Christmas is the gentlest, loveliest festival of the revolving year – and yet, for all that, when it speaks, its voice has strong authority.  -W.J. Cameron

Christmas is a time when you get homesick – even when you’re home.  -Carol Nelson

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”^[d]—which means, “God with us.” – Matthew 1: 22-23

So much has happened since my last post, including 2 trips into the Sierra (the highlands in the mountains) of Peru, but as the strange title suggests, this time round I am going to focus on the holidays of the season.  Thanksgiving and Christmas for us Americans are huge days for the family…so much that before this year I had never spent either without my brothers and my parents.  Yet this year I will be in a completely different continent for both, in the corner of Peru where I have been residing for the past 5 and a half months.  And it’s different.  Challenging.   Paradigm shifting.

Thanksgiving has been one of my favorite holidays for a while now, and I spent it here celebrating with other volunteers and the family of one of the workers, who generously opened up her home to us.  Though I did feel the absence of what I would normally enjoy back in the states with the turkey, family, and football, it wasn’t as big of a loss as one might think.  Two factors to discuss is that Christmas is the big kahoony, and Thanksgiving is the warmup act.   Subconsciously one knows that Turkey Day segues into Christmas time.  However, a bigger reason I am feeling the daze in the holidaze of Christmas here now has to do with all the culture hullaboo Americana ties to December.  When I think of Christmas, I think of the snow in New England, the lights and decorated stores of NYC, the tree and the gifts that populate its base, etc.; that is, I think of my version of the 25th of December.  Yet I find myself in a bit of a culture shock here because Christmas, unlike Thanksgiving, transcends cultures: Christmas exists in the U.S., Italy, Peru and beyond, and there are also other ways to celebrate it.  However, the denominator is the same: the arrival of Christ Jesus to our world.  And this is the beauty of my minor conundrum.  My mind struggles to fit the Christmas experience here, in the balmy heat and surrounded by sand, apparent light years away from evening snowfall, into my rigidly constructed box of the season, but my heart is shifting its focus back to the true meaning of Christmas.  The Creator of the Universe came to our lives in the humble form of a baby; that is why we sing Silent Night, that is why we exchange gifts, and that is why we celebrate with our families.   And that, my friends, does not depend on a thermometer.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s still weird and difficult.  The Christmas that I know (knew?) seems like a distant memory, absorbing dreamlike aspects, and I miss family and friends.  Yet it is an incredible gift that I am receiving to spend Christmas here.  For instance, I’ve spent about the last 5 weeks rehearsing with some of the kids, and we performed at two different events this past Friday.  For them to have a chance to work hard, sing together as a group, produce a finished product, and perform for people outside of the orphanage is a blessing that I am honored to have been a part of.

Christmas time is a season to spend with family, but most of these kids will be spending it here.  I’ve been blessed a trillion fold to spend 21 Christmases with my family…one with those that aren’t going to spend it with theirs is a gift I can both give and receive. We got a couple of surprises, one for Christmas Eve and another for Christmas day, in the works for them too!

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and may God bless you!  Keep us in your prayers!

Enjoy a variety of photos from my recent adventures!

This is my first Christmas away from home. Actually, that’s a lie. Craig and I once spent Christmas in Rome but I tend to not think of that as Christmas, just a holiday. The days either side of Christmas Day were brilliant, but I learnt that I’m really not built for spending Christmas away from my family. Yeah, we saw the Pope but I’d rather have spent the time with my grandparents, as well as with Craig, obviously.

This year, it’s unavoidable. I’m going to be in Ecuador for Christmas. At least in Rome it was cold; there was sleet and mulled wine and carol singers. Christmas in a hot climate is unthinkable to me. I don’t know how to handle it. Australians having BBQs on the beach for their Christmas dinner has always shocked me to the core. How do they cope without the robin sat on a snow-dusted spade in a red-berry covered garden – archetypal Christmas card image type of thing?

