Chaitén: Welcome to Patagonia

Patagonia is the end of the map and feels it. The road ends soon after leaving Puerto Montt and when it picks back up again as the famous Carretera Australia after a couple ferry rides, it winds through forests, over turquoise rivers, and by snow-capped mountains, at time barely better than a gravel path. It's a region disconnected enough that entering it feels a little like stepping back into the past, where people were more trusting and the pace of life was slower. It's a place where people invite you to stay in their house without even meeting you and hitch-hiking is an accepted form of transportation. Yes, that's speaking from experience.

Sailing into Patagonia 

Like I've mentioned previously, making friends while solo traveling is a lot like making friends in kindergarten or the first week of college aka instantaneously. During the day long bus/ferry ride I made friends with the other three travelers on the bus (we're pretty easy to pick out) and while two were getting off a few towns ahead of my stop, one guy, Franz, was taking the bus the whole way to Chaitén, the first major town in Patagonia, meaning it had over 2000 residents. He had a friend he had met in previous travels who lived in the town and had invited him to come stay with them once he reached Chaitén. After consulting with a wonderful old man named Nicolas who I had been told by other friends to find since he knew about everything about the town and the region, and of course having a 30 minute conversation with him while standing there with our big bags getting heavier and heavier, we were pointed in the direction of a hospedaje for me and my new friend's friend's house.

Upon meeting back up with Franz, he told me that his friend Tommy and his wife Lotta said I could stay with them too, they had the space and knew all about traveling on a budget. After considering it for a second (do I want to stay in the house of a couple I've never met at the invitation of a friend I've made today??) I gladly accepted which turned out to be a great decision! Not only did I get to stay in a real house, a plus after months of hostels, Tommy and Lotta were absolutely lovely people, so kind and welcoming and made me feel right at home. They had moved to Chaitén to start a tour agency and a café in a converted bus - super cool. During the next few days, they showed us around and included us in their life: dinner at friend's houses, a  Chilean barbeque, kayaking, and even let us do laundry (after this trip I'm never taking clean clothes for granted again)! The people you meet really are the best part of traveling.

Mirador of a glacier in Parque Pumalín 

Natour converted café bus run by Tommy and Lotta

Another interesting note about Chaitén, it used to be much bigger before a lot of it was destroyed in a volcanic eruption in 2008 (Chile's pretty big on natural disasters). About half the population has returned from where they were evacuated, but there's still a section of town where the houses are all still buried in ash. It's really a modern day Pompeii and Tommy took the time to show Franz and me around. It's sad to see the ruins of people's homes, but again an awe inspiring reminder of the power of nature.

Some of the remaining houses buried in ash 

Unfortunately, going along with the small town rural feel of Patagonia is the fact that there is very limited busses going through town, especially in the off-season. Because I actually had a deadline for once (I needed to be in Coyhaique by the 21st to start my next workaway) I had to leave a little early and get on the one bus that was definitely, not potentially, (again all info from the wonderfully informed Nicolas) heading south. This left me in La Junta, where I ended up stuck for a day waiting for the one bus that leaves from there to get me the rest of the way to Coyhaique. However it was nice to sleep and read my book before continuing on to my next adventure - brewing beer!

Chiloé: But Actually Yes, the Island of WInd and Rain

Chiloé was very wet. It's an island south and west of the Lake District so it's surrounded by water. But beyond that, there were also scattered torrential downpours the entire time I was there. Definitely got my money's worth out of my raincoat and rain cover.

Being geographically isolated definitely gives Chiloé a different feel than the mainland. Unlike the Lake District where a lot seems to be aimed at tourists, you can tell real people actually live and work in Chiloé, mostly as fishermen along the cost but the interior is all developed farmland. That being said, there isn't all that much to do there beyond walk around and admire the old fashioned houses built on stilts right on the water and the historic churches.

I also got out of the main town of Castro and hiked through part of the Chiloé National Park. Parts of it were quite beautiful as the trail went right along the beach, but parts wound out of the park and through farmland, which is scenic in its own way, but not quite what I was hoping for. The aforementioned torrential rain was also a deterrent, but during clear periods I was able to snap some pretty pictures.

