Dec 30 -31 Vina Mar
Our host at Chocolate Manor House, Graham, told us of how they had owned the house for many
years and actually lived in it with Mariscol’s aging Aunt and ailing Mother.
The construction is an traditional adobe style that incorporates oak beams and
studs into the adobe (mud and straw) bricks. This design has proven to be
earthquake resistant because in addition to the 2000 volcanoes in Chile, there
is also a regular trend of earthquakes. During the 2010 earthquake that
measured 8.8 Moment Magnitude Scale, MMS replaced the Richter scale, Graham and
the ladies were in the house and said that at the peak of the tremor the house
shifted so much that it felt like he was walking up stairs while standing in
the door way. He lifted his foot until his thigh was parallel to the floor as
an indication of how much it had shifted, amazingly they did not even have any
major damage, a couple of plaster cracks and that was it.
 |
| Hand painted tiles in our bathroom.
In any event the house now looks fantastic and over the
course of the evening and next morning we were entertained with stories of
great triumph the house has endured over the 100yrs it has graced the side of
the Cerro Castillo (Castle Hill) neighborhood. With a name like that you can
expect a few nice properties in the area including the Presidential Palace,
which is still used today for special ceremonies, and Brunet Castle.
|
 |
| Presidential Palace, closed to public. |
 |
| Wulf Castle |
The other big thing on the attraction list is the fireworks
display that happens on New Year’s Eve. Graham explains the lookout points
around the neighborhood that allow for viewing the 25km long show that lasts approx 25minutes. He also
offered an invite to dinner and drinks with a group of friends and other hotel
guests, then at midnight we would all go to one of the lookouts and welcome the
New Year. This sounded like a great way to spend the evening and we happily
accepted, now all we had to do was fill the rest of the day with sightseeing.
Maybe a nap would also help us stay up past 12am.
 |
| Dog of the Day, along the way, in a box, smart like fox. Dr. Seus the only poet I can copy. |
Here is a sample of the fireworks, my video is not nearly as clear.
No comments:
Post a Comment