My last week at Finna Estampa was great but it was really
sad to leave Monica and Rolf! They had become my Chilean family and I am so
glad to have gotten to know them and be a part of their lives for the past
month. They have a really special hotel and they truly treat their guests like
guests. I learned a lot about how to run a property that is comfortable and
inviting, but still professional and efficient. Working with them was
definitely a valuable and overall enjoyable experience!!
Day 1:
Brad and Patricia have made it to Chile!! As soon as my parents arrived at Finna Estampa about noon, they
picked me up in their cute little Toyota Rav 4 and we went straight to Viña Viu
Manent for a wine tasting. It was a perfect kickoff to the trip to drink
beautifully crafted wine in the middle of a picturesque vineyard. Starting the
trip off right! Then we went to the vineyard’s adorable restaurant for an
amazing and huge lunch. We couldn’t even eat dinner that night because we were
still so full. We waddled ourselves out of the restaurant and drove to downtown
Santa Cruz to visit the Colchagua Museum. It’s an enormous museum with
artifacts from pre-Spanish colonization up until present time, including an
extensive exhibit on the 2010 rescue of the 33 Chilean miners that even had the
actual capsule that was used to transport the men from the mine back to the
surface. It seems a little random that this small town in the countryside has
so many significant artifacts pertaining to Chile’s history and culture, but
apparently the owner/curator just buys up everything he can. The whole place is
a little overwhelming actually, and you could easily spend 7 or 8 hours going
through all the rooms if you wanted to read about and look at everything.
Luckily we prioritized and made it out in about 3 (skipping a few
less-than-fascinating exhibits) and followed up with a quick walk around the
corner to the Hotel Santa Cruz in the main plaza to relax in their courtyard
with some drinks. This would be the beginning of a trip-long passion for the
sweet and sour apertivo known as the Pisco Sour. Too bad pisco (a grape brandy
that’s a specialty of Chile and Peru) is so hard to find in the States!
Day 2:
Monday started with a walk through the vineyard with the
dogs (who I am so sad to leave!!) and then relaxing in the garden of the hotel.
It was really fun to have my parents stay at Finna Estampa and meet Monica and
Rolf. Despite the language barrier, involving lots of hand gestures and
expectant stares at me to translate (which was great practice for my Spanish!),
they communicated well enough to have conversations about traveling and
airplanes and more.
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| Thor and Diana playing in the vineyard |
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| Relaxing in the garden and enjoying the sun! |
Then we went on to our vineyard tour at Viña Mont Gras for
their “Haga su Propio Vino” (“Make your Own Wine”) tour, which was great fun!
They give you a tour of their vineyard and tell you all about the history and
process (typical wine tour fare) and then take you to a cellar downstairs where
you use three types of their own wine, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Carmenere,
to try different creations by mixing them in different proportions to make your
own unique bottle. Then you bottle it, cork it, burn the foil top on it, and
put a label on it, making it very official looking! You even get to keep the
apron! We had way too much fun on this tour I think.
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| Viña Mont Gras |
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| This is what the bark of a cork tree looks like. It's actually squishy just like cork. |
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| They let you drink right out of the tanks |
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| Experimenting with different combinations |
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| Corking the wine |
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| Final product! |
Then we went straight from
that tour, with a quick stop for a pizza and some empanadas for lunch downtown,
to Viña Santa Cruz for a tour and tasting. Their vineyard built up into the
hills, and has a fun cable car that takes you up to the top that gives you an
incredible view of the vineyard and the hills. And there were even llamas up on
the top. Still not sure why, but they were super cute! And there was even an antique
car museum on the same property, owned by the same curator of the Museo
Colchagua, that Dad was pretty happy to spend some time exploring. Seems pretty
random to me, but they had some cool old cars! Keeping with the car theme, we
took advantage of the vacant country roads and the parking lot of the vineyard
for me to learn to drive stick shift. I am NOT a multi-tasker, so it took me a
few minutes (and a few times stalling the engine) to kind of get the hang of
it. I’m definitely not about to go buy a stick shift car, but it was a fun
lesson!
