Advertisement
Published: February 5th 2011
"Digital Analog Band - I Promise"
"Ypey - Somewhere Else"
Finally found the time to write about my trip from Santiago to Puerto Montt! It was a relatively quick trip. I left Santiago on the 21st of January and I had to arrive in Puerto Montt by the 28th of January to catch my boat of doom to Puerto Natales deep in the Patagonia!
I had spent two weeks in Santiago and it was certainly time to head out! Ximena, my Couch Surfing Host suggested we take a trip to Concepcion, where she is from. She said we could stay at her parents and take a few day trips around the city. She would have to return to Santiago for monday and from there I would head to Puerto Varas. Puerto Varas is a small lake side town just 25 km north of Puerto Montt.
We headed down to Concepcion on the night bus that departed Santiago around 11pm on the 21st. We arrived in Concepcion around 5am the next day. Ahhh night buses, always so pleasant! Actually, I have been rather impressed with the bus system down here. Their quality is much greater then that of the
Greyhound buses... goo!
We were both quite exhausted so when we arrived to Ximena´s parents place I went back to bed and slept hard until nearly noon! It was nice! Gotta love not having any responsibilities! When I awoke, I headed down stairs to meet her parents and have breakfast. They were both extremely nice, I love those two! BUT they spoke not a word of English, nothing! And my Spanish was still extremely basic. I did my best but Ximena pretty much had to translate the entire time. Her parents were amazing hosts and made me feel like I was at my own home! Such is the Chilean hospitality, it is legendary! While in Concepcion, Ximena and I went on a day trip to Desembocadura del Bio-bío. The Bio-Bio river is the largest river in Chile and Concepcion was built on the mouth of the river where it flows into the ocean! It was a beautiful place to visit! We hiked up a lush hill that over looked the coast line and relaxed with a few beers! We headed back in to town where her parents were waiting to have a BBQ! Again, Chilean BBQ´s are legendary! This
was a quaint one, but still ample amounts of grilled meat and cured salad! Her parents first pored me a glass of home made juice, then a glass of beer mixed with orange Fanta. Followed up with a glass of red wine and I think a glass of green tea! How do you say no to such gracious hosts? They pretty much force fed me, but I loved it! I dished some potato salad, and some bean salad. Then I received a lamb chop, fairly large! As I starred at all the food in front of me, they slapped a large steak on my plate too! Holly shit, where to begin! I did my best, but I am a fairly light eater! I felt bad wasting! Following our awesome BBQ the four of us discussed all things Canadian. Ximena´s parents were quite interested in learning about Canada and I am quite proud of my country so it was lots of fun! At the time Winnipeg was in a deep freeze of minus 45! I told them that, but they really have no concept of how cold that truly is!
My time spent in Concepcion was extremely nice and quite
memorable. I took a day trip with Ximena to Lota to see the Coal mines. The coast was amazing and we went out dancing until 5am one night. I got my first glimpse of a rural Chilean farmers market. Quite interesting, I took many pictures. "What´s that? The fresh fish has been baking out in the hot sun for how many hours? Ya, I would, I´ll take two!" Haha, ah, I loved it! Food safety regulations are clearly laxed here! I enjoyed many things while in Concepcion; however, spending time with Ximena´s parents was easily the highlight.
They were both so excited to talk with me and learn. I also learned from them and our interactions epitomized the cultural exchange you receive when staying with locals! This cultural exchange is part of why I wanted to travel. I would like to think that I am tolerant of other people and their cultures. My mom most certainly brought her kids up to be as tolerant as possible. But you will always remain inherently ignorant to other cultures on some level until you actually put yourself out there and experience a different culture first hand. This is the point, and here
is where you grow as a person. Traveling should always be about learning and growing as in individual. Pay attention to the small details while experiencing other cultures. Engage yourself and have an open mind. Absorb all that you can from others, and share with them in return. This is how you contribute on a more intimate and personal level on this planet. You can't contribute to the well-being of others until you have contributed to your own well-being and you do so by absorbing all that can from others! That is the name of the game. I wont get into my feelings on all-inclusive resorts. I could go on forever. (did you know that that cute dolphin you are swimming with in captivity lost 23 thousand of his relatives in order for just that single one to be there? 23000 Dolphins die at a place called Taiji Japan where they capture dolphins to sell to those dolphin shows and shit. They sell the best dolphins to the shows and slaughter the rest for meat and sell it as whale meat!) So while backpacking, its all about absorbing what you can, humane interactions and growing as a person. If you
fail to do this...then you're an asshole when you set out and you're an asshole when you get back!
I learned a great deal from Ximena´s parents with their amazing and heart warming hospitality. They have their perspectives straight and I took notice. Kind, gentle energetic souls only wanting to help and make others happy! Ximena´s Dad brought out his 24 year old bottle of Scotch and poured me glass and one for himself. This bottle had only a few ounces gone from it. I realized that he was doing me an honor and I was grateful! So as a parting gift, I bought him a nice bottle of Scotch to add to his collection. Isabel, Ximena´s mother, said that I could consider her my Chilean mother. This was significant because that evening we had talked about my mom and what we had went through as a family battling her cancer. This gesture damn near made me cry but I held back, and hugged her! Mario, Ximena´s father, and Isabel have been an extreme highlight of my trip and I am grateful for what they gave me. A better sense of the human capacity for compassion and caring! You
can´t take any snap shots of this exchange, there is no post card for this! But believe me, it is much more valuable then climbing a volcano or seeing a glacier.
On Tuesday the 25th of January, I said goodbye to Isabel and Mario as they walked me to the bus station. They had packed me a lunch and he bought me a bottle of water for the trip to Puerto Varas. I shook his hand and he gave me a hug and I was on my way to the next stage of my journey, the road south to the Patagonia. I arrived in Puerto Varas that evening, but not too late at all. I was wandering around the streets trying to figure out where to stay when a very nice lady came up to me. At first I thought she was trying to sell me something, but I quickly realized she was asking if I had yet found a place to stay. I said no, and she told me she owned a Hospedaje.
She was extremely friendly so I went with her and met a couple from France staying at her place too! Thank god, this wasn't
a trap, I wasn't going to be ambushed and sold on the black market sex trade. Nope, yet again a gracious and overly kind host! I spent two nights at her place while in Puerto Varas and all I did was relax and eat there. Puerto Varas is an epicenter for outdoor excursions and excitement. Volcanoes, fishing, sailing, hiking, rafting, the list goes on and on. I didn't do a damn thing. Just slept and ate!
On 28th of January I hopped on the micro bus to Puerto Montt and checked into the Navimag Ferry!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.142s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 12; qc: 79; dbt: 0.0806s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Bis Sis
non-member comment
BBQ's, friends, experiences
Hi Tim, I experienced my first South American BBQ the second night in Colombia and it was AMAZING!!! So many BBQ'd veggies, salads and the worlds best guacamole! Makes Aussie and Canadian BBQ's look so boring! The amazing food here has been one of my highlights! As has the friendliness of the people everywhere. Everyone goes out of their way to help whenever possible. It's amazing! Glad you are enjoying yourself and getting to experience life with the locals. Love you lots. Kel