The Colors of Ancud

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Geo: -41.87, -73.83

Picturesque Ancud sits on a curving bay that can capture your heart as surely as the finest symphony.

Getting here was interesting, though. We're up at 4 to catch a taxi to the Santiago airport for our flight to Puerto Montt, then being ever thrifty and still reeling a bit from our splurge in Merlo, we take a backpacker's bus into Puerto Montt to the bus terminal, then another bus that will take us all the way to Ancud, which actually isn't all that far, but involves a ferry crossing.

Now we're standing around at the Ancud terminal about to flag a taxi to our hostel when a very kind señor asks us if we have a place for tonight, and when we tell him yes, we're staying at 13 Lunas (13 Moons) he explains that all we have to do is cross the street.

There was our hostel right there. Well, that was easy.

The afternoon was spent walking around town.

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Photos

Cozy little galeria
A galeria is a kind of mini shopping mall and this one is really cool.

El Congrejo--the crab
Noisy, busy, crowded, cramped and 100% Chilean. Their home made bread beats any in Chile or Argentina! Next time it's their fresh-from-the-garden salad and bread. That's all I need.
Now, if you notice the walls? Those are business cards neatly tacked to every available space and inching up onto the ceiling.

Business cards for wallpaper
Some of these are really old and curling--they've definitely been there awhile, while newer ones are simply tucked behind or plastered on the ceiling.

Fresh oysters
You want your oysters fresh? How about straight off the boat, shucked in front of you and served in the shell with half a lime?

Very cute boys on the plaza
Hay look, she's taking our picture!! And they laugh and wave like crazy. When I ask them how they're doing (in Spanish) they crack up---she can understand us!!!
They don't know how funny that really is. Chileans drop their ending consonants and use so much local slang it's difficult even for other Chileans to understand them.

Araucania tree
Have you wached a dinosaur movie lately? Hollywood plants them on the plains of Arizona, New Mexico--even MONANA--as background for movies like Walking with Dinosaurs (Montana), Prehistoric Park, Discovery Channel's When Dinosaurs Roamed America, Nat. Geo's Dino Death Trap and the 2007 film Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia. Almost enough to make you go see one, huh?

13 Lunas, our hostel
Best hostel we've ever stayed at. The owners, two young men who are cousins, are incredibly welcoming and every night the hostel hosts some kind of shindig with food and drinks---lots of drinks. Yesterday was national Pisco Sour day--whatta country.

Bus terminal in Ancud (pronounced An-KUD)
We only had to walk across the street to our hostel.

Colors of Ancud
If your town's grey and rainy, foggy and dull 10 months of the year, try plastering every building with bright, bold color.

Ferry w/snow capped Andes in distance
On our way from the mainland of Chile to the island of Chiloe--a world apart.

Comments

[Allen & Judie]

I am sure you both were tired. Nice of the man to tell you, Your stay was across the street. Good thing your both young! We sure could not keep up with you! What a great time together. So happy for you both. These pic's are wonderful so
good. We sure enjoy the slid shows you give us. Thank You! LY