Country & Island Lifestyle/Patagonia Begins!

Valdivia continued

I spent a couple more days in Validiva exploring the island of Mancera, the fort of Niebla, and enjoying the craft beer and the beautiful house of Andrea's mom, Julie. They all had to leave one full day and left me the keys to their beautiful home. How trusting and generous! Thank you!

Hitchiking continues with new and exciting stories

I hitchhiked from Validiva to Osorno with a man named Claudio. On our drive, he invited me to lunch with his family! I said yes, of course and we arrived to his home with a hot meal waiting for us. It was the first time for the family to really talk with a foreigner, and chileans love the US. We took pictures together and shared laughs. After lunch with Claudio and his wife Carmen, Claudio dropped me off at a gas station outside town to continue hitchiking to Fresia, where Merylin's family lives. I tried for a couple hours, yet had no luck. I decided to call Carmen and Claudio back and ask if I could stay at their place. They said yes, and I hitchhiked back to their home with another nice man. What a nice family! They cooked me dinner, let me stay the night for free, and fed me breakfast the next morning. Thank you so much!

Claudio and Carmen at their home in Osorno

The next day, I decided to take a bus to the small town of Fresia, and I arrived to the home of Merylin's family. Once again, lunch was hot and ready to eat! The hospitality here has been really incredible. After lunch, Merylin and her two siblings brought me on a trek in the hills outside their home. There were tons of blackberries which we picked to make a pastries and jam. The family fed me breakfast, lunch and dinner for two days. The family was very difficult to understand, and I felt like my spanish was weak. It is similar to the way people in the small towns of the US  speak fast, with lots of idioms and  without clear pronunciation of words. Overall a great experience. Thank you!

Merylin digs for fruit as her brother Luciano enjoys the sweetness

Hiking through the beautiful hills outside Fresia

Blackberries!

After Fresia, I traveled by bus and ferry to the island of Chiloe, which means 'place of seagulls.' Everyone I met has told me that this island is really incredible, has an interesting history with lots of stories and mythology, and a unique landscape to the rest of Chile.

Ferry Ride to Chiloe

 I arrived to Castro, the capital of the island. I was greeted by two friends of Andrea, my couchsurfing friend from pichilemu, at the bus station. Iván and Cati are super nice! I could understand them almost fluently and quickly felt better about my spanish after my time in the country. They brought me to their home and fed me a very popular snack - avocado, cheese, jam and bread. Yum! All their hospitality for the few days I spent with them was really great. Thank you friends! Afterwards, they gave me a tour of the town. The next day they introduced me to their Bolivian friend, Mari, and we went to the national park of Chiloe. At the national park, we explored the amazing beaches and got lost in the woods filled with trees of which I had previously never seen. 

Castro

Castro

After a quick trip to the southern end of the island in Quellon, I traveled to the northern part of the island to stay with another friend of Andrea, Paloma. A psychologist that works on the island, she welcomed me to her home with great hospitality. She has interesting stories about working with Mapuche, the indigenous people that live on nearby small islands near Chiloe. The next day, her French friend was visiting as well, and Ode and I hitchhiked multiple times finding our way to remote beaches and an amazing restaurant where we enjoyed delicious and fresh seafood. It was a super fun time, and I felt I learned a lot. Through conversation, she unintentionally reminded me how amazing it is to travel solo, and the effectiveness of maps to find cool places. This non direct advice had come at just the right time as a couple days previous I had begun to feel homesick and lonely for the first time on my trip. I felt revived and ready for the next part of my trip - Patagonia!

Dalcalhue- A fishing village north of Castro, here I ate salmon...

Salmon with potatoes, salad and peach juice -- yum!

Patagonia Beginnings!

I traveled 3 hours by bus to Puerto Montt, and 30  minutes after arrival, I boarded the overnight boat ride to Chaiten. It was very difficult to sleep, yet I survived the rainy 13 hour boat ride and we arrived at noon the following day. I hitched a short ride from the port to the small town and needed to make a decision as to whether I would stay there, or keep traveling. I tried to find a map, but the information kiosk was closed for three hours, so I began asking hostels prices for the evening. While walking slowly to hostel to hostel, I saw a Chilean local for the second time. He had a big smile, a weathered face of about 65 years, huge ears that stuck out from his head, and about 7 teeth. I said hello and he said something I couldn't understand. I could have kept walking, but I felt something special about this man. I walked back to him to ask him to repeat what he had said. After we conversed for a half minute, another man approached us on his way to enter the building we stood in front of. He asked if I needed a hostel (I was carrying my backpack) and I said I had a couple offers. He said he'd match any offer and he had a bar. I agreed to stay the night and put my pack down. 

I walked down to the bar and saw 3 foreigners in the corner. I walked over to them and introduced myself to find three Americans. English! Ah.  They were fly fishing guides from Montana and California, and one of them knew a couple good friends from Southwestern! They recommended I visit Futaluefú, a small town near the Argentina border. I had heard previously about this famous rafting town from a friend in Nevada. I felt overwhelmingly excited as they explained rafting season had another month. 

I walked to the tiny bus station to ask for departing times. At the bus stop were two Chileans of university age. I asked of they knew when buses would leave for Futaluefú and they said a bus would leave in 4 hours, but they were going to hitchhike instead. I immediately decided to join them, grabbed my backpack from the hostel, said thanks to my new American friends, and walked trough the continuous rain with Fabiola and her boyfriend to the main road. 

We hitchhiked two times and found ourselves at El Amarillo hot springs, the intended destination of the couple, and for many other tourists. What an experience! We enjoyed the hot springs with a light rain falling and views of mountains and luscious green vegetation. I decided to stay with them for the night to camp. We ended up catching a ride from the hot springs with the man that worked at the entrance to the springs. On our drive, he offered us to stay at his place for the night. Awesome! We arrived to his country home, and he let us stay in the tiny home behind his house. A kitchen, a wood burning stove for warmth and cooking, a table and chairs and room to lay down for the three of us. Perfect. We cooked a simple meal of rice and eggs, played some cards, shared laughs, and went to sleep listening to the continuous rain. 

View of rainy and beautiful Northern Patagonia from back of truck while hitching a ride 

Hitchhiking with friends in back of truck while raining

The next morning, still raining, we ate eggs, cheese, bread and fruit before parking our bags in preparation for my hitchhiking. This time, we were traveling in opposite directions and we said our goodbyes. I found a ride with a couple that we had coincidentally met the previous day at the hot springs. They drove me halfway, and I found another ride from a family from Sanitago traveling directly to Futaluefú. Beautiful country! Upon arrival, we talked to the information kiosk and acquires maps. I decided to stay in a hostel, the first time I had paid for accommodation in weeks! When I walked inside, I met the only other tourists there, a super nice ditch couple named Rob and Brenda. We became friends quickly and took a hike and spent the evening together. Also in Futaluefú, I shopped around for the best deal on rafting and cruised down one of the biggest whitewater rivers in South America. What a cool experience! Incredible scenery, huge rapids and a day full of sunshine. 

View of Futaleufù

I will continue traveling south on my way to the national parks of San Rafael and Torres del Paine, as well as other towns I don't know the names of yet. 

Life is great. Thanks for following!