Elqui Valley and Volcano

Jerry and Anna Lee went their separate ways, she to drink and he to climb. Anna Lee took a bus ride through the desert land and along the river created by a dam.  The destination was Cabal Pisco Cooperative.

These men are raking in grapes for testing prior to “fermentation.”

After a tour to learn about the creation of pisco (much like wine), there was tasting.

We tried both a Chilean Pisco Sour and a stronger form of the drink.  Critique: too sweet, Peruvian Sours better.
   
The tasty, “light” lunch consisted of two nice size epanodas (sp), a skewer of chicken and vegetables and dessert, of course more to drink if needed.

After lunch we wandered through the Plaza Gabrial Mistral dedicated to Peru’s Nobelist in Literature.

No purchases were made at the mandatory stop at a local street market.

Jerry climbed the mountain to see the Cerro Tololo Observatory.  We became aware of the observatory in Chile when Michael, a friend of daughter Cheryl’s, came here to work after a stint as an astronomer in Hawaii.  The observatories are located on top of a mountain at 8500 foot elevation. This mountain was chosen because the shape of the surrounding hills block the clouds giving about 300 days a year of clear viewing.  It helps that, at this elevation, there is only three to six percent humidity.  We learned that time on the telescopes has to be reserved six months in advance and, if it is cloudy night, you have to wait another six months to get your chance.  You have to be patient to be an astronomer. 

We were able to see two telescopes, one 1.5 meters and the other 4 meters.  These telescopes are owned by six American universities and have been responsible for some major discoveries.

This is the 1.5 meter telescope.

 The four meter telescope, with its very high resolution camera, can now see 10 billion light years out into space, almost to the edge of the known universe.  More importantly, it has been used to identify almost 4800 exoplanets, that is, planets outside of our own solar system.  It has also participated in the discovery of dark matter.  The 4 meter telescope can also see 2 degrees of space, which does not sound like much unless you realize that our moon, when full, covers only one half of a degree.

After coming down from the mountain, we enjoyed a great lunch at a local restaurant.  We drove through the Eiqui valley and its beautiful lake,although we did not stop at the wineries that Anna Lee went to, instead back to the ship.