traversing through chile: Driving, Swimming, and Eating

Chileans really love driving and Jorge is no exception. This has greatly been to my benefit considering that I have seen some truly beautiful things since I have been living with la familia Flores. This weekend I went to some thermal hot springs, on a tomato hunt, and to little Italy.
Friday was a national holiday (Glorias Navales) because according to my host father, Arturo Pratt (who liberated Chile and won the northern town of Iquique) fell off a boat. I am not convinced that is the whole story, but it was confirmed by my students as well, so who knows. It does seem like the Chileans love to celebrate anything, I am submitting a day for me. Anyway, because of this we decided to take advantage of the day off and relax in some thermal hot springs. I was fully expecting to drive to some remote little area, hike a bit and indulge in mother nature's treat, but instead found myself at one of Chile's finest resorts. It was glorious, we relaxed, lunched, and relaxed some more. I even made a friend who invited me to her home next weekend, which proves that Chileans are among the most hospitable in the world. The drive was beautiful, the time delightful, and the water was a dream. I did get stared at quite a bit due to my pale nature, and little kids were really into trying to touch my skin, it was hilarious.
Chile is full of little surprises: hot springs, earthquakes, Puerto Varas, pigs that live on the street and little immigrant communities. Today I visited a little Italian community, Capitan Pastene, about an hour from Angol and that boasts the best Italian in Chile. Once inside the restaurant you would have no idea you were in a country that worships hot dogs. It is seriously delicious. I didn't really believe my family when they were talking about it, I was like, "Yeah, yeah, you think my cooking is delicious, I'm not really going in with high hopes." I was pleasantly surprised. The ambience of the restaurant was absolutely delightful and the noodles and sauces are made right in front of you. We happened to run into a priest that they know so we broke bread (literally) with a priest while talking about the Vatican, it was so Italian. It was absolutely delicious and the women were very anxious to serve me (just like Italian mothers in films, it was so cliche).