Even as I sit in a beach hut in northern Peru, overlooking the Pacific, I can’t stop thinking about all the things I’m missing: London’s Christmas lights; Christmas jingles; moans about the Christmas number one (X-Factor, by any chance?); betting on whether or not it’ll be a White Christmas (surely the ultimate Christmas, which I’ve never experienced to its full potential); cocktails with my friends; wrapping up warm to go Christmas shopping and the manic look in people’s eyes when they leave it all until Christmas Eve; taking on an uncharacteristic religious slant and attending a Christmas carol concert, just so I can sing my heart out; that super-intense Friday feeling the last day before Christmas in the office (possibly the only time I’ll ever miss work); and arriving home laden with presents to find the tree in all its splendour and the house smelling like Christmas: vanilla, pine, wood smoke and dog.

Finally, the big day. I still can’t quite believe I’m going to miss it: roast turkey, ham, roast potatoes, honey-roast parsnips, prawns and smoked salmon (and the ensuing food fights); my aunt Jane’s bread sauce; arguments over the gravy; dozing in front of the television, or, if you’re my uncle Nigel, snoring loudly in front of the box; the huge tin of Quality Street; the paper jungle that spreads across the living room as cousins, aunts, uncles, parents and siblings all tear open their presents in a flurry of activity usually unheard of at that time in the morning; mulled wine in The Cricketers; walking the dogs after lunch; Baileys; leftovers sandwiches; pass-the-parcel, which my family still insists on even though the youngest of my generation is nearer 20 than 10 years old, and no-one has had a baby yet; wobbling home from The Hunters Inn in the crisp darkness; pigs in blankets; orange juice and champagne for breakfast – clearly, Christmas in my family revolves around food! And family.

Without a doubt, this is going to be the hardest time of my travels. If I could go home for the festive week I would. The good thing is we’re going to be with Craig’s aunt and uncle, who have rented a beachside apartment in Ecuador for a few weeks. We’ll be with family, which is what Christmas is about, after all. That, and food. For me, religion got lost in realism a long time ago!

And maybe, if he can find me down here, Father Christmas will bring me a snow machine for Christmas.

My story on slum tourism or “poorism” has been chosen by Ode Magazine as one of its top 10 positive stories of 2009.  It ran in the April travel issue.  This is my first magazine article and it came as a result of stories I introduced on my blog. 

http://www.odemagazine.com/doc/62/slum-tours/

http://www.odemagazine.com/exchange/13599/ode_s_top_10_positive_stories_from_2009

For more information about Vicky Collins visit http://www.teletrendstv.com

Anyone with a penis will know what I’m talking about. Boys absolutely love challenging each other with feats of courage, endurance or stupidity especially when there’s money involved. NO? maybe it’s just me.

Dennis and I are constantly at it. He’ll dare me to drink unsanitised water for 50 bucks and I up the ante by doubling it if he eats bread tainted with dog shit. Usually these dares amount to nothing but if one of us steps up, loads of laughs are guaranteed and is well worth the money involved.

A couple of years ago I nearly paid the ultimate price. Dennis and I were holidaying in New Caledonia and he challenged me to an underwater swim. It was a small pool and I was so confident in my abilities I even gave him a one lap handicap. To cut a long story short he did 5 laps. My foot slipped on the all important push off so I was disadvantaged from the beginning. I hate being beaten, especially by Dennis so I persevered. I did my 6 and half laps and emerged from the water triumphant but blue from asphyxiation. I lost feeling in my right leg and I nearly collapsed. I received $7 for this potential exposure to brain damage – but I won, so it was well worth it!

The Little Castle Hostel sits on a hill with 3 flights of stairs leading up to its back entrance. I jog up and down these stairs every morning and know each lap is a bitch.

THE CHALLENGE: if Dennis does 10 laps in under 7 minutes he will be rewarded with 10,000 pesos ($22). Easy money he thought, but he overestimated his fitness. He started off well but gave up after less than 2 laps – pussy!

We all figured 10 laps is too much but 7 is probably doable. This time Sam is up for the challenge. Sam’s strategy took inspiration from the fabled tortoise – slow and steady. The 1st lap took him 1:20, he’ll have to average this lap time throughout to have any chance.

It was around the 3rd lap when Sam started to fade. He breath was heavy, his legs started to wobble and he was no longer responding to our taunts. 2 laps to go and Sam still has 3 minutes… Damn, it was gonna be tight. Knowing the finish line was in sight, Sam quickened his pace. I was preparing myself to dish out 10G and secretly hoped he’ll collaps or something.

