02 December 2009:
We spend a few days in Valparaiso or Valpo, as the locals call it. This city has its charm, although some of its neighbourhoods are in need of restoration (after a gas pipe explosion blew up a whole street of historic buildings classified as UNESCO world heritage - posters demand compensation from the gas company). Countless "ascensores" lead up the steep hills to viewpoints over the city and the bay. Further up are forests which are unfortunately prone to fire in the dry summer. One evening we witness part of a hill going up in flames.
We also spend an afternoon in Valpo's "open air art museum". Murals painted by well known Chilean artists on the facades of houses. While wandering around the neighbourhood, trying to find all of the works, we get lost.
Gaudi gets a haircut: surprisingly the hairdresser is fluent in German, having lived in Hamburg for some years.
On a walk along the coast, a bit outside the city, we discover an open air exercise park - we thought these things only existed in China. These exercise parks are a kind of playground for adults with machines similar to those you find in a gym - but a bit more robust, no electronics, use of your own body weight (as they are outside). As in China, we again wonder why these don't exist in Europe or the US? We take the opportunity and exercise our muscles a bit.
05 December 2009:
Santiago surprises us. No sign of the smog that allegedly plagues this city (we later learn that this only happens in winter when the heaters are blasting). We dine in nice, tasty restaurants in a charming pedestrian area, take a cablecar up the Cerro San Cristobal and enjoy the views over the city surrounded by snow-capped mountains. We do this on a Sunday and discover that a favourite Sunday activity of the locals is to bike up the steep hill or walk around on the hill. The city centre is compact enough to discover by foot. We like best Cerro Santa Lucia, a very green hill in the middle of the city centre with a castle, full of fountains and winding stairs, viewing platforms, and benches. There is even a Japanese garden.
09 December 2009:
We break our journey southwards near Los Angeles (Chile), in a picturesque countryside B&B out in nowhere. The B&B is set in a beautiful garden by a very cold small river (we soon change our mind about taking a dip). The B&B is owned and run by a German couple, who migrated to Chile 20 years ago for "ecological" reasons they claim citing Chrenobyl and lots of pollution in German cities. As we are in the middle of nowhere without our own car, we have our dinners at the B&B. Both breakfast and dinner are served at the kitchen table (seats about 8) and the owners eat together with the guests. After having several meals with the owners, we learn that the lady has not been back to Germany once since she left 20 years ago and the man only went back twice, makes us wonder if they really came for "ecological" reasons.
From the hotel we set off on a wonderful walk through the surrounding farmland to a nearby laguna. We're completely alone here and find a nice picnic spot on a tiny beach. We were looking forward to taking a refreshing dip in the laguna after our 2 hour walk through the hot sun but . . . then we spot a rather strange and disconcerning phenomena in the laguna . . . water starts bubbling up and dispersing in a sort of circle as if something is about to surface (though nothing surfaced). Well we don't take any chances and decide it is best to give the swimming a miss.
One day we rent a car and together with Thomas, another guest at the B&B, and set off to Parque Nacional Nahuelbuta, we ascend a peak that rewards us with views over the countryside and seven snow-covered volcanoes in the distance (we will see them from much closer up when we go to the lake district), and towards the pacific ocean on the other side. The park is famous for its beautiful Alerce trees. We also come across several large brown and hairy spiders. Back in the hotel we enquire about them, and the lady of the hotel explains to us that there's no need to be worried: those were not THE poisonous spiders. The really dangerous ones would be very small, and prefer to hide in houses.
12 December 2009:
We arrive in the lake district: blue lakes surrounded by green hills - and white volcanoes.
Pucon: Gorgeous views of the Volcan Villarica, a tough but gorgeous bike ride through green fields and along wild rivers to lake Caburgua (where Gaudi took a very short but refreshing dip), a day bathing in natural thermal waters (hot hot hot). But the highlight is a full day hike in the PN Huerquehue, to five beautiful tranquil lagunas, hidden in dense forest on a high plateau, surrounded by mountains. On our walk, we unexpectedly have to cross some patches of snow.
Puerto Varas: The town has a lot of German immigrants who came during 19th century looking for better opportunities. Amongst many clues to this heritage is the name of the local speciality: "kuchen" (pie). The town still has many wooden houses built in German style, and a church modelled after the Marienkirche in Schwarzwald. The owner of the B&B is fifth generation Chilean-German, and speaks good German.
We take a boat trip across the amazing Lago de Todos Santos to Puella a "town" with a 120 inhabitants (as the welcome sign boasts), two very pricey hotels and a little shop. The beautiful lake is in one of Chile's national parks, nevertheless there are several private properties within the park and some people live along the shore of the lake. The only transport for these people is the one boat that crosses the lake (back and forth) once a day. This boat service is owned by the same family that owns the two hotels in Peulla and the island Margarita (in the middle of the lake) on which you find one of the family's vacation mansions. On our last day we explore the isolated and beautiful Cochamo river valley.
21 December 2009:Chiloé: All Chileans we meet urge us to go visit this island, famous for its nature and architecture. What a hidden gem: lush green vegetation, a wild, rugged west coast with dramatic cliffs and sand dunes - and plenty of wind and rain (in this respect, it reminds us a bit of Cornwall, England). The tides here are very strong - several meters in difference between high and low tide. For that reason, the houses on the coast are built on stilts. They are high above the ground when the tide is low, and at water level, when the water is high. On the land-side, the houses have a normal entrance to the street, and no unusual appearance. We stay in such a Palafito house and it feels like it's shaking at night...
Most churches on Chiloé are wooden constructions - all of those are classified as UNESCO world heritage. We follow the "Ruta de las Iglesias", which leads tourists to some of the most interesting churches on the island. Some of these wooden church roofs look like the hull of a ship: traditionally, many of those seaside villages specialised in shipbuilding - so when the locals built their churches, they used the technique they knew from building the ships. At each church on the ruta, a guide from the local village (sometimes only with a hundred inhabitants) attends and explains a bit of the history of the church, or the village. The guides record the flow of tourists in order to demonstrate the importance of these monuments for the tourist industry, get funding for preservation. The initiative of the "Ruta de las Iglesias" seems a very smart initiative to promote tourism and the conservation of these wooden buildings.
We eat good food - lots of fresh fish especially salmon (we learn that Chile is the second biggest salmon exporter in the world, largely for the Asian and Japanese market).
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