sc - Wenrick

Santiago, Chile Report June 2006

On Monday morning we were picked up at our hotel by Mercedes Fernandez and long time friend and fellow judge Ramon Podesta who would be our hosts for the next few days. We were off to Pomaire, a small dusty village about 60km west of Santiago. We were visiting the popular destination to experience an authentic Chilean meal and Pomaire’s shops which are overflowing with ceramic pottery in the form of vases, plates, pots and almost anything you can (and can’t) imagine at very reasonable prices. If you have ever eaten at any restaurant in Chile, I can almost say for certain that at least one of the pots or dishes that appeared during the course of the meal, would have been made in Pomaire.

We drove along the ‘Autopista del Sol’ which is the relatively new highway between Santiago and San Antonio and enjoyed our first sight of the countryside outside of Santiago. Once in Pomaire we went to the ‘Los Naranjos’ restaurant where we were treated to an awesome feast beginning with the traditional ‘Pisco Souer’ drink. The food included ‘Arrollado de Cerdo’, (rolled pork), ‘Costillar de Certo’ (pork ribs), ‘Pastel de Choclo’ (corn cake with chicken), ‘Puree Picante’ (potato peppers), 1/ 2 Kilo ‘Empanadas’ (meat onion rolled pocket) and ‘Sopaipillas’ (pumkin bread) all served with savory Pebre sauce (picante). For dessert we had ‘Mote con huesillo’ (dried peach). Unbelievable service and surroundings helped give us a taste of Chile and it’s culture. There was time for some local shopping before we headed back to Santiago for the evening seminar.

The thirst for knowledge was quite evident when we entered into the Chilean Kennel Club offices and boardroom to give a seminar on grooming long coated breeds. We were expecting a couple of dozen participants and were quite surprised to have an overflow capacity crowd of over 60. Wendy enjoyed sharing her grooming expertise with her thorough presentation which included getting a Maltese ready including complete bathing, drying and topknot. She also demonstrated brushing and topknots on Shih Tzu and Yorkies. From the number of questions and active participation of the ‘students’ one could tell it was a very successful and informative evening.

The next day Mercedes picked us up for a visit to Pueblito de Los Domínicos, which is a beautiful arts and crafts center that exhibits styles from all over the country and from different cultures. The pretty architecture makes for a pleasant stroll through the center, while browsing the work of 120 craftspeople working on their art in view of the public. After shopping and strolling, we enjoyed a coffee and empanada in one of the homey outdoor restaurants. On the weekends there are interesting music and dance exhibits also.

Next it was off to Ramon’s home and kennel. The Von Haussman facilities are located about 25 kms south of the city and the expansive property had spacious facilities for the 150 plus dogs that Ramon breeds. He has extensive programs for German Shepherds, Maltese and his favorite breed , the Afghan Hound. We spent the remainder of an enjoyable day and evening looking at and talking dogs interrupted only by some great hospitality at his large ranch style home. It was then off to a local restaurant which featured the ‘Parrilladas’, a family style serving of various cuts of beef and pork accompanied by local Chilean beer and wines. It was becoming very evident that the Chileans liked to ‘eat and drink’.