Alas, Sam did triumph over the Castle’s steps and won himself a free night’s accommodation (his time – 9:45). Well done Sammy, it was well worth the effort.

A very interesting reflection on what happened in Copenhagen. Check it out! You will laugh and cry…

Dr. Seuss\’s Copenhagen by Marcus Brigstocke

“I love Manchester, the music history there is just insane. Probably outside London it’s where we’ve placed most in England,” says Tim. Not that there’s many places which Ash as a band haven’t played. Since forming 16 years ago (when most of us were still in primary school), the power-pop threesome – then foursome, then back to threesome again – have played in cities all around the world, so much so that Tim struggles to think of a continent which the band haven’t visited.

“We’ve never been to South America,” he says eventually. “I love to play there.” It seems that despite a lifetime spent performing (Tim has played in a band for the past 20 years and Ash have five Top 10 albums, 16 Top 40 singles and countless storming gigs under their collective belt), Tim still has a craving for further recognition. Having recently moved to New York, along with bass player Mark Hamilton, it seems logical that making it in America might be part of the band’s ambition.

“It’s always been a dream to really crack it in the States,” Tim confirms, although he admits that for the moment, US audiences remain cautious. “It’s like a cult following at the moment, but we’d like to break through to wider audiences. We’ll see how it goes.”

One way to do so could be to impress American fans with some rock ‘n’ roll hedonism, and having become famous before he’d even got his A-level results (famous enough to open said results live on Radio 1’s Steve Lamaque show, in any case), I wouldn’t have put it past a young Tim to have run a bit wild somewhere along the way. Especially given that he’s in a band called ‘Ash’ with a chart-topping single called ‘Burn Baby Burn’. “I guess there is a minor pyromaniac streak in me,” Tim laughs. “I’ve never torched a building, but I set a piano on fire once and I’ve got a guitar I used to set on fire too.” Any other rock ‘n’ roll moments? “I tried to throw a TV out of the window in Iceland but it didn’t fit. That felt pretty lame!”

Antics with fellow Northern Irish bands aren’t unheard of either. Though “really proud” that Snow Patrol have been so successful thus far, Ash couldn’t help but play a prank on their melodic support act on the ‘Free All Angels’ tour. “On the last night of the tour we were playing some student university gig and we went in their dressing room and wrote on the walls, ‘All students are wankers, love from Snow Patrol’. Such affectionate abuse may have been prompted by the fact that Tim never quite made it to university; he applied to study Business Studies and French but ‘Girl From Mars’ came out and musical success and celebrity took over before he got the chance to go. “I had this deferred entry thing to keep my parents quiet, but I finished my exams [A-levels] and then three days later played Glastonbury!” he grins. “A year later we had a number one album and I started getting these letters from Glasgow University saying ‘We are looking forward to seeing you in September,’ and I just said, ‘I can’t go, I’m a pop star now!’” I can’t help wondering if Tim really does think that students are wankers then. “No,” he reassures me. “We were actually trying to say something inflammatory from Snow Patrol to get them in trouble with the students!”

It seems that lately however, the band might be adopting more of a mature outlook, which is perhaps reflected in Ash’s recent decision to stop producing albums. Part of the reason for this is their satisfaction with their latest and presumably last album, Twilight of the Innocents, which they’ve described as their most artistically accomplished and adventurous to date. “The last song, for example [title track ‘Twilight of the Innocents’]; when I look at that, I think: ‘Oh my God, think how far we’ve come since our first single. It’s an epic track with an amazing orchestra and I just think it’s a f**king awesome piece of music, I’m so proud of it.” Another reason for Ash’s album-less future appears to stem from Tim’s disillusionment with the music industry, or more accurately, with the way that people now consume music. “Albums don’t seem to have as much meaning as they used to. I don’t think they’re anticipated in the same way.”

Ash, however, are as hotly anticipated as they ever have been, which can only be a good thing for Tim, as he shows no signs of giving up his musical career any time soon. “It’s very addictive, you know? I just love doing it so much and I feel like I’m learning all the time.”

