This year I started my winter escape from paradise island, Kodiak, visiting with my two sisters in Holland , PA. We spent the week eating and watching movies for the most part. We saw Bohemian Rhapsody on the big screen as well as The Green Book. Both excellent, I thought, and Black Klansman we watched on Charlene’s TV. So after a week of family, I headed to Chile on Dec. 12.
I was soon to reunite with an old friend, Barb Knapton, who lived and fished in Kodiak so very long ago. She suggested I fly to Lima, then Tacna, Peru, and take a taxi across the border to Arica, Chile.
So I did just that, not anticipating that my luggage would be lost. The Tacna employees on the ground took my information and said it would be 2 or 3 days before they could get my luggage to me. The fact that I was traveling to Arica in a taxi for my reserved lodging didn’t help. So I had no change of clothes, no toothbrush, no sunscreen, no hat. Luckily I had reservations for two nights at Jardin del Sol, a wonderful hostel for “grownups” that helped make me feel very comfortable. I bought 2 short sleeve shirts because I was sweltering in the long sleeve shirt I arrived in, and a toothbrush, but hesitated to spend money on a hat and sunscreen. After all it would only be another 2 days before I was reunited with my luggage. I came to regret that decision as the sun is extremely bright and I toasted well. When my 2 nights were up at Jardin del Sol, my luggage had still not arrived, so I extended for one more night, but when the morning sun did not deliver my luggage I decided I had to take the bus to Putre, where my friend Barb lives.
Putre is a small Chilean town, altitude 11, 483’, located in the Arica-Parinacota Region at the edge of Lauca National Park. The bus travelled through sand and rock mountains, potato farms, dry stream beds, and passed tiny memorial casas adorned with plastic flowers for loved ones who had died, perched along the side of the road.
Barb met the bus as it maneuvered the narrow cobbled streets of Putre. She was looking very much like a local Putren, in sun hat and sturdy with dog. Her home is adobe/cement/brick, one bedroom, which she had graciously abandoned for me. She preferred a bed in the living area smothered under the weight of 3 dogs.
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| Bofedales |
Altiplano
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| Barb & I |
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| Barb and her dogs |
Arica
But it was time to move on. I had plans to spend Christmas with my friend Todd, who was traveling from his home in Ecuador. We explored the surfing beach town of Arica. Christmas is a big event in this mostly Catholic country and every night the main street was alive with performers; rock bands, military bands, carolers, dancers, singers aplenty.
Arica is also a major fishing port and also serves as a free port for Bolivia. My very favorite activity was to visit the Puerto de Arica and gaze upon the giant sea lions with necks close to the size of a VW bug, that were vying for scraps from the fish trimmings. The many pelicans that surrounded the fish cleaning station could only hope for a tidbit gone astray.
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| View from El Morro de Arica where in 1880 the Chilean Army defeated the Peruvian military to gain access to this headland. |
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| Todd and I enjoying a day at Cuevas de Angoto |
Iquique
Todd left me on the 27th, and I continued on down the coast to the surf town of Iquique. As the bus neared Iquique, I was disappointed to observe the miles and miles of barbed wire fencing that lined both sides of the highway acting as a catch all for a multitude of plastic bags wagging in the breeze. So sad - our world has evolved from grass and woven containers to ugly plastic bags.
I stayed at Backpackers’ Hostal for 3 nights and dined on delicious Thai food every night at the Thai Restaurant that adjoins the hostal. Iquique is known for its proximity to the sunken Navy vessel “Esmeralda” sunk during The Battle of Iquique, in 1879, by the Peruvian Navy Ship, ‘Huáscar’. The attractive ocean bordered walkway that extends for the length of the city is aways bustling with activity. Oh but did I mention that the ocean temperature was far too cold for me to soak anything but my toes, both in Arica and Iquique. The locals don’t seem to mind at all.
