compost.
this blissful day ended with watching the full moon rise over a lake and orange mountains at sunset. Then George and I sat in the most beautiful concert room I have ever seen with glass walls looking out over the slapping waves of the lake with mountains and the full moon beyond. It was the home and studio of the virtuoso violonist Joaquin Bello and the concert was divine: visceral and full.
One evening, I hiked to the top of a hill above George´s place for the sunset in the Valle Elqui. 
one of George´s sculptures in his orchard bordered by peach and quince trees
the same sculpture from the side
In addition to a ton of grapes, George had over 100 trees: almond, walnut, citrus, apple, persimmon, citrus, peach, pear, apricot, quince and olive trees.
La Señora Flora was very agile for a 74 year old. She comes to George´s twice a week to irrigate the orchard and help with the harvests and weeds. She lives down the road from George, has over 25 grandkids and dug all the irrigation ditches.
George, (or Don Jorge as the locals call him), was kind enough to let me come stay at his home in El Molle, a tiny town in between La Serena and Vicuña. Many days we drove into Vicuña where George is working on a sculpture of a dead pink pepper tree in the town´s main square representing an old indigeneous myth of the area. 
George was born in Hungary, spent his adolescence in Chile, passed 11 years in Ibiza, Spain and has lived the last 25 years in Manhattan working as a math professor and a sculptor. We passed many days harvesting grapes, smashing them and making wine in his house. In the evenings, we made food and shared his last season´s wine. 
these grapes were in the backyard of Osvaldo´s pastelleria in Vicuña. 
what a beautiful city!! wish i had stayed longer. valparaiso is like san francisco meets naples meets amalfi.
the view from pablo neruda's house. he had many homes; the eccentric decor reminded me of the Large's house in t-town.
coffins, apartments, shipping containers: we put everything in boxes.
the pacific
special thanks to glenda, dolores and michal for generously allowing me to stay in the house in cerro bellavista. (seen above in the upper left with the blue banner) and what vistas! 
cerro bellavista seen from another hill to the south
glenda, dolores, manuel
i spent one afternoon trying to fix their attic's ladder
moon from bedroom window
I spent my first afternoon in Santiasco helping Francisco paint walls in a gallery in his university of industrial design. 
Paseo Ahumado...
view from Cerro San Cristobal...
Alfredo
Francisco and Fabrizio
