Puerto Montt

Desde la colonia de los pingüinos, fuimos a Ancud, una ciudad ‘grande’ al norte de la isla. Hacía mucha fría y estaba lloviendo también así que no queríamos pasar mucho tiempo afuera. Vimos (por quizás dos minutos) una fuerte española que usaron durante la guerra de independencia.

Windy and cold!

Luego, compramos unas cosas bonitas a la feria artesanal. ¡Teníamos que visitar todas las ferias posibles! Obvio. Al fin, despedimos a Pablo y tomamos un bus a Puerto Montt donde nos quedamos por una noche antes de nuestro vuelo en la mañana. No teníamos mucho tiempo para conocer la ciudad, pero pedimos a la mujer al hotel para una recomendación para un restauran muy cerca. ¡Nos dijo que había uno abierto así que fuimos y Dios mío, era increíble! Sirven comida típica chilena, pero mejor. Para empezar, comimos sopaipillas fritas con la versión chilena de pico de gallo. Yo comí porotos con rienda y mi mama comió (mi favorito) cazuela de ave. Por supuesto hacen helado casero también. Delicioso y estábamos las únicas personas allá.

Porotos con rienda. It is definitely more delicious than it looks, haha.

Antes de ir al aeropuerto la mañana siguiente, tratamos de encontrar el mercado de pescado. El hombre al hotel nos dijo que debe tomar como diez minutos para caminar. Después de 30 minutos, encontramos una (espera…) feria artesanal. No mercado pero, bueno. Vimos unas cosas interesantes durante el paseo.

In Puerto Montt. If someone could explain, that'd be great. I'm as tall as her shoe!

Puerto Montt. Busts of important military figures. There is a strong naval presence here.

From the penguin colony, we went to Ancud, a ‘big’ city in the north of the island. It was cold and raining so we didn’t want to spend much time outside. We saw (for maybe 2 minutes) an old Spanish fort that they used during the war for independence.

Spanish fort in Ancud

Then, we bought some beautiful items at a fair. We had to visit all of the fairs possible! Obviously. Wrapping up our time in Chiloe, we said goodbye to Pablo and took a bus to Puerto Montt where we stayed for a night before our flight in the morning. We didn’t have much time to get to know the city, but we asked the lady at the hotel for a restaurant recommendation nearby. She told us there was one place open so we went and my gosh it was incredible! They serve typical Chilean food, but better. To start, we had fried sopaipillas with the Chilean version of pico de gallo. I had porotos con rienda and my mom ate (my favorite) cazuela de ave. Of course they also make homemade ice cream. Delicious and we were the only people there.

View from our hotel in Puerto Montt.

Cazuela de ave

Homemade ice cream with wild strawberries. Yes please.

Chiloe Island Day 3

El día siguiente, fuimos con Pablo a la colonia de pingüinos. Manejamos por la ‘Chiloé real’ que consistía de granjas pequeñas, gente que todavía vive una vida simple pero rica. Usan animales en vez de tecnología, trabajan juntos si alguien necesita ayuda, y comen la mayoría de la comida que producen. Muchas personas dirían que son pobres pero ese no es la verdad. Tienen todo que quieren y son felices. Son, en realidad, muy ricos.

Happy pigs

Llegamos a la playa y fuimos con unos pescadores que empezaron este negocio a la colonia de pingüinos.  Cuando gente empezó venir a Chiloé y querían tours, había mucha competencia entre los pescadores. Pero, ellos se regularon así que ahora hay un sistema que garantiza un proceso justo para todos los pescadores. Este es un ejemplo de la calidad de gente en Chiloé.

Después del tour, almorzamos al restaurante en la playa. La dueña es alemana y la esposa de unos de los pescadores. Yo comí empanadas de mariscos y queso. Los mariscos fueron colectados por uno de los pescadores del tour y el queso fue hecho por otro. Deliciosas y muy ‘Slow Food’.

This happened a few times on the drive

Penguins!

The next day, we went to the penguin colony with Pablo. We drove through the ‘real Chiloe’ which consisted of small farms, people who still live a simple but rich life. They use animals instead of technology, they work together when someone needs help, and they eat the majority of the food they produce. Many people would call them poor but that’s not the truth. They have everything they want and they are happy. They are, actually, very rich.

Parts of the island remind me of New Zealand

Pablo, our trusty trilingual guide. It was a bit cold on the water.

We got to the beach and went with the fisherman who started this business at the penguin colony. When people started coming to Chiloe and wanted tours, there was a lot of competition between the fishermen. But, they self-regulated so now there is a system that guarantees a fair process for all the fisherman. This is an example of the quality of people in Chiloe.

View from the boat back to the beach

If only I could remember the names of any of the birds we saw

These islands were one island before the earthquake of the 60s. This illustrates the sheer power of earthquakes. Do you see King Kong?

After the tour, we had lunch at the restaurant on the beach. The owner is german and the wife of one of the fishermen. I ate shellfish and cheese empanadas. The shellfish were gathered by one of the fishermen from the tour and the cheese was made by another. Delicious and very ‘Slow Food’.