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| The cellar at Viña Santa Cruz |
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| Cable car up to the top |
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| Such goofy animals |
When we got back to the hotel room, we realized that we had accumulated
quite a few bottles of wine from all the vineyard trips, but I suppose there
are worse problems that having to figure out how to pack and abundance of wine
bottles. And we got rid of one when we opened up a bottle of champagne to share
with Monica and Rolf on our last night at Finna Estampa, toasting to their
hospitality and save travels on our next adventure. I gave them a little
parting, ‘thank you’ gift too, which included a few Reese’s pumpkins, that
Monica found out she loves when I gave her a taste of mine (My parents love me
so much that they brought me Reeses’ pumpkins!! How I’ve missed peanut butter).
But I can sacrifice a few to Monica for all that she and Rolf have done for me
during the past month. I’m really going to miss them! But maybe I’ll see them
again in the future; they know they are welcome in Orlando whenever, and I
would love to take them up on their offer for me to return to Finna Estampa and
stay with them as a guest.
We ended
our evening with a delicious Italian dinner at Vino Bello, owned by a woman
from California, who also uses the same site that I used to find my job at
Finna Estampa in order to find people from all over the world to come work at
her restaurant. Seems like a good deal to me!
Day 3:
We left Finna Estampa just after breakfast, after saying a
sad goodbye to Monica and Rolf (and Thor and Diana, the adorable dogs) But we
were off on the next leg of our adventure and now the roadtrip had officially
begun! We made our way through beautiful country backroads to the Panamerican
Highway and then traveled south toward Los Angeles. We stopped along the way at
the Saltas del Laja, a huge waterfall unlike any that I’d ever seen. There was
even a rainbow to complete the picture!
After our stop at the waterfall, we
continued on to our hotel for the night, a sweet little residential,
Residencial el Rincon, secluded in the woods next to a river. It was a very
tranquil spot to relax and explore their gardens. Getting there was
interesting, since it was about 2 km on wooded back roads, and we weren’t quite
sure what we were going to find at the end (definitely a good thing we had 4
wheel drive!), but it ended up being the perfect little place, very welcoming
and comfortable. It was just us and a German man staying there, and the owners
Wendy and Roland, a really interesting couple that have sailed all over the
world and decided to settle in this quiet part of Chile and open a small
hotel/guest house. They were great hosts, and we loved being able to get to
know them. And that night, Wendy cooked a lovely meal with most of the
ingredients coming from her garden. We felt very at home there!
Day 4:
We enjoyed a delicious breakfast, complete with homemade
jams and non-instant coffee, and then said goodbye to our hosts and new
friends. Hopefully we’ll see them again sometime and place in the future! We
got on the highway and continued south to Pucon, a little town on lake
Villarica with lots of places for hiking and water-related activities. On the way we saw fields of beautiful yellow flowers that covered huge areas. I found out later that they're actually an invasive species and no one likes them, but I think they're pretty at least! We went
on one hike to the Ojos del Carbugua, some waterfalls where 2 rivers converge
into a clear, blue pool. We spent the afternoon exploring Pucon, shopping (I
got a new rain jacket that isn’t horrible!! And Mom bought an adorable pair of
shoes) and stopping in a cute little creperia for tea time and a crepe.
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| Ojos del Carbugua |
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| View from the roof of the hotel |
Day 5:
Today is Halloween! I celebrated with a Reese’s pumpkin,
which is the only way I ever want to celebrate Halloween anyway, so it was
perfect for me. We drove today from Pucon to Valdivia, a city on the river
that’s famous for being the home of the Kuntsmann Brewery, a super popular beer
in Chile. We had lunch in their German restaurant (which is already being
decorated for Christmas and that makes me so happy!) and then took a tour of
the brewery and had a tasting. It was actually really delicious too! Then we
meandered along the river’s edge by the market, watching the sea lions and
seals that linger nearby, looking for scraps from the fishermen. It turned out
to be a sunny day, so it was nice to be by the river. Our hotel, Villa del Rio,
is on the other side of the river, overlooking the city. We explored the hotel
grounds a bit and then out for a great meal at Murtao, a cozy restaurant with
lots of different varieties of pisco sours, which is always fun! My meal of
cheese and crab stuffed Hake, with a side of hazelnut quinoa risotto was
probably one of my favorites on this trip. Amazing.
