Three Sunny Days on Chiloe

Saturday morning was not any different from a usual work day except for getting up was a little bit easier knowing that we would not end up for nine hours in the office. It was a beautiful morning; The sun was rising, the air freezing cold and humid, and the volcanoe was not hidden in the clouds. The lake was covered with vapor and the orange glowing sunlight was reflected in a way that no matter where you looked everything appeared to be orange. Eli and I made our way to Hertz Rent-a-Car. We were confident about finding the branch office; We knew the street, not the house number but here everything is small so the street name should have been sufficient. WRONG!!! We kept walking around in circles trying to find what we were looking for...Nothing! No Hertz office or nothing that would look close like one. But hey, luckily there is something called coincident. After walking around for about 15 minutes we ended up running into a woman standing in front of a red small car with an envelope in her hands that said "HERTZ" on it-we knew, it was our lady. After all the paper work was done we hopped into the car and went back to our house to get our stuff. Once the car was loaded we headed to the Casa Azul to pick up Carina. NOT!!! Saturday morning at 9 o'clock in a residential area the car alarm went off probably waking up the whole neighbourhood. It took us about ten minutes to figure out how to switch it off and the car on.

Finally we could start our adventure. We left Puerto Varas listening to the chilled guitar-man Jack Johnson, the sun behind us heading to Pargua to the ferry. It was perfect timing. We arrived at the pier 1.5 hours later and were the last car that could possibly fit on the ferry-we did not know the schedule (which would have been unreliable anyway) but once we were aboard the ferry made its way to Chiloe. After we paid the 9.000 pesos we got off the car and went on deck. The air was still freezing but the panorama was worth being cold. After 35 minutes and a bunch of pictures on our cameras we arrived in Chacao, left the ferry, and headed along the northern coastal line towards Ancud. We took a 90 degree right turn after 6 ks onto a gravel road taking us to Caulin. It was the first time that driving got more challenging as the road was covered with potholes. But it took us into the country side where many fishermen are living. We passed lonley houses, a fully loaded oxcart, and many locals doing their work. Eventually we arrived at the beach situated parallel to the street. I was telling the girls that we should encounter some pelicans here. We saw some but they turned out to be flamingos-I got a little bit mixed up there which gave the girls enough reason to take the piss out of me :). The first two we saw were not to nice because once we got closer (a good distance to take pictures) they decided to just take off. But lucky as we are we saw another three being nice and allowing us to take pictures. It was the first time for me to see those nice pink animals outside of a zoo. We kept on going in the same direction hoping that we would get back to the main road at some point but soon we discovered that we had to turn around. It was just another 20 ks to Ancud where we visited the last Spanish fort of whole Chile.Afterwards we went to the Mercado Municipal, a market on which Chileans were selling arts, traditional woodcrafts, and the famous Chiloe wool or cloths made out of the "lana". It was not time for us to get some lunch and so we stopped by a tipical Chilean restaurant and ate fish-a must on Chiloe. I finally had what I am missing so much here in Puerto Varas: Chilean culture that is not too similar to the European culture.

