Chiloe adventures part 1

The island of Chiloe is just off the coast of Chile. It's a step backward in time, where things are slower, quieter and seem to be more in touch with the culture of olden days. Yes, the days of old.  You take a bus, which goes on a ferry,and then drive slowly around small towns till you reach your destination. Which for me,  was Castro, the largest town, a perfect hub for exploringthe island.

Castro is known for old houses called Palafitos, that are on stilts over the water. Painted brightly, they are slowly transforming into cafes and hotels as the tourism booms. Very cool from the sea, but from the street, they look like normal houses. One of the hotels let me in for a sneak peak, and it was awesome inside and the back patio on the water was perfect.

I took a small boat across the sea to a small town called Yutuy for a local fair that was awesome. Great to see the small, local area and as it was all about eating,  I got down to it. Pigs roasting on spits, lamb shanks, ribs of goats and local potatoes were abounding, but the highlight was the Curanto, a feast cooked over hot stones in the ground. Loads of shellfish were tossed in first, then large leaves were placed to steam them, followed by chicken, potatoes, beef and potato pancakes. More leaves and 1 hour later, it was time to feast. Quite the large portion and the line was long as this is a special meal. Tasty and filling, it was good to try, and reminded me of meals in the South Pacific,such as the hangi in New Zealand.

Lake Llanquihue

Here are a few photos taken from a tour I tool around Lake Llanquihue.   The lake is surrounded by the Andes, 2 volcanoes and small towns. We stopped by a couple lagoons, visited some epic waterfalls at Petrohue,  went to the chairlift on the volcano to hike as high as you could without gear and got a good taste of the area. Hiking through craters on the volcano was awesome, with so many different colors of volcanic rock. Snow covered up top and with parts that felt like outer space,  it was another good experience on a volcano in Chile.

Small towns such as Llanquihue and Frutillar were full of people on the beaches drinking fresh juices and looking over the lake at the volcanoes. I relaxed a bit and even found an awesome Bierfest at the local German Club. Loud, boisterous and full of German food and local beers, I had a blast.

Using the blogger app so I apologize for the layout. But that's the traveling life. At least you get a cute picture of a grey fox (zorro chilla ) from the adventures. We were reading a sign about the foxes and then boom, there the fox was. Amazing. 

The life in Chile

After being in Chile for 3 weeks now, I thought I'd give a few thoughts on the country. It's very efficient and reminds me of the US with both it's diversity of landscape and the cost.  Prices are pretty similar to back home, not the cheapest country for backpacking around in. Buy well worth it to meet the people,  experience the country and eat some darn good food.

Speaking of food, Chileans are definitely a Latin country, eating dinner super late. I've found myself going to the market after 8 pm to buy food to cook. This makes for later starts in the morning, but hey, it's vacation, and nothing happens too early in Chile apart from climbing volcanoes.

I've been on 3 boat tours so far, and each one has you pay when you're out in the middle of water. They'll often idle the engine and joke that they'll throw you off if you don't pay. Classic Chilean humor.

At restaurants,  they will list the type of meat or fish, and then you have to order the rice or potatoes separately, at an extra charge. Same with a spaghetti place that you order your pasta for $8 and then choose your sauce for $2-4 more.

It's a great country and normally rates as travelers favorite country in South America. I've been loving it and have a few more days til I fly to Buenos Aires on Thursday.   Good times indeed!

Frutillar

hello there people!  The small town of Frutillar was built with a German influence. Lots of German style architecture and desserts in the area. It's right on the water and I had the perfect weather to see the volcanoes in the distance and relax with a good coffee.   This place is awesome. Super laid back and a place to enjoy doing nothing with the sun shining. As I am dealing with a toe injury, it is nice to have places like these to chill out in. Just a 30 min minibus ridea away. More relaxed here than in the busier Puerto Varas,  where I am staying at the moment. 

Click to view Valparaíso street art photos

Here's some of the best shots from Valparaiso. Loved that city and this is a.taste of what it's like to walk around. Enjoy!

More volcano videos

This video shows what it was like to hike through the snow. Crampons!

