Indian Summer in Chile

We don't know what they call it here, but it feels like Indian summer! We've had four or five days of warmer temperatures (at least in the afternoon) and finally clear skies! and some cold clear nights. We're trying to take advantage of what might be our last opportunity to run around outside for awhile.

Wednesday Colegio Carpe Diem celebrated national physical fitness day, or something like that. We all got out of classes early at 2. The fitness day started with a walk up the road beyond school. 400+ kids and teachers hiking a mile or so up a dirt road. The kids older than 7th grade went an extra 1/2 mile up the road. Then we all came back for pick your own activity. The activities were eclectic: volleyball, table tennis, limbo contest or Arabic dance, Looking for the common thread? all can be done indoors! Arabic dance was a big hit with the younger girls. A few intrepid female teachers joined in. I draw the line on cueca in a funny dress and took photos. Berto and his band of friends spent the time doing what they always do during the 15 minute class breaks: chasing after one another.

Mike took advantage of a clear day to revisit Nihualtad Alto, our favorite spot to view the Cordillera. It's fun to go back again, because every time we know more about the landscape and terrain we're seeing. Everything was visible from Volcán Yates in the north to Monte Melimoyu in the south, a range of over 200 km.

It looks like Volcán Chaitén is still smoking away!






The beekeepers were out, maybe collecting honey. We've noticed that the insects here are very calm and tranquil, so Mike didn't feel nervous getting this close to them.






Saturday was the pinnacle - we woke up to clear skies, by midmorning it had started to warm up - and we had plans! Mike's parents gave us a day of sea kayaking for Mike's birthday, and we had five hours to go out and paddle around.

.the stars (and everything else) aligned, and Mike and Lisa climbed into rented sea kayaks and paddled around the Estero de Castro for the day! Most places rent only sit-on-tops, but Lisa found an outfitter who rents real kayaks.

We started in Castro and headed north to the penninsula of TenTen for a good view across to town.

A good start: As we paddled over to Ten-ten, we saw two dolphins ahead of us. Later we saw a big seal, some different cormorants than we usually see around here (they had a white breast and neck), and a pelican.

We then paddled across to the Rilan Peninsula on the far side of the estero - what Mike looks at out the window every day, but where he has never been. (Lisa and Bert took the bus to Rilan one summer day.) We paddled past shellfish farms and a dome (a high-end hostel?). We ventured as far as we could (not very far) up the creek at Yutuy and found an old-fashioned fish gate. As far as we can tell, a person would open the gate for the rising tide to let fish swim into the entrance to the creek, then close it as the tide fell to trap fish left behind.

It was fun to see our house and the ridge behind it from a new perspective. Even when we had been on the ship to Laguna San Rafael, we were closer to our shore and couldn't see all the way up the ridge. We are finding that every time we take another look at something we've seen since we've been here, we observe something new.

We paddled along the cliff, past a couple of fishing shacks accessible only from the water, out to the point with the lighthouse at Peuque, where the estero curves to the east on its way to the ocean. There's a little house out there with a spectacular view up and down the estero - sure would be nice to live there! But we wouldn't trade our neighbors for anyone.