We left the restaurant, got in the car, and made our way to the northern tip of the island. The road was well paved and we advanced with a fair speed. However, for the last 17 ks we once again hit a gravel road, covered with potholes, and also giving a feeling of going on a roller-coaster as it was going up and down and up and down...we passed some wooden churches (Chiloe has liturally hundreds of those) and had to drive around cows, sheep, horses, and of course dogs. Suddenly the road ended opening out to the beach and sea. Very interesting as there was no warning sign or nothing-luckily the speed was limited to appr. 30km/h anyway due to the road conditions. We parked the car and trekked about 200 meters to the fort. Interesting enough was that we had to climb a fence that was cutting off the original way to the fort. The fort was bigger than the one in Ancud, covered with grass, canons, a couple of underground tombs, and a small lighthouse. This historical site was surrounded by bays, trillion liters of water, and the mainland. On our way back to civilization we had an encounter with a cow which brandmarked us for the rest of our lifes. Yes, I am serious; A cow!!! This cow had an ice scraper pierced through its nose-unfortunately we were shocked so badly that we forgot to take a picture...The next encounter with a cow just a few hundred meters up the gravel road was another interesting one. That animal was standing on the road and Eli had the brave idea to take a picture while it was looking into the open window. I thought it to be a bad idea and just accelerated ;) Meanwhile the sun had started to set and we still had good few miles to get to our next destination. On the west-coast where the waves of the Pacific Ocean were breaking on the beach was a penguin colony. The road was once again anything else but good (gravel and potholes) and exactly on the narrowest bit, downhill of course, a lorry was heading uphill towards us. I had to put the car into reverse till we found a place to pass. A little bit before we passed a premises that was on sale: On the hill, beach/ocean view, just incredible. If I had the necessary "plata" I would have invested and built a family summer residence. And once again the road just ended somewhere on the beach without any warning. We got of the car and walked a fair bit on the beach right into the sunset. We learned that you had to take boats out to the penguin colony which of course, were not running anymore. All the bumps etc. for nothing; almost nothing because we still had the amazing sunset. We hopped back on the car after we inspected a rockformation where we found dead crabs. From here it was some 80 ks to Chonchi where we had a hostal for the two nights we were to spend on Chiloe. We had some troubles finding the place because the location did not quite corresbond to the map. The warden was a nice Canadian feller who sure was not capable of keeping the place clean. It was all pretty icky but in the end a really cute place on the beach. Before I went to bed I had to get the warden to give me CLEAN sheets for my bed (which had not been changed from the last guest). While he was making my bed we were talking and because the world is small we coincidently found out that we knew the same people in Talca (further up north).

After a pancake breakfast (hairs included, but never mind) and really good coffee (!!!) we headed towards Dalcahue where we visited la Feria de Artesenal. It is a market at the waterfront where Chiloens sell their handycrafts and cloths. In the water were dozens of small fisher boats that gave the whole place a particular atmosphere. I was looking for a certain type of sweater but unlucky to find it. From there we walked towards the plaza and visited the church-one the hundreds wooden churches on Chiloe. As it was sunday morning we were lucky enough to partly follow through a service. We walked back to the car and made our way to the END of the Pan Americana which is located in Quellón in the South of Chiloe. What bothered me most was that the street was slippery at some parts as it was freezing cold over night. On our way to Dalcahue we were driving around a corner, followed by a downhill passage, curvy and damn slippery. Due to our good teamwork we kept the car on the rode, sliding down the hill, being lucky enough that no car was coming towards us as we were using both sides of the road (unvoluntarily). However, our car brought us safely down the 60ks. Almost at our destination we were stopped by a policeman. When we looked ahead we understood why. A big crane was recovering two big trucks with trailors which must have crashed earlier that day-both completely damage. It cost us about 30minutes. We were the first car in the line, the policeman standing right in front of us. Yet Carina had the brave idea to throw her banana peel out the door. Luckily the policeman was not to keen to punish some Germans and we continued our trip. Carlos our warden told us

that there was a Feria in Quellon that day with tradition foods and handycrafts but nobody knew nothing about a festival. Later we found out that the event took place in Queilen and not in Quellon. But it was still worth driving down there because we were at the End of the Pan Americana! And indeed it is an end, leading directly onto the beach. Here, at Punta Lapa was the monumento and eventhough we just did some 200ks of the 22.000ks long highway, it was a great feeling. We shot some really great pictures and very soon I felt that I really needed to go to the toilet...And there it began again, the search for a toilet. As it did the day before as well this lead us to the restaurant where we had lunch. I used the way back for a siesta. Eventually we arrived in Castro.