I was originally going to take a ferry right from Chiloé over into Patagonia, but the one ferry of the week left at three in the morning, which I wasn't really feeling. As such, I backtracked up the island and across to Puerto Montt to treat myself to a clean, warm, and dry nice hotel for the night (Thanks Dad!) before setting off down the Carretera Austral into Patagonia aka living the dream. Part one of Patagonia will be up next!

The Lake District: Pucón, Puerto Varas, and Frutillar

Quick! What has lakes, mountains, cake, and artisanal beer? If you guessed Jenny's ideal environment you'd be correct, but what I was actually describing was the Lake District down in Southern Chile. I've spent the past week in a couple different towns here, and it's been one of the most beautiful places I've been so far on this trip.

My first stop was Pucón, a tourist town on Lake Villarrica. I had taken the night bus out of Valpo, and when I woke up I wondered whether I had somehow accidentally gotten on a bus back up to Vermont or maybe the German Alps. There were mountains covered in snow, a sparkling blue lake, and trees! After about two months of desert and other such arid landscapes it was lovely to see something larger than a foot tall coming out of the ground. Even better, the buildings were all wooden and adorably built in an old German-like style - all the better to illuminate the delicious treats displayed in every window: fresh bread, pies, cakes, and strudels! All my downfalls, luckily there were enough outdoor activities available I probably about equaled out the calories I consumed by kayaking, biking, and notably climbing a volcano.

Definitely earned after a 30 mile bike ride 

Yeah, those mountains I mentioned earlier - they were actually volcanos, some more active than others. For example, Villarica billowed smoke the whole time I was there, and at night you could actually see the glow of lava. Don't worry - I didn't climb that volcano, that's the one people do climb typically, but I guess it's still a little too active after its eruption this past March to allow hordes of tourists to go trekking up it. Instead we climbed Quetrupillán which gave us a lovely view of Villarica and the other volcanos/mountains all around. It was a hard hike, mostly because it's early enough in Spring here that the volcano is still totally covered in snow - meaning the summertime four hour hike to the top was just a little under six hours up. However, the upshot was that we hiked up with gear to sled down the volcano! It was the best way to get down a mountain, especially for a girl who's sled hills never seemed big enough. Can't get much bigger than a volcano!

All ready to sled down! 

After spending an extra day in Pucón to exhaust all the fun activities to do there, I hopped on a bus to Puerto Varas, basically just a larger, less touristy version of Pucón. Puerto Varas is also on a lake, Lake Llanquihue, and also has beautiful snow capped volcanos in the background. I didn't climb any here - it's not really something you need to do twice in one week, but instead enjoyed the view of them as I biked to another adorable German town, Frutillar, where I once again enjoyed the view while enjoying some strudel - which a 30 mile round trip bike ride definitely entitles you to.

I've definitely enjoyed my time in the Lake District, and I'm glad I'm here now, before high season hits because apparently tons of people come here in the summer. I can clearly understand why, but it probably ruins the charm a little to have people swarming in your scenic views. Also it's nice to be back in a familiar environment, as I was biking along I had to keep reminding myself I wasn't back home in New England. In any case, I still haven't run out of South to go, next up is the island of Chiloé!

Santiago and Valparaiso: A Study in Opposites

Contrary to most people's recommendations, I actually liked Santiago much better than Valparaiso. Despite being just an hour and a half apart they have very vibes. Valparaiso does have character - colorful houses all in a jumble on the hillside, street art (official and otherwise) everywhere, and views of the bay around every corner. However, it was also rather dirty and there wasn't really a ton to see beyond wandering around enjoying the architecture. Santiago, on the other hand, felt very liveable. It had clean streets, a metro that brought you quickly wherever you wanted, and lots of parks to run in. Also lots of museums that were free! Always a plus for budget travelers. It was the first city I've been in that I actually could see myself living in.

Sculpture outside the Museo de Bellos Artes in Santiago 

Pictures of some of the victims of Pinochet's dictatorship at the Museo de la Memoria 

Winery store near Santiago 

Street art in Valpo 

Generally they were both interesting places to visit but I'm excited to be back in nature and finally down in the South of Chile. Up next, Pucón and the Lake District! 