Reaching the summit

Just a snippet of the hike up the volcano. This is reaching the summit, wearing an awesome snowsuit and a gas mask. Perfect weather for an ascent of an epic volcano.  Spoiler alert : no lava in the video,  but you get a good idea of what the crater looks like on top. Saving you a 1400m climb to the top elevation of 2847m 

Fun on the river

After an awesome rafting trip a couple days ago, I decided to give hydrospeed a shot. People were talking it up and it was something I'd never tried before. Pretty much, you hold on to a plastic boogie board and go down rapids like that. There is a wetsuit, helmet and life jacket involved, but its pretty much just you and the rapids.

The rapids part was fun and didn't feel that fast or crazy. Steering was the main challenge as you use flippers to move around. With the current, and rocks, it made for a difficult trek. But it's one of those things I'll try once in my lifetime.   Not going to do it agsin, but I felt a little like Butch and Sundance going down the rapids.

Rafting in Pucon

Hiking Villarica Volcano (lava lava lava!!!!)

So, the life has been just as amazing as always the last few days. No internet for 3 days, just straight fun out and about in Chile.  First there was rafting, then there was kayaking and on the 3rd day, an epic hike up an active volcano to see lava erupting down below.  Ill write about that one for now.  At an internet cafe using a keyboard to type better than on the phone, so Ill be dealing with a Chilean keyboard, which shows all of these words as mispelled, and my punctuation shall be lacking.  Never fear, I still know how to type!

Im in Pucon now, an awesome town surrounded by lakes, volcanoes, forests, hot springs, rivers and pure amazingness.  Lots to do here, full of action sports and chill vibes.  The highlight is definitely the Volcan Villarica, high above the city, smoking all the time, quite active and the centerpiece of all the events.  Rafting happens every day by the numerous tour companies, but the accension of the volcano is only when the weather permits.  As I saw Wednesday to be the best weather day this week, it had to be then, and after being turned down by several tour companies who were full, I scored a spot with Sur Adventura.  Great tour company and they got me all sized up for my gear.

We met up at 6:30am, to gather gear and load up.  The van needed a jump start as the battery was dead, but that was really the only hiccup on the trip.  At the parking lot was a chair lift that people could take up to start an easier hike, but I went with 5 others and 2 guides by foot.  Cant pass up climbing by foot as much as possible.

The first 2 hours was through rock, with epic views above and below.  Then we hit the snow and put on the crampons and got out the ice axe.  Time to walk zig zag up the rest of the volcano.  Super icy and crunchy, and we walked pretty much sideways going upwards.  Lots of people were climbing through other tour companies, with around 200 total for the day, all hiking around the same time.

After another 2 hours or so of zig zagging, it was time to drop the backs, put on gas masks due to the amount of gas coming out of the volcano and head to the crater.  Before the gas mask was on, we were already coughing a bit, so the mask was definitely necessary.

We could hear the lava brewing and in the 15 minutes around the crater, it exploded 5 times, with teh highest being 15-20 feet high.  My guide, Grace, happened to capture the above shot with me and lava shooting up.  Just amazing.  Its the only photo that has lava actually flying up in the air, which makes it the best picture of the day.

To get down, we strapped on "ass protection", pretty much super thick canvas that allows you to slide down the mountain without ripping your pants.  A natural sled!  You sit down and slide down, using your ice axe to slow down, and can get pretty darn fast, sometimes with snow flying all around, and you not able to really see.  Crazy fun and we had 5 such slides, with the longest being at least 4 football fields long.  Epic!

Then it was sliding down loose stone to get back to the bottom.  The group of 4 of us, with Grace were the fastest out of our van, so we had time to wait for the others, have a celebratory beer and take a little nap.  Quite the day!  Heres a few more photots:

Styling suit!

Old ski station that an avalanche and rock slide took over

People sliding down the snow to the rocks

Pablo Neruda's house

One of the legends of Chile is the poet Pablo Neruda. The man has three houses in Chile  that all our amazing and one of a kind. We visited La Sabastiana  high in the hills overlooking the city. Such an impressive building with 5 levels all completely different shapes carving and winding upwards. Inside the house was full of interesting  collections from around the world such as old maps, a carousel horse and a stuffed flamingo.  Definitely one of the best views from inside a house, Neruda had views of the entire bay.