[First published in Student Direct in November 2008]

I’m currently reading /the Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman/ – collected letters from Hunter S. Thompson, volume I – 1955 to 1967.

Here’s Hunter in 1962 (January 21st): “For that, I propose to move on, to the biggest outest place I can find on the map – South America. Yeah. I sense a massive grapple there, a tree unfelled, a fucking giant as it were… I see the last frontier down there – the last decent frontier anyways”.

2/2/62: “This is my primary reason for my shot to S.A. I understand that land is selling down there for $4 an acre in the Mato Grosso and I intend to have some of it. After that I will do whatever I have to do to hold on to it. Naturally I will take my weapons.”

“I am becoming more and more certain that this South American venture is my last chance to do something big and bad, come to grips with the basic wildness. Everything here is larded over with lunary; I can no longer even read the Times without trembling.”

“I want to walk on a morning road in Brazil and stop at a good place for a cold beer. I don’t even want to understand what they say. Just grin at them and drink, then walk on.”

And here, as promised, are the answers-

• Please name the all-time leaders in league appearances for the following leagues and the number of appearances the player made:
  • Bulgaria- Marin Balakov (545)
  • Cyprus- Ioannis Yiangoudakis (450)
  • Estonia- Maksim Gruznov (407) or Andrei Krolov (229)
  • East Germany- Eberhard Vogel (440)
  • Finland- Rami Nieminen (459)

• What record to all of these players share? All-time leading scorers for their respective leagues.
  • Hennig Enoksen- Denmark
  • Petar Zhekov (or “Jekov”)- Bulgaria
  • Sergei Bragin- Estonia
  • Mihails Miholaps- Latvia
  • Jacques Fatton- Switzerland

• What country has at least two teams with each of the following nicknames (some are similar, not exact) and what are the teams? Argentina
  • The Lepers- Independiente Rivadavia and Newell’s Old Boys
  • The Milkmen- Tristan Suarez and Leandro N. Alem
  • The Dairy Farmers- Canuelas F.C. and Claypole
  • The Academy- Argentino de Merlo, Racing Club, and Racing Cordoba
  • The Rotters- Rosario Central and Central Ballester

• What tournament was won by all of these teams? The Great Wall Cup
  • Chinese National Team (twice)
  • Waldhof Mannheim
  • Romanian U-21s
  • Legia Warszawa
  • Watford F.C.

• Only one country has won both the men’s and women’s “World Military Championships,” what is the country? North Korea.

• What award did Tessie Agius win three times in four years? Malta’s Woman Player of the Year.

• The Scottish National Team started playing international matches on November 30, 1872- when was the first time they played a country other than England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, or Wales, who was the opponent, what was the date, and what was the score? May 26, 1929, Scotland 7 Norway 4.

• Fifteen pairs of brothers have appeared in matches for the Netherlands, but how many of those pairs of brothers have appeared in an match together for the Oranje? Seven.

• Eighteen father-son combinations have represented their countries at the World Cup, but only one combination represented different countries- who where they, what were the two countries, and what World Cups were involved? Martin Vantrola (Father), played for Spain in 1934 and Jose Vantrola (son) for Mexico in 1970.

• Only one Algerian has ever scored a goal for the French National Team- who is he? Said Brahimi.

Congratulations to WSR and Andrew M. who both got all the answers correct and who have both already received their prizes.

I’ll be back tomorrow with, I hope, a holiday themed challenge…

Two South American Airlines Offer New Routes to the U.S.

Photo from Aerogal

After my latest trip to Europe, I swore off flying yet another domestic airline: United. (I’m running out of U.S. airlines that haven’t destroyed a vacation or two.)  Lost baggage, canceled flights, and downright unfriendly service are just a few reasons why flying domestic makes me appreciate international carriers a little bit more. I’m always on the prowl for alternatives, and when I found two South American carriers offering new routes to the U.S., I did a little happy dance.

Ecuador-based AeroGal Airlines has rolled out daily nonstop flights between New York City and Guayaquil, with introductory fares starting from $548 round-trip – with taxes included (not too shabby). Onboard, flight attendants serve traditional Ecuadorian dishes (think empanadas). In addition, the airline also offers service to Miami.

