The Rest

The rest.  And by that I mean the rest - as in, the rest of the days of our Spring Break.  But I also mean The Rest - as in the fact that we finally had some down time.  We had jam packed the first couple of days of the girls time off.  Mostly because they were the days that B would have off of work and we wanted some family time.  By the time Tuesday rolled around, B only had 2 more days off and he did have a bit of work to catch up on.  And we all had some sleep to catch up on.  So we decided that the day of the actual holiday (Dieciocho) we would rest.  We had already done our Fonda for the year - Chile Lindo.  We had nothing pressing to do.  Luckily, because it rained ALL day.  So we took a family walk...or family work out...it's all the same, right?..

Our walks are wacky.  They are wonderful.  And sometimes, someone, loses a shoe.  It is what it is.

And then the rain cleared and we took MadHatter's kite out for a spin.  And the sister (oh, how I love that they are sisters for I never had one) played, beat each other up and rolled down the hill.  They were behaving exactly as kids should.

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In general, we just had fun with the rest of our downtime.  We did some coloring, some dancing, some painting.  We had sack races, swinging competitions and played soccer with the dog.

Best Spring Break yet!

 

Did I mention we swung?  A lot??

Parque Safari

Day four of Spring Break.  B and I were getting a bit worn out but somehow the girls were raring to go at all hours.  Good thing because we had a big day planned.  A group of us had decided to finally make the trek to Rancagua and visit Parque Safari.  I say trek loosely.  It is only an hour and 15 minutes from our door to theirs.  

We arrived mid-morning and as tired as the big people were everyone was still pretty excited as we pulled into the parking lot.  I mean, it wasn't every day that you got to have a Lion thisclosetoyou.  In fact, in my 40 years, this would be a first.

The Parque is a refuge of sorts.  The animals that they house are all cast offs.  They come from zoo's that could not keep them for one reason or another.  They are ex-circus animals.  They are animals that just wander in and stay (see the Gallo Pinto below).  It's kind of like the Misfits Zoo.

And it is wonderful.

El Gallo Pinto.  He crossed our paths as we were walking in and Audrey couldn't believe it.  Gallo Pinto is her favorite (and only song) right now.

There were birds...

                       

A native Chilean Puma

 Two very playful bears that Stinkerbell couldn't get enough of.

 And a Mama duck leading her chickies to safety.

 But the thing that the kids seemed most interested in were the Baboons. 

 And suddenly, there he was...the King.  Acting like a King.  Just lying on top of his jeep soaking in the sun.  And the adoration.  

 None to soon it was time to load up the caravan.  We all piled into one side of the zebra striped truck and got a quick safety regulation talk.  Our guide informed us to keep our fingers inside the vehicle at all times if we would like to come back with them.  We were told to keep our feet away from the bottom opening if we wanted to come back with 10 toes.  And we were told that when a Lion lifts its tail, it is about to pee, so if you see that - Move.  Quickly.  Make friends with your neighbor later, sit in their lap now.  Unless you wanted to come back very wet.

Ready - and just before entering the safari.

 The Lion's are all male (they are more impressive with their flowing manes) and all retired circus animals.  Which does not make them tame in any sense of the word.  They roam freely on the grounds (though they are very closely monitored and there are double security doors all around) and as soon as our car entered one of the largest of the Lion's jumped on the hood of the car.  And it didn't take long to find out why.  Our guide had a jar filled with hunks of raw meat.  

And she was standing right next to me.

It was exciting to be this close to a Lion.  And I was grateful for the cage that surrounded us on all sides.  And even there is a part of you wondering if there is any way that this big cat can get through all of this and still take a limb...not likely but it does cross your mind.  And though we all laughed when she mentioned the cat could pee on you we were all very vigilant about the position of his tail.

It was incredible.  And when she told me to take the back of my hand and put it up to the top of the cage (flat, no fingers sticking out) and then let the cat lick the back of my hand, I was a bit anxious but thrilled.  Sandpaper tongue x1000.  And she also let us reach up and touch his hind paws and every time it elicited a deep and throaty roar.  And every time it made us jump.

Probably the coolest 20 minutes I have spent at a "zoo"

 

 Then it was our turn for some meat.  (No worries  - it wasn't Lion)

  And some ice cream

So. Much. Fun.