Writings on the wall of the absolute center of the Chilean wine production. Fair trade?

(English: Alcohol, a tool of control, wake up and fight)

This is find so true and so descriptive of both Chile and Finland. Hard working, ambitious countries. Finland got its upswing as a developcountry some 30 years back. Chile is better off everyday. (ok you can discuss the distribution of the Chilean wealth, but the direction is clearly upwards).

There used to be a Sushi bar here. Only toilets standing. Earthquake 2010 erased the Sushi bar, and the church on the other side of the street.

Chilean old train. Yes, they used to have train connection - to the beach! That was before someone  decided to skip trains and invest in motorways. Nice to travel 40000 kms north to south on a double laned, mostly empty, motorway. Mostly boring, though. I myself would have preferred a highspeed train. Especially to the beach...Especially as I lived almost 4 years in this country, without a car. Bummer.

Old house, damaged in earthquake a year ago. There is a big debate going on about reconstruction and the amount of immediate rescue efforts right after the quake. I think the posting next to the door refers to that. Kind of absurd. They just found a truck load of food dumped in the river banks. The food had been sent to the victims of the quake last year. It seem like the truck driver thought the food would serve better as soil next to the river. Maybe he was in a hurry and needed to return home. Football calling? Just wonder what he was thinking while dumping the food...

The Santa Cruz museum. More than a museum. Impressive stuff inside. But so is it run by one of the most wanted Chilean business men. He must have a lot of money to have such a collection to donate to a museum. I mean, A LOT. And maybe some influence as well. Just a tiny bit. What was his business now again; ah dealing with weapons. That's it. A little gun shop, that's his original business. Now his into museums and wines as well. Diversification, that's what its called.

The Ocean were the tsunami of 2010 swept in. A boat that made it true the battle. And a construction site. There is hope... The Japanese tsunami waves actually hit these grounds one year later. I am not clear about the damages. We had already left at that point.

So I thought we were safe. There are evacuation signs everywhere on the beach in Chile. Trying to reassure the inhabitants and visitors that everything is ok. But everything is NOT ok. With the speed and force that the Japanese tsunami swept in on land in Japan there was no way for the people to escape, even if they got the warning and were awake when the quake hit. The Pacific Ocean is not to be trusted. Neither are such signs as these. But the shoreline of this ocean is just so beautiful....and what is the likelihood of a gigant wave striking right when I am visiting the place.... We will still return...

Wines, wines and some more wines. Almost going to the local Alko store in Finland. Almost. But in alko they do not open the bottle for you to have a taste... a pitty, what a feast it could be.

The lake that I did not know that existed or better said; that the owners of the property around it did not want me to know it existed. Beautiful place but very remote, private, and quite "cuica" to say the least! (Cuica=chilean word for upper class style)

Still standing. Please someone, UNESCO, or even the gun shop man; put some dough into this place. Such a beautiful old colonial village and it is in ruins. There will not be much left if another big quake hits the place....