Colombia based Aires will be flying to the U.S. for the first time between Fort Lauderdale and Bogota, and has plans to add more routes in the near future. After a quick sample search, I was able to track down fares for around $220 round-trip – adding serious competition to Spirit Air, which also offers this route for dirt-cheap.  However, Spirit Air is like flying a school bus with wings – with service that matches the miserable attitude of your fifth grade bus driver. Speaking of grade school, in order to book tickets online, you’ll need to think back to Intro to Spanish. Both airlines’ websites have yet to offer English options.

They have some hectic buses here in Viña Del Mar. I don’t know if it’s the heat or just their firey South American nature but drivers here are loco! They squeeze into nonexistent gaps, honk incessantly and absolutely fang it everywhere from crowded streets to narrow cliff tops. Each ride is a near death experience but it’s entertaining as hell.

It’s our third day here in this sleep beach side town. We’ve been to the beach and checked out the mall so we decided to take the bus to Valparaiso, a near by historic port to see what it has to offer…

…Turns out, not very much. Don’t get me wrong, I love a historic port as much as the next guy and the view from the top of Cerro Alegre was really nice but I was kinda expecting a bit more.

To be honest the bus ride was way better. The buses here are a constant cacophony of sounds and action. Street vendors would jump on and off at will, selling anything from newspapers to snacks. There are buskers at most traffic lights. These traffic light buskers are amazing. So far I’ve seen acrobats, clowns and magicians. All you get in Sydney are bums with squeegies.

On the way back from Valparaiso a one man band hopped on to our bus and played a catchy folk tune. I had no idea what he was singing about but it was well worth the 1400 pesos I handed over.

The driver seemed to enjoy it as well, he was smiling and occasionally bopped his head to the melody. Isn’t that nice, I thought to myself, now slow down you maniac and try not to kills us!

view of side walk cafe from our hotel

view of street from our hotel

At the moment we are on the 5^th floor in our hotel.  Not unlike all the other cities we’ve been in so far in Argentina, Tucuman is noisy too.  Our room doesn’t have windows that open, but it does have a glass door that opens out onto a little balcony.  This means we need to keep it open all the time for air (we are both not in favour of air-conditioning – even though there is a unit in our room) but it also means that the constant, determined, aggressive noise of cars, people, hooters, and daily life enters incessantly.

The further north we are going the hotter it is becoming.  I love the heat, but I have to concede this kind of heat is debilitating and ceaseless. We experienced something similar in Vietnam.  I can remember saying that it felt like a Sumo wrestler was sitting on your chest, allowing you to breath once every three minutes.  Considering we are in land, the humidity is highly oppressive too.  I’m pleased to know my sweat glands are in good working order…I tried the au natural thing but it was just not successful…I went in search of stronger deodorant this morning.

 Free wi-fi is marvellously accessible in most hostels / hotels, restaurants, cafes and coffee shops.  We’ve just woken from our afternoon siesta, and we’re off in search of an ice cold local beer and wi-fi access…we leave for the hills tomorrow ….

Amazing how time flies but almost one year has past since my fabulous visit to Chile. I feel nostalgic for that beautiful country, its vistas, its people and of course, its wines. I get more letters from people about my trip to Chile than I would have ever imagined. A couple of friends are on their way now and I must say, I am happy for them but a wee bit envious as well…

That said, I remember my trip perfectly so here are some thoughts about Valparaiso and the day I spent in the Colchagua Valley visiting wineries. Apparently Valparaiso is the place to be on New Year’s Eve. I was there after New Year’s and it was somewhat subdued up in the older part of the city where I was staying. I found it beautiful in an aging lady sort of way. I loved the multicolored houses, the ascensores from the last century and the sea gulls overhead. I found the port area of the city to be quite seedy and frankly a little scary. I would advise staying in the upper neighborhood in an old guest house which can be quite romantic.

This was the nicest hotel I saw up in my favorite part of the city. I stayed in a guest houses with a tin colored facade, all very characteristic but somewhat declasse.

I wished I had more time in Valparaiso. Instead I was off to the wine country in the Colchagua Valley. I planned my trip on the phone through the tourist office and I took a very long train ride to get there and spent too much money on a van and driver. Next time, renting a car would be much smarter.

