Valdivia

Downtown Valdivia at the market

Valdivia is a beautiful college town, situated in the tenth region at the meeting of two rivers (kind of like Portland!). It has a cool waterfront area with a huge fish market where you can get anything from salmon to barnacles.

There is a group of sea lions who hang out at the market, getting scraps from the fishermen and posing for pictures.

Careful! Sea lions are not domesticated animals! Seems pretty obvious...


Our main objective in Valdivia was to visit the famous Kunstmann brewery. Kunstmann is Chile’s top microbrew. Although it can't really compete with Oregon beer, it comes pretty close.


Tacky blow-up "German" outside the brewery


Much to our dismay, the actual brewery was under construction, but we still got to sample some good beer and eat a hearty German meal in the restaurant,

Jack and Margaret enjoying a schop! (draft beer served in a big glass)


not to mention visit the souvenir shop and take the obligatory cheesy tourist picture.

We also had an amazing meal at this Peruvian restaurant on the waterfront (here’s Jo and Margaret basking in the sunset) and explored a local antiques market and used book fair.

Jack and Jo on the bridge


Jack after he finally got the cup of coffee he was searching for...

Cochamo Valley with the Anti-Tabano Task Force

After our experience with the tabanos in Chiloe (extra large and super annoying horse flies), we changed our plans to go backpacking at a park near Puerto Varas and decided to head further east to Cochamo Valley, hoping for fewer tabanos. Regardless, we prepared for the worst by buying long-sleeved white shirts and leaving all shiny objects behind. (supposedly they are attracted to dark colors and shiny things) On the bus ride to Cochamo town, our fears of tabano attacks escalated as we passed through Ensenada and Vicente Perales park, bearing witness to helpless gringos swatting wildly as they exited the bus.

We reached the sleepy little town of Cochamo on the banks of the Reloncavi estuary and immediately began searching for someone who could drive us up the gravel road to the park entrance. We quickly met Mauricio who agreed to drive us the 10 km for a fair price.

Cochamo valley is absolutely beautiful, but the unmarked trail was pure hell: 4 ½ hours of muddy horse trenches and multiple water crossings. Luckily most of the trail was in the forest, protecting us from the hot sun and merciless tabanos. It was all worth it, however, when we got our first glimpse of the crystal clear river and stark granite cliffs surrounding the valley.

Our plans to camp dissolved when we saw the swarming tabanos and cow pies in the shadeless camping area, so we quickly crossed the river in hopes of finding refuge in the Refugio Cochamo, run by a gringo/Argentine couple. Check out the photo of the "carrito" that we used to cross the river. The river was swarming with tabanos and while taking pictures of me on the carrito, Jo unknowingly captured a tabano in the photo.

The Refugio from a distance

We were the only guests there and had a relaxing and restful afternoon, playing with Clementina and Manzanilla, the house kittens.

Chillin' out on the porch

The next morning we awoke to a mist-covered rain forest after suffering through an intolerably hot and humid night.

We took advantage of the cool weather (tabanos only come out when it’s sunny!) to do some exploring. We found the natural water slide and numerous waterfalls and pools. We took a dip in the freezing-cold glacial water and took a few trips down the water slide.

Jo doing her best frog pose.



Taking a dip in the ice cold river!



One of the bridge crossings used by rock climbers to access the surrounding cliffs.

We spent the rest of the afternoon playing cards and sharing a box of red wine. The next day we left early, met Mauricio at the trail head, and caught the bus back to Puerto Varas. Overall our experience in the valley was amazing!

Puerto Varas- Get your quaint on!

We never knew that gasoline was lime green. But when we drove from Chiloe to Puerto Montt we discovered that there are no gas stations on the hour drive. Desperate and running on fumes, we stopped at a local store where brave friend Petra inquired about gas. The owner delivered with a milk jug full of a bright green liquid, which cost 7 dollars US. It was worth every penny!!

On the bus between Puerto Montt and Puerto Varas we passed raging forest fires. On arrival we found ourselves in a different world. Puerto Varas, situated on Lago Llanquihue at the foot of Volcano Osorno is a quaint lakeside town known for its German influence and charm.

Our first stop at restaurant Mediterraneo afforded us a great view of the lake. Sitting on the deck we were also surprised to see it was literally snowing ash. The thick smoke set Jack’s allergies off and the first day was a sniffly experience.

That night we stayed at the oldest hostel in Puerto Varas, Hellwig. Its turn of the century metal spring beds and spooky vibe (not to mention the bug bites Petra woke up with the next day) led us to seek out another location. We quickly settled on Casa Margouya 2, a picture perfect historic home turned hostel. Colorful rooms and friendly French staffers made this a perfect choice.

