Alda and Jaime's Farm

A couple of days ago, we went on a shore adventure and met some people. After a nice walk, we passed a field of animals that was clearly part of a farm. Woolly sheep grazed while a tom turkey gobbled loudly as it waddled around on the grass.

Mama called out to a man walking toward the farm. Before I knew it, they were deep in conversation. The man was easy to understand and I could pick out the main idea of what they were saying. Most of the time for me here in Chile, people have been hard to understand. But Jaime spoke clearly and slowly enough for me to follow.

Jaime led us to the gate and opened it. I was not sure what was happening, but I still stepped in with the other 5 people. A beautiful gravel path wound through the farm. Neat trees and shrubbery grew alongside the path. We followed it until we met Alda, Jaime's wife.

Many people in Chile have been nice to us, but these folks were especially friendly. They had a beautiful farm with greenhouses. Inside the greenhouse it was warm. It was full of radishes, spinach, lettuce, beets, cilantro, parsley, and several other vegetables I did not recognize. Mama, Daddy, and Big Jack stood around chatting with Jaime and Alda, the owners of the farm.

Alda in the greenhouse.

Jaime in the greenhouse.

A cat pattered though the greenhouse, through the adults' legs, and I squatted down to greet him. He jumped up onto my knee. I scratched behind his ears. He purred softly.

The cat. This time he is outside.

Once the cat left, I got bored again and went out of the greenhouse. On the other side of the greenhouse was a coop with five ducks in it making a row quacking. Nearby was a chicken coop with ten chickens fluttering around the interior. Two mallards waddled around freely. I tried to get a good look at the mallards but they would always quack and run around to the opposite side of the duck coop. I chased them for some time.

The mallards running from me.

I finally got them to stand still long enough for one good pictureThe loud ducks waddle around the coop.

We saw the tom turkey, on more than one occasion.

A large box, by the greenhouse held little chicks. I managed to get the camera in a crack and take the photo.

Finally, the grownups stopped chatting and we made our way to the farthest part of the farm. We descended down a slope to a patio by a rocky beach overlooking a small harbor where I threw rocks into the water and played with their dog, Carla.

This is Alda and Mama just before they descended the slope to the rocky beach. You can see the farm right behind them but the pastures on the hill are part of another farm.

Porter descending the stairs to the beach.

Mama, Jaime, Big Jack, and Alda on the patio that Jaime built on the beach.

Back at the greenhouse, Jaime and Alda gave us lots of vegetables. That meant salad for that night and the night after that and even the night after that! Mama invited Alda and Jaime to Sila for dessert, which meant we got to have a flourless chocolate cake for dessert after dinner! They invited us to stop by again to collect fresh eggs. That next morning, they showed us the inside of their house and gave us two dozen fresh eggs.

Porter is sitting in Alda and Jaime's living room.

Big Jack is getting eggs from Jaime.

This is their wood stove and the little wooden figurines in the windowsill are from Bolivia.

Some art on the wall. These fish were made on the island of Chiloé

As we walked away, I thought about how generous these people were. Mind you, my thoughts kept being interrupted by my attempts to snitch fresh lettuce or spinach from the bag Mama was carrying! I am now inspired to talk and engage with people more because I saw Mama do it. Plus I want to keep working on learning Spanish. – Jack Rabbit.