Colchagua is one of the newer regions in Chilean viticulture. It has a Mediterranean climate which is cooled by ocean breezes. There are some low hills in the valley. The region is particularly well suited to making red wines from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and Carmenere. The Valley used to be in habited by Mapuches, a bellicose tribe and was once the southern tip of the Inca empire. The Valley has always been an agricultural area.

The Ruta del Vino of the Colchagua Valley has a very helpful office in Santa Cruz. This was the first area to develop a wine route and is at the forefront of wine tourism in Chile. They organize tours, wine tastings and the like for groups or for individuals. I decided to go to three wineries: Mont Gras, Montes and Viu Manent. The first stop was Mont Gras. The winery was very welcoming and the staff seemed quite used to giving tours to foreigners. They have an experimental vineyard where they try to grow many grapes.

I tasted the Montgras Riserva 2008 Sauvignon Blanc which I quite liked. Citrus and lemon abounded and it was nicely integrated. The grapes for that wine come from the Casablanca Valley. It is the red varieties that do particularly well in this area of Chile. I also tasted the Carmenere Riserva from 2007 which I liked very much. It had a wonderful bouquet of dried fruit, berries and tobacco, according to my notes, and spent 10 months aging in American oak. I am quite partial to Carmenere and this was one that I truly enjoyed. I actually drank the 2008 Montgras Riserva earlier this week with friends from graduate school. It didn’t disappoint but was full bodied, plummy and rich with spice and nuts.

Carmenere, a French grape, has truly found its home in Chile just as Malbec has found its soul mate in the soils of Argentina. Between the two, I find Carmenere sexier and more sensual, a little pepper and spice but not so much that it leaves nothing to the imagination…I also tasted their 2007 Montgras Merlot Riserva. Not bad. It was very plummy and had a lot of vanilla notes on the nose and palate from the 10 months it spent aging in American oak.

Visiting wineries in Chile is so interesting when compared with visiting wineries in Europe. The enormous amount of land and the vineyards surrounding the winery is quite striking as are the Andes in the distance, a very special experience and one I would highly recommend to all. Frankly, I can’t wait until my next visit.

The soils at this vineyard were incredibly interesting. Crusty and volcanic in origin, the Colchagua Valley has a variety of soils including loam clay, loam silt and those of volcanic origin. The vineyards can be irrigated as you can see from this picture. Chile, like Argentina, uses the ice melt from the Andes to irrigate its vineyards. Chile is largely immune to the phylloxera louse but does have a problem with root knot nematodes, Eileen Le Monda reminded me. Nematodes can do just as much damage to grape vines if not more because they penetrate the grape vine as opposed to chewing on the surface of the bark.

From Montgras I went on to visit Montes. Montes is almost a mythical name in Chilean viticulture. Aurelio Montes, the President and Chief winemaker is a true cult figure and the winery, done according to principals of Feng Shui, is a destination for wine lovers.

Who knows what the true impact of the Gregorian chants that are piped into the barrique room in the Montes winery is on the wines? Does it improve the quality of the wine while it ages? It’s hard to tell and to prove but the chants certainly create a lovely and appealing experience for the visitor and those who work in the winery.

The staff at Montes is very enthusiastic and takes you on a long tour of the different parts of the winery. The vineyards in Colchagua, one of four Montes estates in Chile go on for as far as the eye can see.

It is somewhat hard not to be dazzled by these wineries and their extensive holdings not to mention the wines. Montes has more than 1000 hecares in Chile and makes 12 million bottles of wine a year. Montes was the first winery in Chile to plant grapes on hills.

Montes makes a number of wines under the Montes Alpha label. They also make Montes Folly and Montes Purple Angel. Montes is quite famous for its Syrah. The one I tried, a 2006 was a blend of 90% Syrah and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. It was a beautiful ruby red with spice, strong tannins and cedar notes. Everyone loved it.

I also tried a Montes Alpha 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon 90%, Merlot 10% blend. I actually preferred this to the Syrah but that is just a matter of taste. They were both extremely well made and well integrated wines. I tried a Montes Limited Selection 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon 70%, Carmenere 30% which was my favorite. The wine spends nine months aging in French and American oak. It was rich and full bodied with wonderful spice, vanilla, tobacco notes with dried fruit and nuts on the palate.

