Incredible!

I don't know how to even start explaining today! Just, wow. As I mentioned, today was our trip to the vineyard Vina Indomita about an hour away from the hotel. My brain was running out of fuel after a week of never sleeping, but with the little that I had left was all focused on my anticipation of today! I slept for about 30 minutes on the bus and woke up before pulling into the vineyard. Perfect timing too so I could build all my excitement back up! We pull in, I chug a Red Bull to recharge and snap my first of MANY pictures I took today. The view is indescribable by even the most skilled with imagery, but I will do my best to paint a picture for you. Atop a lonely, grapey hill surrounded immediately by the flattest plains coated dirty green by white grape plants after the harvest sits a modern stark white house covered with enormous windows hanging over the side the steep side of the hill. The sun is rising above the dramatic mountains in the back side of the building. Opportunities for perfect pictures are everywhere! I fell so far behind in the first 10 feet of the trail because I couldn't help to view the whole scene through the view finder of my camera. I catch up and we are greeted and the tour begins. We enter the beautiful house and head through to where the grapes are crushed and fermented. Towering steel drums stand above everything, side to side, like to Moai's of Easter Island. The process of wine-making was explained to us in general. What I wouldn't give to be part of their engineering team. We proceed down into the basement where casks of the best wine are stored. At this point, I am dying to try the wine. That moment arrived soon enough! We headed back onto the porch overlooking the grape plants. Samples were sitting out, just begging to be savored and appreciated. We tried three delicacies that Vina Indomita has to offer. Que magnifico! What a fantastic morning! The group said "ciao" to the artwork of a winery and we were off to the house of Pablo Neruda, a Nobel-winning poet and overall hero to Chilean people. We arrived and had lunch at the restaurant adjacent to the house. The tables had a perfect view of powerful Pacific waves crashing on the porous black rocks beneath. The delicious seafood meal made the experience all the better! We headed into the poet's home after lunch, which remained nearly in the exact condition it was left in. Figure heads from the bows of ships that traveled to all part of the world filled the late genius' home. The only thing that seemed more important to Neruda was the ocean, as everything was centered around having a view of the Pacific from any position. We spent a nice amount of time along the beautiful coastline before heading back to the bus. Not without stopping at the stands of handmade memories on the way though. We finished the day with yet another dance lesson, this time of a large variety of favorite Latin American dances. Tomorrow is our first free day to ourselves, chances are we will find some adventures to help make the trip complete! I will report on them as soon as I can! Gracias y buenas noches!