In Castro we started to walk around the Plaza, yet not knowing how much fun the night would be. We ended up in a bar having dinner and after having figured out who is driving (me!!!) the girls also had some drinks. The food was delicious-it was an American Diner style bar. Our waiter, some young chilenean feller, had the greatest time of his life I reckon'. We ordered quite a bit of which he forgot half and then I ordered a "cafe con puma" (yet I did not mean the animal but "espuma" meaning milk froth) which got him totally confused. Once we finished our food and coffee we ended up playing pool in the same venue. Which I should not mention is that it took us two hours to finish three games. Where did all my skills from my time at uni go?! Anyway, we still had loads of fun and eventually some Chileans started talking to us. We played another game with them. The tried to explain the Chilean pool style which we did not understand and so we played the common European style. As it was sunday night they threw us out at about midnight and we decided to stop by their house for a couple of drinks (coke for me). We had good fun at their house and it turned out that the dad of one of the guys played in the Chilean national soccer squad a few years back. The guy himself was a paramedic and at about 3o'clock his phone rang that the ambulance would pick him up to head to an accident. Fair enough we thought. He told us to just follow the ambulance out of town (because we did not know the way out of town) and so we did, hunting down the city streets with an unbelievable high velocity. Once I knew the way I slowed down and we watched the ambulance disappearing. And here comes the funny part. A few ks down the road that same ambulance was waiting for us. What is going on here in Chile-we just hoped that this poor guy would not pass away because of us. Later we found out that it was just a little cut wound...

After another hairy pancake breakfast we started our way towards the Chiloe National Parc. The map indicated once again a dirt road but lucky as we had been on the trip the Chileans meanwhile built a western standard road. We were really happy about it because we were running out of time. It was an incredible picturous way taking us along a huge lake and through villages to our destination Cucao at the Pacific coast. Cucao is a tiny village yet with beautiful surroundings. We drove along the coast, the road became narrower...we crossed a bridge and there it finally was: the dirt road. To our left was the beach and to our right forest and mountains (eventhough small :). We passed some big plants that looked like those killer-man-eating plants of horror movies. Eventually we hopped of the car to take in some fresh air and the obligatory pictures. Back on the dirt road we kept on goin and goin and goin and suddenly stopped because we had a big humangous puddle in fron of us. As we could not turn around I put the car in reverse and backed up all the way...after a while I had a stiff neck but we took on camera...If it works I ll publish the video as well. On the way back we stopped at a loop path through the dunes to the beach and back to the car. And there we had a deja-vu. Just this time it was not an ambulance showing us the way but a horse. Once we were falling back it stopped, turned around, looked where we were, and once we caught up, continued its way. We met hundreds of wild horses-it was just beautiful. Unfortunately we did not quite make it to the beach because it was too far for our time frame. So we turned around, enjoyed a couple of amazing views of a viewpoint, and went back to the car. From here we had a long drive to Dalcahue to catch a ferry to Anchao, an island on which we cruised around without having a real plan. The most interesting thing was though, that you drove onto the ferry forwards but had to drive off the ferry in reverse. Back on Chiloe we headed north to the ferry. It got dark and after three days of bright sun it started raining. The girls were sleeping, I was driving, listening to the radio. Once we arrived in Ancud for the second time on our journey, Eli and Carina woke up and we strolled over the Mercado Municipal where the stalls were already shutting down. We got some food from the supermarket, a coffee for me, and happy about these awesome three days we drove to the ferry taking us to the mainland. Just as lucky as on our way to Chiloe we were the last car that had space on the ferry and as soon as we stopped the engine the ferry took off.

A Half-Day Trip to the Saltos of Petrohue

One important thing to do after a 45-hour week is to find the right balance on the weekends. Next to all the fiestas you sure do some resting. Last sunday after resting quite a bit bit my planned full-day excursion was impossible and I had to make a half-day trip out of it. I got up, had a quick breaky, and went to the bus stop. Pato, one of my house mates told me the bus would leave every hour on the half-hour. The bus did not arrive until a quarter to which did not bother me too much because punctuality is just not known here. However, at the same time I felt a little insecure because I did not know if I was at the right bus stop and also, the signage of the busses is not-let's say-the most clearly laid out. Living in a small ville ;) I coincidently met a girl which had been at our house a couple of times who was waiting for the same bus. Now I knew that I was at the right bus stop but starting a conversation in Spanish on a Sunday morning at 1:30pm really is a big challenge...

Eventually the bus arrived, a small bus, I paid my 2000pesos (appr. 2.80€-yes, I found the Euro-sign on the keyboard :) and the bus headed on to my destination-the Saltos of Petrohue. The bus ride took me along the shore of my Lago Llanquihue, via Ensanada, to the Vicente Perez Rosales National Park. During the one-hour drive I absorbed the landscape around me: Pampa, trees, and to my left the breath-taking Osorno volcanoe shaped like a cone covered with powdered sugar-you can even ski on that 2.600metres tall mountain.