Valparaiso

From the city out to the coast, the adventure continues. I've been in Valparaiso and the small towns north for the last few days and it's amazing. So chill here, packed full of happy, vacationing prople, out playing in the sun and exploring the hills all around.

Valparaiso is made up of over 40 hills overlooking the ocean. Pure bliss. All over there are good views and the weather has been perfect. It's like goldilocks said, just right. We've had some beach days, a boat trip around the harbor (valparaiso used to be a major stopping off point for ships going around the southern tip of South America. So lots of history, sights and good vibes here. The streets are full of travelers, locals, sailors and dogs. Very electric around here.

We stayed the first 3 nights north in the small town of Concon.  Much quieter up there and will smaller beaches and great restaurants, it's been a good base. Now I'm staying 2 nights in the hills of Valparaiso with amazing street art all around. Pretty damn amazing.

The days are long, which means both the sun is out for a super long time, but also that which means that we also stay out for a very long time which can be quite entertaining.  Everything starts at a later time and if you missed the morning that's how it goes. Overall the days are pretty darn good here.

Santiago, Chile

Santiago is a city full of people, trees and good vibes. Laid back atmospheres abound as people sit around with coffees and later pisco spurs, conversing and enjoying the summer weather. It's been fun to explore a bit and get to hang out with good company. I'm visiting friends from the US who are down here visiting their family so it's a full mix of all ages with lots of Spanish being spoken. I'm doing my best to keep up with the conversation. That old adage of just smile and nod works out pretty good.

We all went up a funicular to the top of San Cristobal Hill which has amazing 360 degree views. We got lucky and had some blue skies in a city that often is full of smog. At the very top is a large statue of the Virgin Mary with the best views. Great to see those amazing Andes all around, some with snow despite it being high 80s Fahrenheit. 

Last hurrah in California

Right before leaving California, I had to go on a road trip to some of my favorite places.  You can't leave the Golden State without spending time outdoors in the sunshine, cruising down Highway 1, exploring the small towns, visiting epic scenery and having a couple amazing days in San Francisco.

One of my best friends from Germany, Stefan, was visiting me for a week, so we rocked Santa Cruz and then set out in a rental car to check out the California beauty.  First stop was Big Sur, a top 5 place for me in the world and just an hours drive south.  Passing Monterey and Carmel, the shops and houses are left behind for grand mountains rolling into the sea.  I love this place and it was awesome to road trip along the coast, popping off for vistas and coffees along the way. 

McWay Falls

Soaking up that sunshine

We hiked the Ewoldsen trail, a perfect example of a California hike as you start way underneath the redwoods along a stream with waterfalls and slowly hike your way up, above the redwoods and into open pastures with oak trees.   From there on, it was time to find a free camping spot and set up the tent.  Pretty damn amazing sunset over the Pacific Ocean, with a mad amount of stars afterwards made for another solid night over in Big Sur.  You just can't beat that place.

Driving back up Highway 1, we stopped off in El Pescadero, small town California, to meet up with a good friend Shannon for lunch.  So many great places to visit along the coast, and this one is a classic, from the hipster coffee shop that charges way too much for vintage items, to the goat farm serving banquet dinners.

San Francisco was next up, with the main tourist sights getting checked off, lots of hills to drive up and down. It always amazes me when you drive and can't see the road under your car right before you go down a hill.  Just no clue about what will come next.  The adventure!  And that is to say nothing of parking perpendicularly on a steep street, having to pull yourself out of the car to get out.

From SF, it was back to Santa Cruz for a few days and then with a different rental car, I packed up everything and drove north to Portland.  From the balmy 60 degree weather by the beach, I drove into freezing rain, and eventually snow in the City of Roses.  Safe and fun driving up there, and then we were snowed in Portland style at the family house.  Which means that 2 inches of snow back up all the streets and no one goes to work.  So we just had good times at the house.  The family reunited once again!