No Such Thing as Solita

"Andai solita?"
Sola, sí, solita no. Esto sólo existe en la mente de los fome.


My time in Chiloé went too fast--five days would have been plenty if I'd either a) had a good bike and the physical capacity to use it to explore the islands or b) given up on the bike idea and taken advantage of the buses properly. So I didn't get to the national park, which would have been fun (next time!), but on Sunday I did get to Dalcahue for the famous artesanía market and some seafood on the water in an ararchic little cafeteria. Then I took a little trip to a smaller island, Quinchao, to visit the tiny town of Achao. The church there on the plaza has the home-iest smell (like Mom's at Christmas...ahhh) and as often happens, I wished I was Catholic for a minute so I could appreciate it some more. The wood that all the churches are made of--alerce--is now protected because very few of them remain (there's a whole story about the exploitation in logging and reforestation using eucalyptus--bad idea). But it makes for very sturdy building material--those churches are over 140 years old and mostly in good shape.

I got back to Ancud that night to be with the "family" for a last bit of lovin' (more yummy chicken dinner!) and met up with some Israelis--I meet more Israelis than people of any other nationality. We set out yesterday morning to see the penguins of Chiloé (which I meant to see the other day on bike, but we all know how that turned out). There are Magellan and Humbolt penguins there during the spring and summer months.

What do you know about penguins? If you want to dork out, check out what Sea World has to say: http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/Penguins/distribution.html They are lovely creatures.

They are out at sea all winter, and then the males come to the nest (always the same nest) and get it ready, and the lady penguins come later, then they lay two eggs. How cute is this: they take turns incubating the eggs, and then when the little baby penguins (guaguas--sounds like wawa--as Chileans call bebés) are born, they take turns watching the nest and then taking them out to fish.

We took a boat out to see their little colonies on little rocky islands off the coast of the Isla Grande, where the two varieties were living side by side (ahhh). There was also some other sea creature swimming around, which looked a bit like a sea lion but I don't know what it was called. It had been swimming and fishing and came back to the little island with a lobster, which it was not inclined to share with its buddies.

Mercedes made a feast of a lunch as a goodbye meal for me, and indeed it was sad to part with her, Milte and Francis--the former two cried! If you're ever in Ancud, you have to stay at the Hospedaje Austral.

Bueno, then I fought with the bus companies to let me put that damn bike on the bus to get back to Puerto Montt--I had to get it back to the dude yesterday. What a headache. But I promise, such vehicles can be such a source of pleasure...ahhhh.

Pulled my things together, called the Scoundrel Bike Owner and sorted out him getting me back some of my cash, and then took a colectivo mini-bus about an hour north, to Puerto Varas.

So this place is almost as touristy as Punta Arenas--full of gringos and almost as expensive (though not my hostel, for some reason)--and as beautiful as Puerto Natales: it's on Lake Llanquihue, which was formed by volcanic erruptions, and is surrounded by a few very dramatic volcanoes and the cordillera. There are many national parks nearby and lots of "adventure" things to do. I don't know--I really like it here. It feels super safe here because it's kinda yuppy, and it's just so pretty.

OK, I don't know why I didn't start with this, but I took a tour today along the lake and into the Parque Nacional Pérez Rosales and the Lago Todos los Santos and some small towns. I suppose it would have been nice, though of course after Torres del Paine, the park didn't really measure up to my expectations of natural wonder.

But seriously. The guide, a 35-yr-old Chilean from Puerto Montt (with a 19-yr-old son living in Swizerland), did nothing but hit on me all freaking day. It was me, four Chileans, and six French tourists (cool that so many Chileans travel, huh?). Yeah, that was annoying, but I got out ok.

Alright. So I have to get to bed so I can be in good shape for RAFTING in the morning. That's right, I'm going to face the wild rapids (level three river!) tomorrow. Can't climb the volcano, as it's just slightly out of my budget range (yeah, another reason it sucks to travel without a group--it would have been about $200, if the clouds lifted from the top of the volcano), so I decided to take another crazy risk. Wish me luck. I'm sure I'll have a blast, but just in case...may you know I LOVE YOU! ahhhh.