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| perfection |
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| I can never resist a face in a hole! |
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| Christmas season is beginning!! |
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| The most enthusiastic beer tasting |
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| Salud! |
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| Sea lions patiently awaiting fish scraps |
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| These are HUGE |
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| Rio Calle Calle by night |
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| and by morning |
Day 6:
Our next stop was Puerto Varas, but we stopped in Angelmó, a
neighborhood market in Puerto Montt, for some fresh seafood in one of about 20
small, restaurants, most with just 1 room and 2 or 3 communal tables. The one
we chose was owned by a sweet older woman, who made an amazing fried congrio
and Avalones, which are both very typical of Chile.
And we shared a table with a friendly group of Chileans and
2 of them were actually living in Virginia, so it was nice to chat with them
and get recommendations and their perspectives on the area. I love that social
atmosphere of this country!
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| Seal swimming by the beach in the harbor |
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| Fried Congrio |
After lunch we wandered around the seafood and
artisanal market and I bought an insanely comfy Alpaca sweater and some socks,
which you can never have enough of. Then we got back on the highway and
continued to Puerto Varas and our hotel. Our hotel, Gran Hotel Colonos del Sur,
is right on the lake, overlooking the Osorno and Cabuco Volcanoes, which are so
beautiful when the sky is clear enough to see them. We explored the downtown
area a bit, and then went out for dinner at La Jardinera, a little highly-recommended
restaurant that did not let us down. We had a Thai and Indian themed dinner,
followed by one of the best desserts I’ve ever had, a warm sticky toffee
pudding with homemade ice cream. We are definitely not starving on this trip!
Day 7:
We woke up early this morning to get ready for our 8 am pick
up for our flyfishing float trip on the Maullin River. Cristian, our guide, and
Juan, our driver, met us at the hotel and we drove to the river where we donned
our waders (so official looking!) and put the boat in the water. After a quick
lesson on land on how to use the fly rod and a group picture with Cristian (and
a selfie of Juan that he accidently took while trying to take a picture of us),
we hopped in the boat and we were off. The boat was a little crowded, but we
made it work! One person would use the fly rod off the front of the boat and
another would use the spinner rod off the back. Mom caught the first fish of
the day, right as we were passing a group of Chilean fisherman on the shore and
Cristian asked them how the fishing was going, and the responded that it wasn’t
very good. Her fish hit about 2 feet away from their line. Oops! It was
exciting to have caught a fish though! We spent the next few hours floating
down the quiet river looking at the beautiful Patagonian landscape. After a
bit, we stopped in a field for a delicious lunch of ham and cheese sandwiches
and coca-cola. We also had another lesson with the fly rod, and it was really
good to practice on land a bit more. It can be tricky on the boat with the
movement and trying to avoid trees and things.
After we got back on the boat, I practiced more and got the
hang of it after a while, and I really like it! The rhythm of it makes it very
relaxing. I’d definitely like to try it again. We kept floating for another few
hours and caught a few more fish, some brown trout, rainbow trout, and some
other little fish. Mom caught the first and last fish of the day, and Dad
caught one on the fly in the last 5 minutes of the trip, just in time! We were
greeted on shore by a friendly black lab and Juan to drive us back to our
hotel. The flyfishing trip was just what we were looking for: a relaxing,
casual day on the water learning to flyfish in a beautiful place. And we even
caught a few fish so that was just the cherry on top!
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| Good morning! |
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| Flyfishing models |
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| Juan trying to take a picture of us and accidentally taking a selfie |
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| So excited to be on the river! |
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| First fish of the day |
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| Kiss the fish |
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| Lesson on land |
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| Fish on the fly! |
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| Our lovely greeter when we got off the boat |
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| The fish slayers with our guide! |
We got back in the
evening just in time to see the volcanoes before the clouds came in, and Dad
and I went on a hunt to find a famous viewpoint in Puerto Varas of the church
with the lake and volcano in the background. After about an hour of driving
around backroads trying to find the right perspective, we found the spot and
took a beautiful picture with an ugly crane in the way. Maybe we can photoshop
it out… Then we spent some time in the hot pool at the hotel before setting out
to find dinner. We found a delicious little Italian restaurant, D’Alessandro,
and had a great pizza and salad. And we saw the sunset from the window, which
was amazing the way that it lit up the Osorno Volcano and turned the whole
thing pink. A great end to a great day.
