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January 15
We needed a day off the campo so we decided to visit Puerto Varas which is a small resort town on the edge of Lago Llanquihue. Two Chilean (Osorno and Calbuco) and one Argentinean volcano provide the backdrop across the glacial runoff lake. The small town is known for its beautiful roses and delicious chocolates.
We woke early, dressed in the cold and made a breakfast that did not require a fire. The day promised to be beautiful…the air was temperate with the morning mist hovering over the fields of tall grass. We met up with Bradley and Brandie walking on the road out of the campo (we had about a ¾ mile walk to where the bus would pick us up at 7:20). The first bus took us to Puerto Montt where we got on another to Puerto Varas. The children were immediately drawn to the beach and the dark sand around the lake. We spent a few hours playing in the sand and, to a limited degree, in the frigid water.
Tim rented a canoe and took the children out on the water.
The views were spectacular, the smell of flowers in the air and the soft hum of people milling around was perfect. It seemed surreal to sit on a beach looking at towering, snowcapped volcanoes while my children splashed in the water.
The town itself was magical. Roses and flowers were blooming everywhere. The artisan markets were filled with people and finely woven or carved goods. The fresh smell of the cold lake and the light sounds of a pan flute permeated the air. It was really one of the prettiest little towns I have ever seen.
An older Chilean man with a small sound system was responsible for the music in the air. It was obvious that there was more money supporting Puerto Varas than Puerto Montt.
Sitting on the beach Tim and I hatched a plan to return to the area in the near future to climb Osorno. We learned that there is a company that will supply all the gear and support necessary for a summit and then you sled down. We hope to pawn the kids off for a day and do exactly that. Sledding on a volcano…wow!
We also found out that canyoning involves wet suits and hurling yourself, often headfirst, down a snow fed river. Sounds fun too.
We went to Mediterraneo for lunch where we sat on a deck overlooking the lake and had a splendid lunch. The restaurant had “Kross” beer on the menu which had been recommended to us as an exceptional Chilean microbrew but is often hard to find. We were thrilled and enjoyed a cold beer in the hot sun.
Lake Llanquihue and volcanoes in the distance.
The return trip was uneventful with the exception of a standing room only, squashed in the aisles, hour long bus ride on gravel roads from Puerto Montt to Putenio. We threw together dinner and played spades into the night with the bumblebees. A great day.
January 14
We had our first clear day in a week. It was glorious. The clouds never came back leaving us with the first clear night sky yet. We sat on the hill with the bumblebees drinking Chilean wine and watching the sky become filled with color against the backdrop of 5 majestic, snow capped volcanoes.
Volcano Yates – from our porch
Volcano Calbuco – from our porch
It was an awe inspiring sight and it had just begun. As the sky darkened the stars started appearing, we couldn’t take our eyes off the sky. The Milky Way appeared in twinkling glory with enough stars visible to boggle the mind. The only constellation to remind me of a North American sky was my old favorite, Orion. The spectacle in the sky left us speechless. It is amazing what light pollution takes from view when you can see the sky unaffected.
So I have failed miserably at posting a picture a day. Mostly this has been hard because it is rarely that I log onto the computer daily…or even every other day. Tim checks my email for me and lets me know if I need to go down and check for myself. Anyway…I hope everyone stateside is doing well. I, personally, am getting sick of the rain. It rains daily here and unexpectedly. The things that I have come to “know” in Chile are as follows: (not necessarily in order)
- Never go ANYWHERE, for even a moment, without a raincoat
- You will find beans on your plate for at least one daily meal
- Don’t assume ANYTHING…ever
- If you don’t like the weather, wait 5 minutes
- You can’t bribe a cop (I do not know that from personal experience)
- Mind your bags!!