Casa Margouya 2

Jo in the Casa Margouya's well equipped kitchen.

During the day Jo and I took a self guided tour of the town's church and colonial homes, many of which were built by German immigrants at the turn of the century.

We also caught a great view at the top of the city’s Mt Tabor like Park, Parque Philippi.

Iglesia del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus

After our tour we headed down to the lake to get our feet wet, enjoy some ice cream and check out the waterfront's sculptures and artisan market.

That night we joined Petra and Margaret at their nearby hostel “The Guest House” where we took advantage of their excellent kitchen and put together an Italian feast. For dessert we chowed down on a delicious kuchen, one of the areas signature German inspired desserts. YUM!!!!!!

Kuchen----- YUM!!!!


The following day we sent Petra on her way back to Vina (after another piece of kuchen) and headed to Frutillar, another cute German influenced town on the lake with a stunning waterfront theatre and a tranquil beach and waterfront.



After a stroll and a quick lunch we bussed to nearby Puerto Octay for a peak at the famous (you guessed it) German architecture. However, due to the incredible heat we ended up taking shelter in a local restaurant and killed some time with a locally brewed beer.

Puerto Varas fulfilled our desires for a picturesque quaint lakeside town and it will definitely be on our list of places to see when we return to Chile.

Isla de Chiloé

After Patagonia we flew out of Punta Arenas towards Puerto Montt. During the flight we had the opportunity to view some of the largest glaciers in the world from the windows of the plane. It was absolutely incredible!

Next stop Puerto Montt, a major hub in southern Chile. We met up with our friends Margaret and Petra, rented a car and headed south towards the magical island of Chiloé. Chiloé is home to mythological creatures such as the Trauco, a nasty little troll that seduces virgins. Also there is the Invunche, a male child kidnapped by a Chilote brujo who changed the child into a deformed hairy monster by breaking his legs and twisting them over his back, applying a magic cream over the boy's back to cause thick hairs to grow and, finally, splitting his tongue to produce a forked, snake-like, tongue. The girls swear they saw the Trauco in a super market, but I don’t know…

ISLAND OF CHILOE

Day 1: We took a 30 minute ferry to the main island, watching sea lions play in the waves along the way. Our first stop was Quemchi, a cute little waterfront town. There we had some empanadas and a house made pisco sour. The restaurant is famous for their hospitality, so it was no surprise when the owner personally came out to greet us and show off his guest-books. They also gave us samples of their home-infused murta (huckleberry-like berry) liquor.

View from restaurant deck in Quemchi.

Next we took a 5 minute ferry to a smaller islet of Chiloé to visit Achao, a very cute Chilote fishing village with rustic homes featuring an array of traditional Chilote shingles in all shapes and sizes.

On the ferry "Man-Pue"

Typical shingled Chilote buildings in Achao

Here is Jack in front of our hostel, Sol y Lluvia.

Day 2: After breakfast we walked around Achao’s waterfront market and main square, where we visited the oldest church in Chiloé, one of the many completely wooden churches (including the nails!) found throughout the Chilote islands.

Check out the intricate woodwork and design.

Achao's waterfront

Here’s a view of Achao on the way out of town.

Next stop was Castro, capital of Chiloé. A surprisingly large and bustling city in comparison to many of Chiloé’s sleepy villages. Castro is famous for its many palafitos, villages on stilts over water.

After finding a hostel, we happened upon a cool-looking lounge where Jack met a local DJ and was invited to play later that night. After a nap we headed to Kaweshkar Lounge where we found a hip, young crowd. Jack and resident DJ Roscub played until 3am and we all had a blast, meeting up with other friends and travelers who just happened to be in Chiloé at the same time.

Day 3: We headed to Chiloé's national park hoping to do some hiking and maybe spot a trauco. :) Little did we know that tabano season was in full force. Tabanos are the horse fly’s evil cousin. They are 3 times as big and a million times more annoying. We've since leaned that tabano season is usually from the end of December through the beginning of February. How convenient.

The Tabano

After about 30 minutes on the trail, we abandoned our outdoor ambitions and took cover at the first restaurant we found. I think it was the best pisco sour we’ve ever had!

Here we are indoors and happily protected from the tabanos.

Here are a few other churches we saw on our day trips while in Chiloé.

The church in Chonchi


And another one...


Jo was determined to see every church in Chiloé, if you can't tell already.

Day 4: We left Chiloé and drove back to dreaded Puerto Montt to drop off our rental car and head to our next stop, Puerto Varas… to be continued.