About Town with Un Poco Español!!!!! (Actually Minusculo Español)

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Kathy Eats Raw Salmon and Drinks Beer

Now that we are about half way through this trip we can honestly say that we are enjoying blundering our way through Chile!!!! (It is possible that this is due to the fact that our transportation woes have not been as great as they were at the beginning of the trip!!). We have the next several hundred miles of transport booked and barring the possibility that I got tickets for the wrong day or the wrong time we should be back in Chillan on Monday morning.

Wow we had a whole day today without a bus!! Wow usually we are on the whirl wind tour of where ever we are. On one of our more usual trips we would be heading home about now. This time we are here for another whole week. So today we did not really do all that much, we looked for kayaks to rent (there were suppose to be some) but it appears that was a venture that did not thrive in Castro as we could find none. So we thought about taking a boat tour, there are these guys down by the dock who were trying to sell us on a boat trip yesterday and they were there again today. Now we might have lost something in the translation (or lack there of) but it seems that they give tours of Castro Fiordo, about 2 hours long. We were more interested in a tour that would go out around some of the islands between the Island and the mainland. So something must have gotten confused because we were quoted a price of $150,000 pesos (about $300 US) for the trip. Needles to say that was a trip we did not take advantage of!!!!

So instead we went for a long walk. We passed a place where they were building three fishing boats about 50' long each, and refitting three others. They were cutting the curved pieces of the hull forms out of crooked tree trunks, wow. Wow the Chris Craft project back home seems so much smaller and finer in comparison!!!!!Now if only they were doing some caulking I could have gotten some first hand experience of the part of our project back home that I do not quite understand yet.

There are a lot of houses that are build over the water here on stilts. That could be because it was easier to make a level place to build than to find one (not sure). We walked up high above the city. Wow the streets are extremely steep here. Last night we watched a van try to make it up an unpaved section of road and just didn't make it.

We ate raw salmon and drank beer for lunch (If you know Kathy very well you will understand how shocking that is!!!!!!!!) For supper more shellfish (me at least Kathy had Bife!!) There is a legend on the Island of la Pincoya who comes out of the water and dances on the beach if she faces the sea the shellfish are abundant, but if she faces the shore they are scace!!! I am thinking that she was facing the sea because they have been plentiful and excellent while we have been here.

Tomorrow we begin our long bus trip back up to Chillan and will hopefully meet up with the rest of the group in Concepcion!! RIGHT BELOW THIS IS A SHORT VIDEO CLIP YOU HAVE TO SEE IF YOU KNOW KATHY!!!!!!

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Photos

Iglesia de San Franciso
In front of the church in central Castro.

Boat Building in Castro
Three boat were being build here and two were being reworked!!! I noticed that they use bend limbs to make the rouned sections of the hull frames. (and you think we have a big project Rebecca)

Stilt Houses in Castro
Houses along the waterfront in Castro.

Mariscos!!!!
I am thinking la Pincoya must have been looking out to sea, because the shellfish were both plentiful and excellent :)

Comments

[Melanie K.]

Hi you two! I think you are ready to be on Amazing Race! MK

[Rebecca Ellenson]

It's been fun to read your blogs-- Looks like a blast and quite the adventure.