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| Driving back into Puerto Varas |
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| Those colors!! And look at the pink volcano! |
Day 8:
Today is sadly our last day! We drove from Puerto Varas to
Puerto Montt, where we hopped on the ferry that crosses the channel to the
island of Chiloé. From there, the Panamerican Highway continues on to Ancud, a
little town on the north part of the island. Ancud will be my new home for the
next month or so!
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| Goodbye mainland Chile... |
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| And hello Chiloé Island! |
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| Ancud in the distance, across the bay |
We continued on past Ancud another 30 min to go straight to
Puñihuil, where the penguins nest every October to March. It’s a picturesque
drive the whole way, the road following the coast with dramatic rolling green
hills and sheer cliffs dropping down to wide beaches, with sheep and cows
roaming all over. The landscape here is amazing. Not what I was expecting at
all.
We made it to the beach and drove to one of the 3 or 4 restaurants that we
were directed to by Pablo, who would turn out to be a good friend. When we went
inside, we were greeted by Melanie, a sweet Canadian who moved down here. After
talking with her a bit about why we’re here, she said that her friend owns a
hostel here who is expecting someone to come and work, and it turns out that it
was me! So it was nice to know that there were already people in town who knew
about me. I felt like I already had friends on the island.
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| View from lunch |
After a delicious
lunch, we went on the tour with Pablo and saw all the penguins on their
islands! They all come here to breed in the summer. There are 2 types of
penguins here, ones from the north of Chile and others from the South, and they
follow the currents that converge at Puñihuil and they nest on the islands.
They were so cute!! And they somehow climb up into the peaks of the hills,
navigating boulders and everything. They look very awkward doing it but I love
their awkwardness.
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| The clever invention of a cart to take you to the boat! |
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| Ignore my finger and my horrible video skills and just watch the cute penguins climb the rocks! |
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| The islands where the penguins live |
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| Our cute little Rav 4 navigating the Puñihuil beach |
After the penguin tour we drove back into Ancud, and found a
hotel that was much better than the original we booked. The other was full of
rude people (among the first genuinely unpleasant people I’ve encountered in
Chile). So we moved over the Galeón Azul, a quirky bright yellow building
overlooking the water, with friendly people. Even if the doorknob did break off in dad's hand (which we actually found hilariously quirky), it was still 1000 times better than the Petit Hotel Ancud!
We did some reorganized of the
luggage, trying to make all the wine bottles and souvenirs fit, plus all the
clothes and everything of mine that I don’t need anymore that I’m sending back
with my parents. We actually made it all work somehow! And it’s so nice to have
less things since I’ll be living in a hostel for the next month and a half and
space is a little more limited than in my last places. We walked from the hotel
to a restaurant that Melanie recommended, Retro’s, which is a casual bar/pub
with really good fajitas and burgers and other bar food. Certainly not a
typically Chilean meal, but it was delicious and just right!
Nov 7:
Now I’m in Ancud working at 13 Lunas Hostel, and it’s been
an amazing first few days. The owners and staff here are friendly and welcoming
and fun, and I fit into life here pretty easily. Yesterday was my first
official day working the reception desk, and it was great.
I love receiving guests and making them
feel welcome. And this is such a great place to welcome people to. It’s a
sociable and well-organized hostel in a beautiful place; not much more you
could ask for! And it’s such a friendly atmosphere here to hang out with staff
and guests and get to know people that are staying here. It’s funny how quickly
you connect with people and make friends in hostels, especially here. I’ve already
met some really interesting people and I’m confident I’ll meet plenty more, who
I’ll keep in touch with after they leave here. Here’s the link to the hostel if
you’d like to take a look at it yourself!
http://www.13lunas.cl/english/home
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| Hard at work! |
The Great Chilean Roadtrip was a huge success!! I'm so glad that we were
able to do it. We covered so much ground and saw a good variety of
things, experiencing lots of Chile and all of its natural beauty. I'm so
happy I got to share this amazing country with my parents. And I had so much fun planning it too. Maybe trip planning is in my future...
I'm really happy to have settled in Ancud and am enjoying it a lot so far! Stay tuned to how my life and work experience goes here. I'm sure there will be plenty of stories to tell. In a hostel, life is never boring :)
Besos xox
