The Island of Chiloe

Living the Chiloe lifestyle - easy like blowing in the wind.

Like all good plans, things don’t always go to plan… but that’s part of the plan when you’re travelling right? Find things on the way, meet new people, stay longer than expected when you find something you love, leave earlier when something doesn’t live up to expectations. In line with this, my plan was to stay in Bariloche for 3 days, see the town, maybe a bit of light hiking, and just relax… but this turned into a week, but I don’t regret it at all. Time seemed to pass without worry and stress, not knowing what day it was or even really what time it was , time passed as it should - eat when I feel like it, sleep until I wake up and do what I want when I want. However, all good things come to an end, and I have many other places on this trip to see, so move on I did.  Still sticking to my rough plan (which I must add was pencilled out on a whiteboard at a company I taught at during a cancelled class), Chiloe was next on the list to visit, spending the few days there leading up to Christmas – yes, the Blog is far behind and I am actually writing this from the town of El Chalten in Argentina, home of the FitzRoy mountains – but that is another future blog!

a small wooden chuch in Chiloe.

Mapuche street art in Ancud.

Couple playing with a street dog in Achao.

Chiloe is known for it’s mythology and all Chileans have good things to say about the island. I left Puerto Varas, giving myself a day to recover from a ‘Terimotto’ night out, took a bus early and was there a short 3 hours bus trip and a 30 minute ferry crossing later in the town of Ancud. Immediately I could see why people love this place – rolling countryside, small cute farm homes, sheep and cattle everywhere – it could be the South Coast of New South Wales. The town itself was tiny, and travelling with a tall German guy, we stood out as the very few ‘gringos’ in town. A quick 10 minutes and you’ve covered everything – but the people were friendly, and being school holidays, there were plenty of teenagers hanging around so we got the occasional English word called out to us followed by giggling. Ancud is on the coast, and walking along the water was nice, and I came across an old fort, ‘Fuerte San Antonio,’ built in 1770 to protect the island. Sadly not much is left but a half a dozen rusty cannons, but you can see why it was important as it hold a great view of the port and channel into the town. The rest of the town is a typical Chilean town down south – colourful wooden houses, usually panels but sometimes shingles. The churches here are mostly wooden too – I’m not sure why this is, maybe cost, but I think it is due to the earthquakes down here, the old Cathedral in town was destroyed in the big quake of 1960 and now in it’s place stands a modern concrete and steel monstrosity. The hostel I stayed in was made entirely of timber as well, and it was strange when you went up the stairs the whole building shook a little… it felt very unstable and not very fire resistant either.

Castro's famouse stilt houses on the river.

The "Titanic III" is an ominous name.

Penguins near Ancud.

The only thing to do in town really was a penguin tour, and that was the main reason for visiting, although I liked the town as a pretty, albeit very quiet, coastal fishing town. The tour cost 15,000CLP ($30) and was a half day tour, which included the 1 hour drive out to the boats at a place aptly named ‘Penguineras,’ and a 40 min boat trip to the 4 colonies of penguins. There are two kinds of penguins you can see, the Magellanic and the Humboldt, which are very similar in appearance but one having an extra stripe. There are 2,000 penguins altogether, and have been protected since 1929 by the government – even the amount of tourists and boats have been restricted. There are also plenty of other birds to see, including pelicans and gulls, but also seals and sometimes on the rare occasion you can whales off the coast, even Blue Whales I have been told. No luck for me however. The boat ride was fun, and I was able to see the little fellas up quite close, and even some of their young in the nests. I was slightly worried about the boat though – the name was ‘Titanic 3,’ and we all know what happened to the first of it’s name, but what ever happened to the second? Thankfully there were no problems and we made it back to land safe and completely dry.

Riding the waves on a boat tour near Ancud.

Castro's cathedral.

The lavender bell tower of the cathedral.