At a Wine of Chile tasting in New York earlier this year, I also tasted the Montes Limited Selection 2007 Cab/Carmenere blend. It was equally as good as the 2006 that I had tasted in Chile. The Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon from 2006 was bigger than its 2005 counterpart and even more full bodied.

After Montes, we headed towards Viu Manent which was a true scene. They have a beautiful restaurant apparently with great food. I ate in a local joint and had a strange specialty called Pastel de Choclo. Rather than taste any more wines, I wanted to take a nap. Of course, I persevered and went on to try some of the local wines at Viu Manent. Like Montes

Viu Manent was a very large winery as well with 270 hectares. They make two million bottles of wine a year. The winery itself it very large with big round epoxy resin tanks to hold the wines. The company began exporting after 2000. I tried a 2007 Merlot riserva which impressed me. It was a very big wine with 14.5% alcohol, ripe tannins and black and red fruit on the nose and palate. I thought it was one of the better Merlots I had tasted in Chile. I also tried the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Riserva. It had more oak, smoke notes and fine tannins. I thought it was more elegant than the Merlot and very well balanced.

We went around the winery on a horse and buggy through the extensive vineyards. This is definitely a winery where you should have lunch and spend some time. It was quite crowded on the day I arrived and when I left, I wished I had had more time there as well as one of their juicy steaks on the grill. I look forward to my next trip. Day 12 was my perfect vacation day, hours in wineries with a beautiful landscape everywhere you look.

WASHINGTON – A new report from the American Hospital Association indicates hospitals are continuing to struggle financially due to the economic depression. With all the changes occurring daily how will Hospitals Survive Healthcare reform?

The AHA survey, released Wednesday, shows that 34 percent of hospitals expect to report losses in the first half of 2009, up from 29 percent for the same period last year, and indicators of the ability of hospitals to meet their financial obligations are slipping.

Hospitals report that more patients are appearing in emergency rooms without insurance, fewer patients are seeking elective services, and nine in 10 hospitals have had to make cutbacks to address economic concerns. This is largest reason why so many Healthcare Systems are in facing financial distress. Hospitals  number challenge in 2010 will be to cut expenses and overhead.

Other results of the survey include:

• A higher proportion of patients are unable to pay for care and many hospitals are seeing more patients covered by Medicaid and other public programs for low income populations.
• Community need for subsidized services such as clinics, screenings and outreach is increasing even as charitable contributions are down for many hospitals.
• More than half of the hospitals surveyed have reduced staff.
• Eight in 10 have cut administrative expenses.
• One in five have reduced services that communities depend on, including behavioral health, post acute care, clinic, patient education and other services that require subsidies.

Despite the actions hospitals have taken to weather the economic storm, seven of 10 hospitals reported a decline in overall financial health which will impact their ability to care for their communities, the AHA’s study said.

Some hospitals reported they are beginning to see improvement in the capital situation since December of last year. Yet since the beginning of 2008, seven in 10 hospitals have cut capital spending for facility upgrades, clinical technology and/or information technology.

Eight in 10 hospitals report an increase in the degree to which physicians are seeking the financial support of hospitals including on-call pay and/or employment.

The survey was based on surveys sent to all community hospital CEOs in August 2009. Data was collected through Sept. 8, with 768 responses received. The AHA said respondents were broadly representative of community hospitals.

Until next week happy Holidays and a prosperous New Year 2010!

My favorite part in “The Dark Knight” is when the Joker looks into Batman’s face and says, “I’m only here because you are! I love you! We need each other!”

A Colombian governor was recently abducted by FARC forces. (http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/12/22/world/AP-LT-Colombia-Governor-Abducted.html)

In a discussion about contemporary politics in South America, we divided the countries: Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela as the ideologues of socialism; Uruguay, Chile, Brazil, Peru are the pragmatists of socialism; and then there’s Colombia. Colombia is the only country considered “rightist” fully, through and through. It stands by itself. It seems like the presence of the FARC almost forces this equal and opposite reaction. That Colombia is so conservative because there is such a powerfully “leftist” force. Like FARC is the Joker and Uribe’s government Batman. Or the other way around, depending.