San Pedro de Atacama
Next stop, inland to San Pedro de Atacama, one of the driest places on earth. Unfortunately, it was New Years Eve and so many of the tours to the nearby lagoons and geysers were cancelled. I did get to Valle de la Luna which included a walk/crawl through salt caves, views of craters and lots of blowing sand and pebbles that felt like I was a human scouring pad.
Midnight on New Year’s Eve was fireworks and crowded streets with the wine a flowing. So of course New Year’s Day was quiet in the Hostal Rural. A group of us rallied around dinner time and we ventured out for a meal. When we returned to the hostal, my new young friends, Thessa, Katharina, and Sam surprised me with a Happy Birthday song and pieces of pie.
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| Valley of the Moon |
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| Hostal Buddies |
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| Sunset at high point. |
Isla Negra
From here on, my travels will take me in and out of Santiago, as it is a hub for other Chilean destinations. This capital city, the largest city in Chile, population 51/2 million, did not feel like a big city. I stayed in the lovely, small Poker Hostel, breakfast included.
Located in the quaint Region Metropolitana, with an abundance of sidewalk restaurants offering pisco sours 2 for 1 daily happy hour. One service that I found useful and fairly cheap, was Transvip, a transfer van that took me from the airport right to my hostal. I also traveled quite often on the Metro whenever I spent time in Santiago.
But my visit was short this first time, as I bussed to Isla Negra the following day. Isla Negra is a small coastal town and was the home of Pablo Neruda, where his coastal home is now a museum, well worth visiting. I was so impressed that I toured the museum a second time when Gloria, my daughter, and I joined forces a week later.
Besides being a poet, writer, and politician, he was foremost a collector of beautiful items, some man-made and some natural. He collected mast heads, miniature ships in bottles, bugs, butterflies, masks, musical instruments, shells, just to name seven.
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| Home of Pablo Neruda. No photos allowed inside |
Valparaiso
After 3 days in Isla Negra, I ventured west to Valparaiso. I had been warned to be very aware and careful in the streets of Valparaiso and indeed I found the crowded streets with people selling everything from TP to fruit to shoes from tables lined up along both sides of the center street just two blocks from the bus station to be a bit unnerving. And indeed, I did get my Chilean hat lifted from the top of my daypack in the 1st fifteen minutes, but after taking the locals advice; to wear my pack on the front with my purse wedged in between, I had no more incidents.
i spent the first night in a noisy hostel 2 blocks from the bus station and then moved to higher ground. The next 2 days and nights, at the Hostel Mariposa, were so delightful. A young couple, Tito and Maria, greeted me at the door and showed me to a wonderful room with a view of the city expanded below me. A group of four women, all friends of Maria, took me under their wing and invited me to a jam session of Chilean musicians. Lots of people dancing and swaying to the lively music. One particular dance, included partners, each waving a colorful scarf in a seductive manner, sometimes teasing each other closer sliding the scarf behind the neck or waist.
Valparaiso is a city with many faces. Seaport as well as university town.The section high on the hills, known as Concepcion, is an amazing kaleidoscope of colorful murals, steps, loads of restaurants, and even a few elevators if you can’t tackle the stairs.
Within easy bus access are several beaches; Vina Del Mar and the less touristy, Laguna Verde which I visited in the afternoon. It was a bit breezy and again, the water was way too chilly for me to indulge in swimming.
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| My daughter Gloria joined me in Chile. |
I returned to Santiago, for a rendezvous with Gloria, my energetic daughter, who had just completed a guiding tour up Aconcagua in Argentina. We hung out at the beach town of El Quisco, returned to Las Negra for a second visit to Pablo Neruda’s coastal home, and we spent an afternoon in Valparaiso. Then we headed by bus to Mendoza, in Argentina. The highlight of this visit, was a wine tour with “Mendoza Viaje’s” that took us to 2 wineries and culminated in a fabulous meal with the wine flowing quite freely.
We also visited the Termas, hot springs.