Chiloe Day 2 Part 2

Entonces, el tour terminó pero no las aventuras. Cuando regresamos a Castro, visitamos la iglesia allá en la plaza. De nuevo, esta iglesia era maravillosa. Todo hecho de madera y todo muy impresionante. Luego paramos a la feria artesanal para comprar unas cosas que más tarde dejamos en el restaurante. Hablando, del restaurante donde cenamos…muy raro. En un sábado, cerró a las ocho (por lo general, abren a las ocho acá), no había nadie comiendo allá y probamos el curanto. Ahora, Sylvia me había dicho que tenemos que comer el curanto en Chiloé. Así que lo hicimos. O, intentamos. Demasiada comida. Este plato lleva mariscos (como 30), carne, ave, papas, y no sé que mas. No podía identificar todo.  

Yeah, I wasn't really feeling it.

This was in a church near the National Park. It was just down the street where we ate the empanadas. But, you find these in every church in Chiloe.

So, our tour finished but not the adventures. When we returned to Castro, we visited the church in the plaza. Again, it was incredible. Everything made from wood and everything very impressive. Then we stopped at the artisan fair to buy some things that we later left at a restaurant. Speaking of the restaurant where we had dinner...very strange. On a Saturday, it closed at 8 (usually restaurants open at 8 here for dinner), no one else was eating there and we tried curanto. Now, Sylvia had told me that we have to eat curanto in Chiloe. So we did. Or, we tried. Too much food. This plate had shellfish (like 30), beef, poultry, potatoes, and I don’t know what else. I couldn’t identify all of it. 

Artisan Fair in Castro

Chiloe Island Day 2

Para continuar, después de un desayuno delicioso al hostal, contratamos un guía para un tour del Parque Nacional de Chiloé. Primero, Pablo, el guía, nos mostró el pueblo de Chonchi donde hay una de las 180 iglesias viejas en la isla. La historia asociada con estas iglesias inmensas es interesante porque es una isla con una población chica. Durante la colonización española, unos misioneros fueron a la Isla para ensenar la fe católica, como en todas partes de su imperio. Los misioneros estarían en una ciudad solamente un día cada año así que mucha gente viajaría con ellos a ciudades vecinas para oír los sermones. Por eso, las iglesias en cada pueblo tenían que estar tan grande para acomodar mucha gente.

What happy colors!

Los ciudadanos recibieron instrucciones desde Europa con respecto a la diseña de cada iglesia. Pero, la gente de Chiloé tenía que trabajar bajo unas restricciones. Primero, solamente tenía madera. Segundo, solamente sabia como construir barcos. Estas son las razones que explican la construcción única de las iglesias de Chiloé.   

Notice how the roof  is constructed like a boat. Everything you see is wood.

Este pueblo era complemente tranquilo. Pablo dijo que este era la hora punta…no había nadie.

Después de Chonchi, fuimos a otro pueblo para ver un lago precioso y un cementerio. Las fotos lo hacen justicia al cementerio.

¡Ahora, al Parque Nacional! El parque es ubicado en la costa oeste de la isla. Teníamos mucha suerte con el tiempo porque por lo general, llueve mucho en el sur. Tomamos un sendero a través de la selva hasta la playa.

See the three small islands to the right? In Chiloe it is believed that when you die, your soul goes here and takes a boat to the afterlife.

Después, estábamos muy listos para almorzar. Como dije antes, la comida acá es pescado y mariscos. Encontramos a una casa donde unas mujeres estaban preparando empanadas fritas de mariscos y queso. Mmm, deliciosos. Ahora termina nuestro tour.

Fighting people off to take the picture. Just kidding, there was no one in Chonchi.

To continue, after a delicious breakfast at the hostel, we hired a guide for a tour of the Chiloé National Park. First, Pablo, the guide, took us to the town of Chonchi where there is one of about 180 old churches on the island. The history associated with these huge churches is interesting because the island has a small population. During the Spanish colonization, some missionaries went to the island to teach the catholic faith, like in all parts of the empire. The missionaries were in a city only one day a year so many people would travel with them to neighboring cities to hear the sermons. Because of this, the churches in each town had to be large enough to accommodate many people.

They painted the wood so it looked like marble

The citizens received instructions from Europe about each church’s design. But, the people of Chiloe had to work under some restrictions. First, they only had wood. Second, the only knew how to make ships. These are the reasons that explain the unique construction of Chiloe’s churches. This town was completely peaceful. Pablo said it was rush hour...there wasn’t anybody there.

Typical house in Chonchi

After Chonchi, we went to another town to see a gorgeous lake and a cemetery. To go to a lake this beautiful in another country, it’s likely that you’d have to pay a bunch of money and it would be filled with people. We didn’t see anyone! I think that in a few years, more people will realize that this is a beautiful island and it won’t be as peaceful as it is now. But, at the same time, I think more people should visit an island so beautiful and unique.

Then we walked to the cemetery. Wow, the Chilotes know how to respect their family. The pictures do it justice.