I did laundry yesterday…not for the first time but it is this time that I will relay to you. First I must remind you that all the water at the farmhouse is rainwater recovery water…meaning there are gutters on every building that runoff into big tachos (1000 gallon salmon bins). Water from the tacho is then carried via 5 gallon buckets to wherever it is needed…kitchen sink, back of the toilet, washing machine or to water plants in the greenhouse. At our hill house, casa cerro, we have running (cold) water pumped from a well but we don’t like the color of it so we drink captured rainwater. As of yet we don’t have hot water anywhere but are still hopeful that soon we will. Back to the laundry…the washing machine is half the size of mine at home and I can lift it with one hand. It has a small agitate side and a centrifuge side. First you haul buckets of water from the tacho beside the bodega IN TO the bodega and dump at least 15 gallons into the agitate side, add detergent, Omo, and then clothes (maybe like 1/3 of a normal sized load at home). You set the agitate dial anywhere from 3 to 15 minutes and it will agitate one way, stop, and agitate the other way. If your clothes are really dirty (and most of them are b/c who wants to have to wash a lot) you let them agitate for 10 minutes, drain the muddy water, and start over with at least 15 gallons of water. Then you take the clothes out of the agitation side, wringing them as best as you can, and put them into a clean bucket/hamper. Your next small load can often go into the just used water for its 1st wash followed by a change of water and re-agitation. This process is repeated until all clothes are washed…mind you no rinsing has happened yet. So the next step is, you guessed it…rinsing. You drain the soapy water from the agitate side and rinse the drum of suds, add 15 gallons of water and the first batch of clothes (again 1/3 of a load). The first 1/3 of a load agitates for 5 to 10 minutes then a few articles of clothing at a time go into the centrifuge for a minute spin, all of the clothes from the 1st rinse go into a holding bucket for rinse number 2. All the clothes go through this process at least 2 times, if not 3, with the soapy water dumped between each 1/3 load. This exercise took me ALL day then and then came the problem of drying clothes in a season where it rains daily. We filled the house with clothes on lines, drying racks, the banisters and built a fire in each wood stove and enjoyed the sauna. What a process…that explains why dirty clothes don’t look so dirty anymore. I swear I will NOT complain about all the laundry when I return home. An experience like this really puts things into perspective.
The washing machine.
The bin that the water comes from.
I am constantly looking for reassurance that summer is coming. The rainy season is supposed to end and be replaced by beautiful 80 degree days with bright blue skies and puffy clouds. I am hopeful that this reality will eventually come to fruition as we have seen a day or two like that already (and they are spectacular). I could really use a few more of them though (I imagine I am not getting to much sympathy). It isn’t that cold even with the rain (about 56 – 68) but the rain comes so fast and hard when it comes that you don’t want to venture to far afield for fear of getting caught in a torrential down pour.
Tomorrow I hope to spend some time catching up on internet correspondence, post this and a few pictures and spend some down time with the children. Wednesday, Lisa and I (and maybe Brandi) will head into town, Puerto Montt, for supplies. Thursday Tim and the children and I are taking a day trip into Puerto Varas. I am looking forward to seeing some more of this beautiful country and perhaps having someone prepare a meal for me.
Tim and Bennett in my Christmas present.
A spring runs right down our drive and with all the rain it is currently a small river.
The views from our “hill house” are amazing. See for yourself:
To the East…Orsono Volcano one of five you can see on a clear day.
Volcano Yates to the SE.
To the southeast…the farm house where the McLean’s live. Take with a telephoto lens…distance is about a 15 minute walk (1/2 km).
To the northwest.
Our kitchen…we have a dorm fridge in there now. Tim is currently making the kitchen table. Yes…I COOK on, and in, that stove.
January 5, 2010
Tim got up this morning to find that after a night of pouring rain we had no water in the above ground cistern that captures rainwater and has well water pumped into it. First order of business this morning, in addition to getting a fire built in the stove, was to solve the lack of water dilemma. It turns out that the cistern has a leak and despite torrential rains it had emptied. Oh the joys of living off the grid.
When the stove finally heated the water in the kettle (yes, an old fashioned kettle) Tim and I had a cup of Yerba Mate which is a type of tea made in South America that is delicious. Traditionally you tea leaves directly into a gourd, add water and let it steep. Then it is drunk ceremonially from the gourd with one metal straw (that has small holes in the end to keep the tea leaves from ending up in your mouth) and passed from one person to the next. Minus the gourd we both have a metal straw and drink from our own mugs. The bumblebees introduced us to this traditional tea that we now love!! A man in the shop where I bought the straws said Yerba Mate is great spiked with Jack Daniels on a cold morning…I am not sure that anything could get me to drink Jack Daniels in the morning at this point in my life…well maybe something. Graham has her “coffee” in the mornings. It is a cereal that is finely ground and served like coffee with “milk dust” (again Graham’s word…powdered milk) and sugar. She has also learned to love chamomile tea. I am working on getting our shower working this morning. We have been going down and showering in the bumblebees cabin thus far. I have to make a square pvc curtain rod, hang the curtain, hook up the gas to the on demand hot water and stop a leak…then we shower here!!!!!