Chiloé
My next stop was Chiloé, drawn to it for the simple reason that it was an island. “Lugar de Gaviotas”, in the Region de Los Lagos was a most interesting island. and the 2nd largest island in Chile. It is known for its many wooden churches, maybe 150 in number, 16 listed on their tourist map. I arrived here after 14 hours on a bus from Santiago that played 4 back to back movies, every one with a gorilla, except the last one that featured monster iguanas. Just a warning: most busses in South America play awful violent low budget films at ear splitting volume.
Chiloé has miles of coastline, forests, and lakes. Here is an entry from my journal: “I’m standing on a cement walkway overlooking a bay in the fishing village of Ancud. There is a tarnished yellow hulled fishing boat hand pulling up a bag of something, maybe crab or lobster, as they have pots piled on board”.
I thought I was back in Kodiak, there was the same feel to the place. I signed on with a small group to view the penguins on a small nearby island. There were two varieties of penguins; Humboldt and Magellanic, among coots, gulls, and cormorants. We were delivered to the skiff that carried us out the island on a rolling cart that was just level with the side of the skiff. There was a young woman, Vicky, in our group that had just completed 2 years in Antarctica studying the penguins of that area. We made plans for the next afternoon, lunch at a restaurant that served “Curanto”, the cuisine of Chiloé, prepared in the traditional open pit manner.
We arrived at El Meson Chilote an hour before lunch so as to watch and partake in the preparation of this famous dish, which is a fusion of Chiloé’s indigenous Chono and those of the Huilliche and Spanish invaders. An open pit, lined with rocks, and topped by a hot wood fire was already happening. Edwardo, the cook, removed the burning wood and then placed long leaves around the perimeter of the rocks. He then proceeded to pile clams and mussels onto the rocks, followed by a layer of potatoes, then sausage, big chunks of pork, then covered the mound with large rhubarb like plant leaves called nalca, topped with Chapalete biscuits, more leaves and finally a layer of sod. This steaming mound simmered for about an hour and then we all donned protective gloves to help pile the delicious food onto serving platters. We were each presented a loaded plate of “Curanto” which I gobbled up except for the chaplet biscuits which had a gel like consistency, not agreeable to my palate.
After Ancud I spent a few nights in a small island town called Dalcahue, visited Parque Nacional de Chiloé, and then headed north to the mainland area known as Los Lagos Region, and my last adventure before returning to Santiago.
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| Curanto |
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| My favorite Monkey Puzzle Tree |
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| Market Stall in Ancud |
Lake District
I visited several towns on Lake Llanquihue, surrounded by spectacular views of conical Osorno Volcano, Mt. Calbuco and Tronador all adorned with snow. Lots of families on the beaches in that cold water.
The town of Llanquihue was no charm basic. Frutillar was known for it’s love of music, evident by their brand new music hall. Puerto Varas was my favorite lake town, with lovely restaurants and lively waterfront. This whole area had been settled by German immigrants as part of a government colonization project in 1853. The German influence is evident in the architecture, as well as the kuchen and craft beers that are featured on menus.
Oh and did I mention the Pisco Sours? Yummy alcoholic drink. It was after 2 pisco sours, and in the midst of a conversation with my new hostal buddy from Finland, whose name was Jukka, that I was reminded of how uninformed I am about other countries. Jukka could name every sitting judge on the US Supreme Court and I didn’t even know who the president of Finland was. (Sauli Nünisto). I have looked it up since.
I was anxious to get back to Santiago to do a bit of shopping before leaving for my beloved Ecuador beach near Olón. I bought a $6.00 duffle bag and stuffed it with treasures that I found at the Centro Artesanal in Santa Lucia, Santiago. This never-ending market has aisles and aisles of traditional clothing, food, and Chilean articles. I was now ready to leave Chile.
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| Monkey Puzzle Tree |
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| Boardwalk in Frutillar |
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| Volcano craters |
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| Entrance to Restaurant |