"So, I will be expecting this Samanth" - Mom

Inside one of the 'houses'

Now, to the National Park! The park is located on the west coast of the island. We were really lucky with the weather because in general, it rains a lot in the south. We took a trail through the forest until the beach.

After, we were very ready for lunch. Like I said before, the food here is fish and shellfish. We found a small house where some women were preparing fried shellfish and cheese empanadas. Mmm, delicious. So ends our tour.

La Isla de Chiloé - Día 1

Wow. Las dos últimas semanas fueron geniales. Mi mama llegó el viernes y volamos directamente a Puerto Montt, el capital del distrito de los lagos. Esta es la región de Chile al norte de Patagonia, famosa por, obviamente, los lagos pero también las selvas, termas, ríos y volcanes, en particular, el Volcán de Osorno lo que vimos del avión. (No sé porque, pero me fascinan las volcanes. Quizás es la fuerza de la naturaleza que representan.) Voy a regresar a esta región en unas semanas para hacer canopy, trekking, e ir a las termas. Bacan!

The volcano is the cone in the middle that looks like a perfectly shaped cloud. It's actually the snow-covered peak of Volcano Osorno!

Desde Puerto Montt, tomamos un bus a la ciudad de Castro ubicada en el medio de la Isla de Chiloé. Bueno, cuando llegamos a la costa, continuamos manejar en un barco. El paseo en barco era hermoso. Despedimos a Puerto Montt y saludamos a la idílica Isla de Chiloé, llena de mitos, colinas de suave pendiente, vacas alegres, productos artesanales bonitos de lana. No puedo olvidar de los mariscos. ¡Dios mío toda la comida vino del mar! Pero, a la vez, la comida era muy fresca.

So we just drove on to that

Decidimos caminar a nuestro hostal desde el terminal de buses porque yo sabía que solamente debe tomar unos 10 minutos. Pero, teníamos que traer la maleta de mi mama y fue la primera parte de nuestra aventura. La calidad de las aceras y las colinas lo hizo un poco difícil pero al fin, llegamos. Pobrecita, mi mama había viajado por 36 horas y estaba un poco cansada. Pero, todavía necesitábamos cenar. Pancho, quien trabaja al hostal, nos recomendó un restauran que sirve comida típica de Chiloé. ¡Qué rico y qué cantidad de comida! Comimos y charlamos por dos horas y regresamos al hostal para dormir muy contentas.

Una nota sobre el hostal. Los Chilotes construyeron casas en pilotes en el mar que se llaman ‘palafitos’. Estas casas son uno de los rasgos más famosos de la Isla. Nos quedamos en el Palafito Hostal por esta razón.

View of the island from the boat

Wow. The last two weeks were awesome! My mom arrived last Friday and we flew directly to Puerto Montt, the capital of the Lake District. This is the region of Chile to the north of Patagonia, famous, obviously, for its lakes but also for the forests, hot springs, rivers and volcanoes, particularly the Osorno Volcano that we saw from the plane. (I don’t know why but I think volcanoes are fascinating. Maybe it’s the force of nature they represent.) I’m going to return to this region in a few weeks to go ziplining, hiking and visit the hot springs. Sweet!

From Puerto Montt, we took a bus to the city of Castro located in the middle of Chiloe Island. Well, when we arrived at the coast, we continued to drive onto a boat. The boat ride was beautiful. We said goodbye to Puerto Montt and hello to Chiloe Island, full of mythology, rolling hills, happy cows, pretty handmade wool items. I can’t forget the shellfish. Oh my gosh all of the food came from the sea! But, it was all very fresh.

Waiting for the bus with my moma

We decided to walk to our hostel from the bus terminal because I knew it was only about 10 minutes. But, we had to bring my mom’s suitcase so it was the first part of our adventure. The quality of the sidewalks and the hills made this a bit difficult but we eventually arrived. Poor thing, my mom had traveled for 36 hours and was a bit tired. But, we still needed to eat dinner. Pancho, who works at the hostel, recommended a restaurant the serves typical food of Chiloe. So delicious and so much food! We ate and chatted for 2 hours and returned to the hostel quite content and ready to sleep.

:)

A note about the hostel. The people of Chiloe constructed houses on stilts on the water called palafitos. It is one of the most famous characteristics of the Island. This is the reason we stayed in Palafito Hostel. I’ll have a picture of it soon.

Our hostal was the second house to the right. This was during low tide.

Assorted news

I promise this lack of posting stops today! I'm a bit pressed for time at the moment so this post will only be in English. Most importantly, my mom comes on Friday!! We will be going to Chiloe this weekend and San Pedro de Atacama the next. I'm going to let her do all the talking.

Just kidding. I can't believe I'm going to get to see her so I'm going to try to teach her as much about chilean life as I can in about 10 days. We're going to eat meat, drink pisco, speak spanish, etc. Kidding again about the spanish.

In very unrelated news, my friend Ben (the one who takes the great pics) went to Easter Island the other weekend. When I saw his pictures I immediately thought, okay I'm going to write a post and just include a bunch of his national geographic-worth 'frozen moments' of this remote island (actually the most remote island). Enjoy:

I want to go to there. (30 Rock anyone?)