Chilling in Chile: El sur de Chile

Buenas tardes a todos!

I am back from our excursion to the south of Chile, and I have a lot to say! Let me start with last week, though, before the trip.

Tuesday my group went to the Precolumbian art museum. Although museums are not my favorite thing in the world, this one was pretty cool. I always think it's amazing to see the kind of details that natives included in their pottery and statues thousands of years ago! We got to see art from all over South American, not just Chile. We even saw some of the oldest mummies in the world!

After class on Wednesday, my friends and I went back to Plaza de las Armas to explore and shop! We ended up at El Mercado Central- a local market full of local fruits, vegetables, and fish! It was pretty cool to explore such a typical market in Chile. The fish was especially a sight to see! It was really great being in the center of Santiago. We were able to navigate the metro (with the help of my host mom!) and got ourselves there so easily! Sometimes it's easy to forget that we live in the biggest city in Chile, since our area is pretty calm, but visiting Plaza de las Armas, el Mercado Central, and the center of the city remiunded us that 40% of Chileans live in Santiago!

On Thursday morning, we left Santiago for the south of Chile! We flew out of the Santiago Airport at 1pm and landed in Puerto Montt 2 hours later! While we certainly were not at the southern tip of Chile, the weather was still very different from sunny, warm Santiago! We met our tour guide for the weekend, a Swiss man named Stephan (who had the best accent!) and went to a restaurant in Puerto Montt for lunch. Somehow, the restaurant managed to squeeze 32 of us in a tiny room where we were literally sitting on top of each other! It was a little uncomfortable, but I always figure that invading someone's personal space is a good way to bond. Some people ate curanto- a typical plate of southern Chile with many different kinds of fish, seafood, and meat- but I was not feeling that adventurous. The restaurant was right on the water, and after we ate, we got to watch a few seals catch some fish! That was pretty cool.

After lunch, we went to our hotel (The Holiday Inn, haha!). It was a breath of fresh air after living in Santiago. We had a gorgeous view of the water, a balcony, and the cleanest bathroom ever! After settling in, my friends and I explored Puerto Montt and ended up walking several miles to a great shopping area. It was so fun! We explored the mall that was attached to our hotel, as well, and ate in the food court. I refused to buy from an American chain, though! Chilean fast food all the way!

On Friday, we ate a huge, delicious breakfast at the hotel. Then we got on the bus and rode to Puerto Varas, a nearby town. We visited a national park there, and saw beautiful waterfalls and rapids! There were these huge horsefly-like creatures that kept attacking everyone, but luckily I did not get bitten! After the park, we drove to a beautiful lake between the three volcanoes in the area. We got to take a tour around the lake in a boat! Unfortunately, this is when my camera died, so all the pictures I have from the rest of Friday have been stolen from my friends! The lake was gorgeous and so peaceful, except that the huge bugs continued to try and attack us :-(. After the boat ride, we got to watch a man paint beautiful landscapes on tiles with his fingers! It was pretty amazing.

We boarded the bus once more and began the long, crazy drive up one of the nearby volcanoes- Volcan Osorno. Osorno is one of the three volcanos in the area, and unfortunately it is the more dormant. We were disappointed to learn that there was not a hole at the top and you could not see any lava. Our disappointment disappeared, however, when we learned that we could take a chair lift up some of the volcano and then zipline down it! That was very, very cool. Even though we had to wait for a really long time and were so starving by then (it was about 4:30 and we had not eaten since 9!), we all loved the volcano and zipline. I could not believe that I was standing on actual molten rock! I took some home with me! The view was incredible, but it was pretty chilly! I was beginning to wish I had brought gloves! Very different from what I was used to in Santiago (but still much warmer than in NJ!)

After the volcano, we drove back down and to a restaurant in Puerto Varas. I was so incredibly hungry by then, but luckily we had an excellent meal. We celebrated all the birthdays in January (3 students and 1 professor have birthdays during the trip), so we got delicious cake! It was a really long day, but so worth it.

On Saturday, it was cold and rainy and windy. Stephan informed us as we climbed onto the bus that we would not be able to go on our planned penguin tour, and we were all so disappointed. I wanted to see wild penguins! But it was just too rainy and windy. We drove to Chiloe, Chile's largest island. We had to take a ferry there. I had no idea a bus as big as ours could even fit on a ferry! While we were crossing to ocean to the island, I spotted a penguin swimming in the water! I was glad that I got to see one penguin after all :-)

In Chiloe, we visited the capital city and had lots of time to shop and hang out. I walked along the shore and took some pictures of the gorgeous view. We visited a fort that was built by the Spanish when the people in Chiloe began to fight for their independence. At the fort, a 13 year old boy gave us a tour! That was adorable.

Since our penguin tour was canceled, we were able to go to a local Chiloean festival! It was pretty much in the middle of nowhere and we had to drive an hour down tiny, dirt roads to get there, but it was great! We were the only tourists there. We got to eat typical food, listen to traditional music, and talk to Chileans! I ate an apple empanada!

After the festival, we began the long journey back to Puerto Montt. Luckily, the view out my bus window was pretty awesome, so I did not mind the ride too much. When we got back, my friends and I grabbed dinner and spent the rest of the night hanging out in one of our hotel rooms. It was a really great day.

Sunday consisted mainly of traveling. I went to the mall for a bit, but we had to meet at 1pm for our journey home. The plane ride wasn't long, but I still did not get back to my apartment until almost 8pm! After such a long (but great!) weekend, I was more than ready for a relaxing night and early bedtime.