I hopped of the bus, paid the entrance fee and started walking through the Valdivian temperate rainforest to the saltos. It brought back the feeling of all the forests I had seen in South East Asia, except for here it is winter. By the way, I found out why it is raining so much around here in winter: winter = rainy season :) Have a look at the pictures how wonderful these saltos are. And I was luckily because when you look closely you will identify that the sun was shinging-no rain. Taking in the nature I waited until the sun started to disappear behind the Osorno, also visible from the waterfalls. Soon I had to leave because there were still to more circuits to explore. The first one took me deeper into the forests and hey, no snakes, spiders, or those leeches, my friends from Thailand and Malaysia. Very impressed I made my way walked by the enamorados, two small waterfalls making their way into a small lagoon, along a small dark-saned beach until I came back to the beginning of the circuit. Already on my way towards the exit I started the third circuit which took me about 45 minutes. It took me even much deeper into the rainforest which could clearly be seen by the vegetation of ferns and Arayanes trees. After I few hundred meters I suddently stopped because right in front of my on something that used to be a tree sat this absolutely adorable little bird. I took a couple of pictures and continued my way, came over a bridge which was the turning point of the circuit and on the way back I saw humongous birds above my head. The batting of their wings made a noice which was quite scary. It got even scarier when I arrived at the second small bridge where I was surrounded by a dozens of them. I felt like in Hitchcock's "The Birds".

The bus should have left at half past four and I hoped to be at the end of the circuit soon. I was at the bus stop at a quarter past four and barely made it! I was the only passenger and learned that not only busses are late here but also quarter of an hour too early. That means if a bus is due at half past you should be at least 15 minutes before departure at the stop and if unlucky might have to wait another 15 minutes. So never ever complain again about the public transport in Germany ;) I found my way home quite interesting because not only did the sun gave the sky a nice color but also the busride itself was somewhat different from what I am used to. The busdriver did not only think that schedules are for fun and worth nothing but also stopped in the middle of nowhere to talk to his busdriver-buddy approaching from the other direction. A few k's later the busdriver not only stopped the bus but put his vehicle into reverse saying: "Oh a friend of mine!" backing up into a gravel side road. Meanwhile, I was not the only passenger anymore but nobody seemed to care. I concluded to myself that this must be a common thing here in Chile-or at least in Region X. Back in Puerto Varas I thanked the busdriver for the chat, hopped of the bus, and made my way in the cold through Puerto Varas to my house.

My House-Get an Impression

Yeah, it really is a house but obviously not just mine. As written before, I share my home with nine other people and guess what?! I finally know all their names. It has been almost two weeks now and either it is getting a little bit warmer or I just got used to get up in the cold, walk that seemingly endless long, cold way to the shower (which is just down the stairs), and jump under the hot shower in a freezing bathroom. Ok, enough whining-it's all good. In contrast it is very comfi sitting in the kitchen or the TV-corner at night each heated by a wood stove. This is obviously just the case if somebody is found to start a fire ;) I also had to change rooms which did not bother me too much-and after all, I like my new room more than my old one which is just next door.

The weekends I found are everything else but relaxing. The weekends start on thursday night (after which still comes an early friday morning) and end on sunday night. For all of you who do not know math: that equals three days of sufficient rest and four days with a lack of sleep. My plan when going to Chile was to reduce my consumption of disenchanting fluids but the problem with that is: I am on the South American continent. Wine, pisco-sour, pis-cola in combination with salsa, merengue, fiestas, and asados equals a good time with "friends" and collegues and the consumption of those fluids (I sure was not aware of this. But do not worry-I am far away of being an alcoholic and I am on my way to find the right dosing. It is important for me to not deprive you of that South American cultural aspect :)

Of course I am not just having fun on the weekends but also do a lot for the educational part of my stay abroad. Reading, writing diary, studying some Spanish verbs, sports, and getting around...Just yesterday I went on a half-day excursion to the Saltos de Petrohue, some nice waterfalls situated in the Vincente Perez Rosales National Park.