price is about $20~30 per person per day including 3 meals (price varies depending on the number of people in your group). The food was quite decent and the staff, Miguel (Owner), Monica and Jeronemo, were very friendly. However, they DO NOT speak any English. So make sure someone in your group can pull Spanish off! Their hostel is very close to ALL of the kayaking put-ins: Siete Tazas, Entre Saltos, Veintidós, and Gargantha. 

    They don't have a website but you might be able to reach Miguel by calling: 075-491-613. They don't have internet so no online reservation and no Facebook (Some people: "OMG!! i can't live!". I can care less). There is no cell phone service either. The best way is to just show up and hope there is a room or campsite you can use. Electricity is a hot commodity here. You can only charge any electrical appliances after 7 pm when they turn on the generator. They do have hot showers, which is a plus. In general, it's a great place for outdoor enthusiasts!

Summary:

• Driving: 1 hr from Moina
• Lodging: 20 beds and some camping area
• Owner: Miguel
• Price: $20+ per person for a bed + 3 meals. ~$5 if just camping and cook your own food.
• Hot season: November on to March (Best kayaking time is around mid to late November)
• Phone: 075-491-613
• Cell phone: NO service
• Website: NA
• Electricity: only at night
• Shower: hot shower available
• Food: provide hot delicious Chilean food. 3 meals

     This entry is full of goodies I shot on our way to Siete Tazas and our first day there. Take a quick look and enjoy!

Cheers~

     

Attention: New River Academy is here! (Student: Clay) 

Sanjose de Maipo ->Pichilemu ->Siete Tazas (Molina is about 1 hour away from Siete Tazas)

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National Park ranger station

Mountain goats blocking the road

Saltos Leona (100+ ft) right down stream of Siete Tazas

NRA arriving at the hostel

The hostel we stayed - Hosteria la Flor de la Canela

The interior of the hostel

Wayne buying some snacks from the hostel grocery store

A lookout from the hostel

Family swimming on Rio Claro

Beautiful scenery

A big guy was a bout to jump...he was hesitating because the
water is extremely cold ~40º F

The little kid was crying because he was freezing!

Rio Claro water - crazy crystal clear water...

Dinner at the hostel

Attention! Ferry tale lovers!

      

     On the way to Siete Tazas, we stopped by Astorga family's friend, Alejendro's house...or I should say castle...

     He was quite a character. Aside from raising his three children, he has dedicated his entire life into building, renovating, and maintaining this ferry-tale-like castle. He open his castle to the public, welcoming people to visit. He grow his own grapes to make wine.  Other than these, the rest of his life remains mysterious. 

A dead tree with many sheep and goose heads hanging all over

Grose?

A corner of the castle

Dining room

Dining room

living room

Living room

Living room - painting

Middle: Kara; Top right: Alejandro

Julia - a medieval princess look

Overlook from the third floor all the way through the second and to the first floor

Narrow stairway

Kitchen - dining table

Kitchen - stove

Kitchen - water pump & facet

A cool unicorn decoration

Window decoration

Kara and Chris enjoyed drinking the "purest" water in Chile.

     What Alejandro relies on for living is his water source on his property. He claims that his water in one of the purest in Chile. In fact, there was a Japanese scientist, Masaru Emoto, came to visit Alejandro and tested his water. It was indeed quite clean, but I'm not sure about if it's the "cleanest" in Chile.

     Alejandro took us to see his water well in the forest.

Dark forest...into the water

NRA gathering around the well

      Alejandro was telling us that the well is actually 300 meter below the ground. Emoto tested this water and said to him that the water has memory. However, this claim doesn't only apply to Alejandro's well but to all water, according to Emoto. His water theory has been very controversial since he published his first book in 1999, and many following afterwards.


    Nonetheless, that place was special. The energy flow was calm.

Alejandro telling us the story behind the water well

Tino and Lorenzo interviewing Alejandro

Alejandro

A close shot of the castle

NRA group shot with the owner of the castle

A very authentic castle 

Alejandro owns a few peacocks 

How many creek boats can you fit on top of a van???

      It has been 10 days since we arrived at Sand Jose de Maipo and NRA was about to head further south to a surfing town called Pichilemu to hop on some big ocean waves for practicing play boating. 

From San Jose de Maipo to Pichilemu (Chile)

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       Unfortunately, I had to stay back with my boss, Dave, in Maipo for a few more days, to take care of a few logistics, like waiting for the boat rack to be installed on top of the Astral van. SO, my students were super excited because they didn't get to have my awesome math classes for a few days, but I did assign them quite a bit of work to do, jajaja. They thought they could get away...

Dave getting harassed by a pet Llama, Cusco. It was hilarious!!

      Well, time was never wasted when i was in Maipo. What I learned about Chilean culture on the concept of time was an interesting finding. Originally, Dave was told that the boat rack was going to be done the next day at 6 pm (a day after school left for Pichilemu), but no, it didn't get done. Then, he was told that it was gonna get done the next day at noon, but no, it wasn't done. Again, he was told the rack was going to be done the next day at noon. But no, it didn't get done until 7 pm (3 days later). A rack that was supposed be done a week ago ended up delaying for a week and a half. 

      So, when you travel to Chile, my general advise is to give yourself some buffer time on your schedule. Time is for reference only. It's all about Einstein's relativity theory, right? Anyway, if you want a task done on a certain date, make sure you tell the Chileans at least a few weeks earlier.

Lorenzo's dad, Sergio, helped us tie up creek boats on the newly installed boat rack.

      Guess how many creek boats we managed to put on the van??


      6? 8? 10? no...






      We tied 12 freaking creek boats on that shit. 12!!! To give you some idea, a creek boat is about 7 - 8 ft in length, 2-ft across and weighs about 40 - 50 lbs each. YES, we loaded about 600 lbs of dead weight on the van roof. I felt the rack was about to crash.


     It was incredible to see how it was done. If it weren't Sergio, even Dave couldn't have pulled it off. That man is certainly a master in mechanical advantage and spatial arrangement. And by the way, it took us about an hour and a half just to tie up all the boats, which was insane.

   

     This boat rack was poorly designed and it wasn't very practical or sturdy. If the rack could last for 2 years, it would be amazing (that was a BIG if...).

With the new colorful decoration on the roof, we attracted a lot of attention as we were driving
to Siete Tazas

Look at this crazy tying job...

Leaving Cascada de las Animas (Waterfall in the background)

~ Cheers ~