Taltal: Where Everyone Knows Your Name

So I almost didn't go to Taltal. It would probably have been the biggest mistake of my trip. I had been hanging out in San Pedro working on my grad school applications and trying to get this workaway set up. It had all sounded positive but then I never got the final confirmation from Héctor. Discouraged but antsy to move on, I booked a bus ticket to La Serena only to get a call from Héctor an hour before I was supposed to leave, apologizing and saying the email got saved in drafts and was never sent, was I still coming? I told him I'd think about it because it would mean either changing my plans and losing the bus ticket I had bought, or backtracking North 10 hours from La Serena. Remembering that my friend Bob from Oxapampa had highly recommended this workaway, I decided it was worth the backtrack and so after a couple days in La Serena and the Valle Elqui I headed back up the coast. I was immediately glad I did.

Street art in the Valle de Elqui

First of all the school. Héctor has started a free English schools for people of all ages. Basically whoever wants to learn English is welcome. That means there was a variety of classes every day, ranging from 4 year olds at the daycare to 50 year old ladies with all ages in between learning English. Héctor is a super enthusiastic teacher and very obviously passionate about his project. And all the students seem to love him. The town itself is also super lovely. It's small, around 11,000 people live here, and it's definitely got a small town feel. It's almost impossible to walk around without running into somebody you know, and even if you manage that, don't worry you'll definitely have a 20 minute conversation with the shopkeeper of the store you're walking to. It's the kind of town where you know the owner of the coffee shop and they know your order. It's also the kind of town that's small enough that everyone knows your business: ie. "You're the girl that runs in the mornings! Do you run by the ocean? You should it's very pretty!" Pretty funny.

Church off the main Plaza

But most importantly everyone in Taltal is incredibly nice. Just wonderful, welcoming people. Héctor knows just about everybody in town and introduces you to everyone. So immediately upon arriving, you have a whole social group to hang out with and drink with (Chileans are big on alcohol and late nights - neither of which are my favorites as you all know but I played along pretty well). And as much as I felt incredibly fortunate to be here and so welcomed and included, the students (mostly the adults) were just as grateful the volunteers were here as well. It was actually pretty humbling to be told by one of the students that the presence of the volunteers, all foreigners from other countries, had totally opened his mind and made him realize that people from everywhere were still just people and still very nice. He told me that he used to not like the United States or the people from there or anything, until the volunteers started coming and he realized that the people were not the government. That the people were just like any other people. That's the whole point of traveling, it broadens not only your mind but the minds of people you meet.

Even though I was TAing several classes a day, I still had plenty of time for adventures. The most notable of course was when the magnitude 8.4 earthquake that hit down farther South triggered a tsunami warning. One of the other volunteers, Kate, and her boyfriend and I were sitting in the hostel eating cake (the third that different students had gifted her for her birthday - repeat, everyone here is so nice) when we heard alarms going off. We were unsure whether it was a drill or something until Héctor knocked on the door and told us we needed to evacuate, meet him at the meeting point, did we remember where it was? Yelling yes, Kate and I bolted out the door, not bringing anything while her boyfriend paused for his laptop. Of course there was no real hurry so it was just us two gringos sprinting through Taltal while everyone else strolled.  Silly gringos. Of course we didn't actually remember where the meeting point was so we just hung out on a high enough hill for a while until we started to feel a little silly and headed down to look for Héctor who of course had been asking people whether they had seen any gringos. The owner of the hostel we were staying in let us hang out at his house with his very nice family until it was determined that there was no real danger here. Unfortunately there was more damage farther South, the town next to La Serena, where I had just been, was pretty heavily damaged, the other two volunteers that arrived when I was here had been staying near there and were amazed and saddened by the damage they saw.

This alarm was nice the first time, not the following 50 screeches 

I also happened to arrive in Taltal just in time for their Fiestas Patrias, their national holidays. This was a four day long event here, and we were roped right in. I was informed I was going to be in a parade which was just fine with me. The daycare the school works with was marching and they needed all the hands they could get to help herd the children along. Everyone had traditional Chilean dress on and there happened to be extra dresses for Kate and me. One of the students braided my hair and extra traditional shoes were supplied. It was quite funny to march across the plaza while I'm pretty sure some officials from the military? inspected us. Good times.

Kate and I all dolled up for the parade 

We had lots of other fun activities too: kayaking on the Pacific, barbeques, watching the lunar eclipse, and lots of late nights laughing and talking. It would be so easy to stay and it's another place I'm quite sad to leave. I was sent off with presents, drinks, and lots of hugs. I'll definitely miss this place but time to get on the road again.