While we were in Chile, we attempted to find four geocaches and found three. Our favorite cache was in a vineyard in Los Andes. It had not been found in over two years so we were skeptical that it would be there. And we had no idea how much climbing we would have to do because our Chilean geocaching maps did not describe the topography of the area. But we decided to attempt it anyway, and we invited several of our cousins, including small children, to join us to check it out.
The GPS led us to a hill that was off the side of a highway. There weren’t any exits nearby, but one of my cousins knew that we could take a back road from another town. So we headed to the other town, drove through several narrow roads, past rustic-looking houses, and then found ourselves among acres and acres of vineyards. My cousin recognized the vineyard as her friend’s, so she called to get permission for us to be there. Once we got permission, we started climbing. When we got to the top of the hill a man in a Vina de Chile hat came up to us to ask us what we were doing. My cousin’s friend hadn’t had a chance to communicate with her field manager during the time that we had climb, so my cousin made several phone calls and worked it all out.
At the top of the hill we had a 360-degree view of Los Andes, complete with rivers, hills, and more vineyards. There were rocks on the hill and on the rocks there were petroglyphs! And one of my youngest cousins found the geocache in a hole under one of the rocks! The geocache was in a plastic container wrapped in a few plastic shopping bags. Inside the container, there were several small souvenirs from around Chile and there was a key chain from Brazil.
We took several pictures, explored the area, and then started down the hill. The manager and a bunch of workers were driving down in a truck and offered us a ride. They offered Emma and I the front seats and everyone else piled into the back of the truck. Everyone in the back had a bumpy ride down the hill, but we made it down in one piece. My cousin’s friend, la duena of the vineyard, and her two children were there to meet us. She was a lovely woman from Tennessee who was married to a Chilean. She invited us to her home and offered us a bathroom break and drinks.
I took a look at the instructions for the geocache and they specifically said that we should call ahead to schedule an appointment to take a tour of the petroglyphs. Then, while the tour guide is not looking, we should look for the geocache. The instructions were in Spanish and Ben didn’t ask me to translate.
This was my favorite cache because several of my cousins were able to join us, the view was spectacular, we didn’t know what was going to await us, it was a coincidence that my cousin knew how to get to the land and knew the owner of the vineyard, we were approached by a security guard and then offered a ride by said security guard, the geocache was there, there were petroglyphs, and we met the owner who happened to be from the States.
There were so many other little adventures we had in Chile, and so many experiences with family that I hope to get around to writing about. I’m so thankful that Ben, Emma, and I were able to go down there earlier this year, that my family was able to meet Emma that Emma was able to meet them.
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