Monday, October 10
Yesterday evening, Mallory started to feel bad and then she developed a cough, which lasted all night, so by the time morning came she was in no shape to drive out to the coast. Since our cell phones are non-functional here in Chile, I had to go find a public phone where there was not too much background noise so that I could call Hno. Body to reschedule our trip. He was going to pick us up at 9:30am so I made sure I called by no later than 8:30. Fortunately, he had not left yet and was very understanding; we'll try again on Wednesday. Today is a holiday in Chile, it's the day they celebrate the arrival of Cristobal Colon to America (that's Christopher Columbus in English). Columbus is revered here in South America as a great explorer/discoverer and the one who brought the Spanish/European culture to the continent. Since it was a holiday, EVERYTHING was closed and no one was on the streets, kind of strange for a Monday. In the states, we're used to retail establishments being open to take advantage of those who want to shop on their day off, but here the only places open are fast-food restaurants (yes, they are here, McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut) and an occasional ice cream shop. Since Mallory was going to be spending the day in bed, Margaret and I (mostly me) decided to go for a good long walk and visit my old mission home which wasn't too far from our apartment, what's a couple of miles? With our walking shoes on, we set out to find #360 Alcantara, in the most affluent part of Santiago, Las Condes, where the avenues are wide, tree and grass-lined, and where the most expensive homes, businesses and foreign-country consulates are located. One block away from our destination, we bumped into an ex-Chilean missionary and his wife, Jonathan and Debbie Jarvis from Jacksonville, Florida. Come to find out that Bro. Jarvis served in Chile the same time I did, we just never crossed paths because we served in different cities/zones and Chile may not be very wide (200 mi. Across at it's thickest area) but it is a very long country (if you laid Chile across the map of the US, it would stretch from San Francisco to the State of Maine). The Mission Home is a grand looking edifice, a tudor style home that is kept in immaculate condition. The grounds that surround the property are well manicured with grass and rose bushes adorning the front yard. The building is still owned by the Church and it continues to serve as the mission home for the Santiago West Mission. After a pleasant exchange of conversation and photos in front of the Mission Home with the Bro. And Sis. Jarvis, we trekked back to our apartment to check on Mallory. One of the goals I had for my trip to Chile was to eat an "empanada" every day I was in the country but up until today, I had not fulfilled that goal. An empanada is either a meat or cheese filled turnover. The meat empanada is called "de Pino" and baked, the cheese empanada is fried. Either one is yummy! On the way home, we stopped by a panaderia and picked up some empanadas and some pasteles (pastries). The minute we got home, I warmed my empanada in the microwave and chowed down. Ahh, that tastes was the taste of Chile to me. After enjoying that mid-day snack and taking break to regain our energy, we off walking again, this time south down Pedro de Valdivia to the corner of Pocuro to visit the Santiago Temple. The temple sits on a lot with a chapel, a building that houses temple apartments and the Chilean MTC and a large three story building which serves as Church Headquarters in Chile. Everywhere there is free space there is beautiful landscaping. We were not able to attend a session in the temple today because all temples are closed on Mondays. After we got back to the apartment, we decided to eat out at Pizza Hut that evening because all regular restaurants were closed because of the holiday.
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