Another gorgeous day in the campo. The below picture is of potatoes drying in my window and tomatoes ripening there too. The potatoes are covered in dirt from being just ripped from the ground when you buy them here. They grow tons of tomatoes in southern Chile. Graham and Bennett have learned to like them already.
January 4, 2010
I woke up early today to go into Puerto Montt with Lisa for supplies. I was up with much time to spare so I built a fire in the stove and made some tea. It was really nice to have the house totally quiet, the day awakening while I sat drinking tea in the kitchen…never happens at home. Anyway I walked across the compo listening to the birds chirping, a hawk hunting and a pair of some kind of bird screaming when I flushed them off their nest. The drive into town was quick. We took care of business in town and I snapped a few pics.
Then jumped on a bus for a quick trip to a touristy area down where the cruise ships dock – Angelmo (pronounced: an helmo). I loved it. First there were all these booths under a roof but still open to the outside where people were selling all kinds of produce, fresh eggs, various suspicious looking (and smelling) dried seafood and herbs.
Then in a corner of the Mercado were the seafood vendors filleting and selling very fresh fish, mussels, clams and other unidentified bivalves. The smell was atrocious but the activity and excitement was infectious. Walking towards town from this area we passed numerous other street-side shops selling beautiful local crafts such as baskets, hand carved items, alpaca sweaters, hats, mittens, lapis lazuli jewelry, homemade chocolates and the usual trinkets. We picked up a few things and moved on to other errands.
The Walmart of South America (and, Yes, Walmart does own a percentage of it) is called Hyper Lider (pronounced: he per lee der). The hyper part I understand. Anyway, it is much like a stateside Walmart except many of the brands are foreign (however not the “Great Value” brand), the music, while American in origin, is sung in Spanish and from the 70’s. The people are not as fat, they don’t speak English, the array of items to choose from is much more limited and the beer selection sucks, the wine selection is awesome (and cheap in cost) and the liquor choices are good. The Home Depot/Lowe’s of South America is called Sodimac but I was unable to determine if either HD or Lowes has any stake in it. We stopped at a residence on the way home that advertized empanadas…we were so stoked to eat fresh, homemade empanadas and get enough to not have to cook dinner. Despite the sign still being out there was no one home. Bummer. All in all it was a productive day. We had a good ole American meal tonight…PB&J, chips and freshly sliced tomatos with salt (and lemon), delicious.
We awoke this morning to the birds singing and the sky threatening rain. Amazingly enough the sun won the battle and it has been 78 degrees, blue sky and beautiful puffy clouds. The children and I went on a hike out behind the hill house.
John, Maca, Graham with Sombro, Katie and Bennett.
We caught tadpoles, found the rare Tenio tree (2), made tracks in the mud and picked flowers. Enjoyable for all.
We had to return the rental car by 2 on Sunday so we decided to use it for one last adventure. We decided the trip was to be to Parque Nacional Alerce Andino which was created in 1982 to protect some of the last remaining forests of alerce trees. The alerce tree is known as the Patagonian cypress and is the largest tree in Latin America growing up to 60m tall. Darwin recorded one as 12.5m in diameter which would make it the largest recorded diameter of any tree. We set off for the park at 8:30 am (early for us) and asked for directions in Puerto Montt. We got very exacting directions from a willing Chilean gentleman standing on the street corner, complete with spit in our hair and exact kilometers. The directions were incorrect and after driving through some of the most beautiful mountainous areas along the coast
we ended up in what seemed like the end of the world…La Arena. La Arena is a beautiful little area in the mountains with 5 or 6 mercados and restaurants on either side of the road with the road ending in the Pacific. This is where the ferry picks up cars/vans/busses and people for transport to areas south.
The beaches were littered with brightly painted Chilean fishing boats and buoys. The area was as scenic as it could be…we ate some of the best cheese, beef (carne) and seafood empanadas we have had as of yet (3 for a dollar).
The ever present Chilean dogs were waiting for leftovers from our meal. We drove back from wince we came and found the Alerce Andino parquet on the way back and quickly drove in, saw an alerce tree, took pictures and left. We busted it back to PM, returned the car and got on a bus into town. Tim, the children and I, hung out in a park on the coast until our bus came.
The bus ride was eventful and somewhat expected. When we arrived at Cruce Cardenas we were told our bus did not drop at the campo on Sundays which left us a 3.5km walk in the rain with a sleeping child (Bennett). Lovely. Brandi and took all the bags and the children and started walking while Tim and Bradley jogged to the campo for the truck to come and pick us up. A great day for us all!!!!
