Puerto Varas
As
a child, the one thing I looked forward to more than anything was
holidays. Visiting family and
friends was great, but the fact that I wasn’t stuck in a classroom - that
sometimes brought tears of joy to my eyes. Let’s just say some things never change. When you are in a different country
with a limited amount of time and a limitless desire to explore, it is amazing
what you can accomplish. With my
four-day weekend, my friends Kirby, Valeria, Justine, May, Emily and I orchestrated
an adventure South. Our small goal
was to visit a couple wonderful small towns and a beautiful national park… 650
miles away…by bus and return in time for class.
 |
| Puerta Varas |
Our trip started in Talca at 0 dark
30 (seconds), Friday night/Saturday morning. The six of us—5 gringos and a Chilean -- ready to conquer
the world; our first challenge: 10 hours… on a bus. When we finally reached our destination, Puerto Montt, we
immediately hopped back on a local bus and headed back north for a half hour to
our home for the first day: Puerto Varas.
This beautiful city reminds me of Tahoe City, or another higher-end,
touristy, town, of awesomeness.
Our first fault, however, was that we came in the late April…not quite
the same April of Southern California. Many of the activities normally open, such as canyoneering,
were closed. Yet this group
persevered and enjoyed seeing the city and the surrounding areas.
 |
| Frutillar |
One interesting thing I learned
on the trip was that after the World Wars many Germans left Europe and settled
in the South of Chile. Though I
have never been to Germany, there was a distinct German ambiance that provided
a nice change of perspective. The
food, the houses, and the people were just a bit different. I don’t know the reason, but idea of
Germans speaking Spanish and living in Chile really intrigued me. A few of us
hopped on another bus and headed to a small town called Fruitlliar (strawberry)
or (fruitilla). This town really
felt a lot like Tiburon near San Francisco. Besides a wonderful lake, and a beautiful performing arts
center, the cheesecake/cobbler-like pie called Kuchen (cookin), really
completed the experience. We
returned to Puerto Varas and had a wonderful meal at a restaurant that just so
happened to be featured on the food network.
 |
| Castro |
Sunday morning started bright and
early with a trip south to Chiloe.
After a 5-hour bus ride, which included our bus driving onto a boat,
pretty sick, we made it to a city called Castro. Situated near another beautiful lake, Castro reminded me of
San Francisco. There was a little
market to buy ceviche and other goods, houses built on stilts, and a beautiful
view. This town however was just a
stopping point before we arrived on our final destination: Chiloé National
Park. After another bus ride (see a theme?) we finally arrived at the latitude
42.600 S and our beautiful bungalow hotel on a lake, less than a mile from the
ocean and 300 meters from the entrance to the park. I’ll let the photos explain, but Chiloé exemplified the
beauty Chile has to offer. After a
quick excursion to the beach, almost, we found an awesome cafeteria in the
middle of woods, in pitch darkness that served some of the best fish yet…
random I know.
 |
| Chiloé |
When we awoke the next day a few
of us ventured to the park to see her in all her glory. Unique trees, and plants painted a
beautiful green canvas as we traveled.
The friendly dog we met the last night accompanied us on our journey
through the forest and then to a vista point overlooking the ocean. The rainstorm everybody warned us about
hit us…of course when we were farthest from any shelter. By the time we slogged back to the
hotel, the blue sky and smiling sun came out to say hello. After one last photo we hopped on the
first of three busses that eventually drug us back to Talca eighteen stressed-filled
and uncomfortable hours later. Chiloe
-- your legends precedes you!
Learn about those legends here. http://www.thisischile.cl/Article.aspx?id=4153&sec=196&eje=&t=chiloe-the-island-of-legends&idioma=2
More photos can be found on my facebook.
No comments:
Post a Comment