Weekend in the big city

We had an eventful weekend last weekend: Friday Lisa and the other English teachers in the Programa IAP had a meeting in Puerto Montt, so we decided to make it a weekend in the big city! (pop. ~150,000) We took the bus and ferry Thurs. after school and arrived around 6:30 at the Business Hotel* Don Luis. (* = heated rooms and unlimited hot water!) Puerto Montt is on a narrow plain next to the Golfo de Ancud and up the hill behind. Two huge snow-capped volcanoes loom over the town (no pix, sorry): Volcan Osorno (8000'+, behind Lago de Llanquiheu, and which we saw from the bus on our way down here a couple of weeks ago), and Volcan Calbuco (think Portland OR, but two of them). Puerto Montt is the end of the road! except for the Carreteria Austral, which extends 500km or so to little villages to the south but turns to dirt pretty quickly (think Alaska Highway 30 years ago). To the south is a line of mountains and volcanoes stretching to Patagonia and beyond.
The climate is similar to that of Castro: Plenty of rain, but fortunately it usually doesn't last long. We had a great weekend with all sun and no rain!

Friday Mike and the kids explored the waterfront while Lisa was in her meetings (and did some clothes shopping). We saw people collecting shellfish at low tide just offshore (tides are about 20 feet here) and played in a couple of playgrounds. Puerto Montt has the right idea about a skateboard park: Put it right on the waterfront where lots of people pass by to keep an eye on things, and let the kids paint it however they want! After school let out Fri. it was well used.

Puerto Montt was founded in 1852 by German settlers, so nothing is very old. The cathedral is rather plain inside but has stunning stained glass on the front.





We then walked to Angelmó, on the other side of the port and the oldest part of town (or maybe a fishing village that got absorbed). My guess is that it was destroyed in the earthquake and tsunami of 1960 (largest in the 20th century), because it's all new now. We tried curanto, the local dish of clams, mussels, chicken, sausage, potatoes, and whatever else, steamed with seaweed in a hole on the beach (think Cape Cod clambake). Yum! Now we have a recipe, so we'll have to try it sometime.



Saturday we took the bus up to Puerto Varas. Settled by Germans around 1870 (think Switzerland). We walked over to Puerto Chico (little port) and the beach and enjoyed views of the two volcanoes (Osorno and Calbuco) over the lake. This town was much more touristy, but it's an outdoor paradise during the summer! We'll have to come back!

We came back to Castro early Sunday afternoon, and our neighbors Monica (in the crimson sweater) and Luis (in the yellow vest) and their extended family were in a rustic shed behind their house, where they had a barbecue in full swing! (They are so nice!)
They and Monica's parents Victoria and Lucio (next door), Monica's sister Margo (in the gray jacket and hat) and her husband, a couple of cousins, and Laura (purple sweater and necklace), another English teacher whom Margo is hosting, were all over. Bert and Gabi enjoyed the attention!


















Victoria made chochoca, mashed potatoes cooked on a log over the fire and then filled with carne asada. It was fascinating to watch her make it! First, she packed a mixture of mashed and shredded raw potatoes and flour onto what looked like a giant log-size rolling pin that had been rinsed with boiling water so the potato mixture would stick.

Next, the log was put over the fire like a spit until the potatoes were golden brown on the outside.

Once the potatoes were done, Victoria unrolled it from the log, added the carne asada, rolled it back up, and sliced it. We ate it with more huge quantities of pork ribs. Yum! (thought Bert looks like he's not convinced)



Tuesday Laura had off, so Margo and her husband Pidi (Pedro) took her, Mike, and a German guy Jonas (whom Margo had been a host family to a couple of years ago) out to see some of the local sights.

First we went to the fishing and boat-
building village of San Juan (also has an old church on the Ruta de las Iglesias de Chiloé – the church here in Nercon is another).

We then visited a waterfall in a gorge outside the village of Tenaún (think Columbia River Gorge). It was quite pretty, and the rain let up just in time. There's a little restaurant there during the summer (no running water, though!), but it's deserted now.

All the adventures for this week! We'll stay closer to home this weekend so the kids can get some more play time (and to get some furniture) - maybe we'll take the bus to Chonchí. Hope all is well with you!