A Chilean Adventure

Saturday - When morning came, it was time to just find our way around the town. Nearly every town is situated around a central plaza that typically has a statue or gazebo and a park. We found our way to the center and were pleased to see an agricultural cooperative nearby. Inside, we found a lot of animal pharmaceuticals, a book of dairy sires (some from CRI and Select Sires!) and we met our first Chilean dairy farmer. I think the person working thought we were crazy, but we felt like it made us more at home in Chile.

Our next stop as we explored the town was at a store that sold some very expensive souvenirs. We just wanted to look around, but somehow we found ourselves in a philosophical discussion with the storeowner. He expressed his concern over Chile’s rapid change to capitalism and how the people all have a misguided view of what they need and don’t need to have. I’m not sure about the quality of the topic, but we were just impressed that we carried out a pretty long conversation!

After getting some information and directions from the tourist information office, we set out to Cerro Phillip (Phillip’s Hill) and did some hiking. It didn’t seem like we were going up very high, but when we got to the good lookout spots, the view was incredible. Puerto Varas is located on a large lake and on the opposite side is a huge, snow-capped volcano. It made for some amazing pictures.

When we got back into town, we walked to the other end to visit “La Iglesia de Sacrado Corazón” (Sacred Heart Church). We did the tourist thing (walked around and took pictures) but then we saw that there was a mass that night.

We went back to shower and dress a little more nicely, and then spent some time at the Internet café (there seem to be internet cafés everywhere). I tried to use Skype for the first time and was able to talk with my mom and Kayla. It was REALLY great to talk to them and tell them a few thoughts and experiences about Chile and hear about some things that were happening back home. It was too bad that Dad and Dylan weren’t around, but I’m sure I’ll catch them next time.

Afterward, I attended my first Chilean Catholic mass. They didn’t have a prayer book or songbook to follow along with so I couldn’t really participate, but I knew what was happening because the order of the mass was exactly the same. The only big difference I saw was that during the parts where people usually kneel, some people knelt and some stood. That was kind of strange. Also, during communion, they didn’t dismiss by rows - it was a free-for-all. I was really glad that we went to the service. It was one more thing that made me feel more comfortable in Chile.

When church ended at 9:00 p.m., we were starving because we hadn’t eaten supper yet. We went to the local panadería (the bread shop that we came to love during our time in Puerto Varas) and got empanadas for only $1. We’ve already discovered that empanadas are something that Chile does well. We took them to the pier by the lake to enjoy our moonlit dinner. While we were eating, some kids came over and started talking to us. Pretty soon their parents were talking to us too. They were on a huge family vacation from Santiago. The whole family, grandparents, five siblings, and all of their kids, all rode on a bus to Puerto Varas, which was probably about 12 hours. The conversation was fun and lively and at times, the adults spoke too quickly for us to understand, so the kids had to “translate” by just saying the same thing slower and more simply. It was one more thing that made us excited about living in Chile!

Sunday - Today is the first time we actually had plans for what we want to do for the day. We caught a minibus to Petrohué, which is a tourist destination close to Puerto Varas, but on a different lake. Once we got there, the information office for the national park had hiking maps and they were really good at giving directions and advice. We set out on a 4-hour trek that took us near the base of the volcano, across dried up rivers that carry water to the lake in the spring, and down along the coast of the lake. There were some huge “horse flies” that were buzzing around us constantly, but otherwise it was pretty enjoyable. We worked up a good sweat and saw some fascinating landforms up close. When we got back to Petrohué, we hung out by the campsite and waded in the lake for a bit.

Before heading back to Puerto Varas, we caught a minibus to go a few miles to Los Saltos. It was along the river that the lake empties into and we quickly found that it must be a pretty good place because it was packed with visitors. There were three trails through the park. The first took us to see a really cool waterfall with some rapids. The water was an amazing color of blue and you could see the rocks at the bottom from a long distance. The next trail wasn’t too exciting, but the third trail took us around the “jungle” area of the park and it had informational signs along the way about how the land and vegetation was formed. The volcano we were near earlier had a huge influence because the cooled lava created all of the neat rock formations. Then the rock slowly eroded enough to support plant life, which quickly flourished into a lot of different trees, ferns, etc. All of it happened since the volcano’s continuous eruptions in the mid-1800s.

When we returned back to town, we walked past our favorite panadería to grab some oven-baked meat empanadas and head back to the hostel for a shower. I went to the internet café after I was clean and fed and got to talk to Mike on Skype. Again, it was awesome to talk to people back home. I’m not homesick yet, but it’s nice to know what’s going on and share a little of your experiences. Skype seems like it’ll be really great to communicate for free to loved ones.

Time for bed. We’re going to have a long day tomorrow!