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Published: March 31st 2008
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Sealoins taking a chill in Valdivia, Chile
Maybe I´ve had enough ice-cream...think it´s starting to show around the belly!! Only an overnight stop but still got a flavour for the quieter life in Chile. No backpackers to be seen so it´s hard not to be noticed especially by the local hombres......young & old. Like most Chilean towns there is always a plaza (square) that is like the centre-piece of the town. Didn´t get up to much here, wandered the town & the market. We stayed in a small hostel, us 2 being the only guests with our own room & TV. That´s what we love about the less touristy places....we usually have our own space which is always welcome afer doing dorms for a while!!
Apart from dogs roaming the street, there was a nice buzz around the place with street music making it feel very South American.......it´s very European in it´s feel too. Panaderias (bakery) are everywhere; they don´t always look like much from the outside but once you enter the smell is so delicious it´s hard not to succumb to the temptation to devour everything in sight. Whilst I do love bread & appreciate the free breakfast (mainly comprising bread) & the volumes laid on with every meal, I think I¨ll come back a well- rounded girl
2 peas in a pod!
And love is blind in every sense of the word!! Still I´m finding it hard to get use to not flushing the toilet roll, especially cause I´m usually reading the sign as I dump it in the loo the good old fashioned way!! It gets confusing crossing the roads....never knowing which way to look cause they drive on the other side here so I just look up & down a million times & hope that they see me at least. All good so far.
So after a night in Chillan, we got the bus to El Pucon. We arrived in late to darkness but once we woke the next morning we could get a true appreciation for the Alpine lake district area. The houses are so pretty....all of them made from wood......great big trunks of trees forming the beams of houses with loads of glass. It´s a great spot for skiing in the winter time & attracts a lot of tourists & I could imagine it would be very cosy when the snow settles in. We wasted no time & were up early the next day to go hiking in a nearby national park...Huerhueque. It´s not the easiest of words to get your
He¨s looking after his woman!
And showing the other fella who´s boss now mouth around. It was a nice day hike with the native trees found up at the higher altitudes. It was here we got our first taste of South American steaks & they were delicious. It felt like home when the waiter brought out the steak & mashed spuds....very tasty!!
From Pucon we headed more southerly to Valdivia. We arrived to the bus station & had started the trek with our bags when a woman stopped to pick us up offering breakfast & board & more importantly, a lift! So off we went & were delighted again to have our own room with TV. The only thing is we end up staying up really late searching for something decent to watch because it´s a novelty to have our own TV.....& end up watching crap. Along the river in Valdivia there are loads of sealions......they are massive. There are loads of them, most of them in couples. We also went to a park in search of what was called a playa...beach.....but ended up being a pretty unspectacular park. Anyway it passed the afternoon & it was a nice sunny day to lie in the sun & read.
The following morning we caught a bus to Argentina. The lady in the hostel had said she would drop us to the station but the time came & went & still no sign of her. What was even worse was that the kitchen was still locked & we couldn´t get our supplies for the day.....it was a full day on the bus & boredom can make hunger much more unbearable. We got it in the end but it was a bit of a struggle. As with all border crossings, or most of them as we keep finding out, there are limitations as to what food you can bring with you. So having nearly finished a kilo of grapes on the bus & swearing that I´d never eat another one again I discovered that Argentina wasn´t particularly fussy as to what fruit, veg, or fungi I brought with me. Once again it was all in vain!! The trip across the mountians was beautiful, very green with dazzling lakes lining the route....& as long bus trips go, it was very enjoyable & between the eating & customs the time flew by.
Adios Chile....Bariloche next stop.
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