With not much else to see here, I moved on to Castro, the ‘capital city’ of Chiloe. Castro is known for the ‘floating houses’ and that’s the main reason I came here – all those Google images you see kind of draws you to a place. However, what the Internet shows you and what you actually see when you get to the place can be two very different things. This was sadly the case with Castro.  I did see the colourful stilt houses on the river, but they are few and only in two sections of the town. I was lucky enough to stay in a hostel on the river, so I was able to enjoy the view in the morning, watch the birds, and see the best part of this place. The rest of the town was a little seedy – people standing around in the plaza with not much to do (there isn’t much to do here), out of place Latin music playing, dirty streets, a strangely  coloured church and loads of street dogs – very South American I thought. By this point I was travelling with two other guys, and we had picked up a German girl along the way, and now being a group of 4 is was slightly harder to find accommodation for the weekend, so we had to move – unfortunately to the dodgy side of town, and the walk to the hostel was where the local ‘flaites’ hang out – nice enough guys and girls, but not the kind of people you want to be hanging out with or walking past with all your possessions in the world on you, a large camera included. It was all good in the hood though, as my head was kept down, eye contact avoided, conversation restricted to a quick and quiet ‘hola,’ and then a slightly faster walk past. Makes you feel young!

Achao cathedral.

Checking the LP guide.

UNESCO Achao Cathedtal

The following day, all of us headed out to do a bit of a church tour of the island. This is one main attraction here, and one easily enough done by local buses. The ‘micros’ here are much smaller than in Conce, with a row of two seats, the aisle then one lone seat. The also rattle and bump around more. First stop was the village of Achao. It was a Sunday, and so very quiet - like walking through a ghost town. Small wooden houses, sleepy dogs, a few roosters crowing and a strong wind blowing in off the water. We found one restaurant open and had some empanadas before visiting the oldest church in Chiloe, the Church of Santa Maria de Achao. Built in 1740 and made completely out of timber, it’s one of 16 on the island that were declared UNESCO heritage sites, and although it’s not very colourful, it is very beautiful. Grey shingles on the outside and beautifully painted ceiling on the inside, it was all quiet and I was able to stand there and enjoy it… I did however interrupt a very amorous couple when I walked in, who quickly separated when they heard the door. Latin Love. Not much else to see in Achao, we jumped on another bus and visited the even sleepier town of Curaco de Velez. Even quieter than the nearly dead Achao, Curaco pretty much sums up Chiloe – quiet, pretty, and a great place to relax and think. As the sun started to set and the tide went out, we headed back to town and had a little sleep on the bus.

"No parking," but the dogs 'of the South' don't care!

I missed out on a lot of what Chiloe has to offer, as I only spent two and a half days there. There is a lot of mythology surrounding the island, including a ‘troll’ like creature – one story goes that if you are a woman and have a child out of wedlock, you went and slept with the Trauco. I also missed the national park, where Pudos live, and well as a whole arm-long list of other things… next time! I only stayed 3 days instead of the planned 5 - 6, but things change and I needed to get down to Puerto Natales and the Torres del Paine National Park for Christmas. I managed to find a great deal for a bus – 35,000clp ($70) from Castro in Chiloe to Puerto Natales – 37 hours away and crossing into Argentina and back into Chile. That is for the next entry!

The stilt houses of Castro early in the morning.

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MyUncleTravellingMatt. December 2015.

Beautiful Bariloche

Crossing from Chile into Argentina.

So far I have only been to Chile in South America. This changed when I jumped the border to visit Argentina. Having lived in Europe for long periods of time, and being from also being from Australia, I am unused to seeing country borders on the road. They have them in Europe, the booths are there and sometimes even a few police officers, but there is no stopping, no visas required, and no money changing either. When crossing from Chile to Argentina your bus stops at the Chilean side first, you walk in an do your visa stuff, get your stamp and then get back on the bus and go to the Argentinian side, through what I call 'no-mans' land, and do the same (and pay the $100 reciprocal visa charge if you're from the States, Canada or Australia). You aren't supposed to bring fruit, vegetables and other animal products across the border, but the Argentines are so relaxed that they don't seem to care. The Chileans, however, get your bags off the bus and run the sniffer dog over them - hate for their neighbours perhaps?

A Swiss-like town of San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina.

The bus ride from Puerto Varas to Bariloche is worth mentioning for a few reasons. I took a bus with AndesMar, an Argentine bus company, and was very impressed with the service. Got on the bus and 5 minutes later I was served a coffee and biscuits. Ok, the coffee was the worst I've ever had I think, but it's served on a tray and it makes you feel like you're on a plane. Sandwiches were also served for lunch, and after this we played a game of Bingo! Each passenger was given a little bingo slip, the 'flight attendant' hooked up his microphone and called out the numbers (two fat ladies, 88) for the chance to wine a bottle of wine - they clearly have too much in Argentina! I also have to give a big round of applause to the guy on the bus pouring the boiling water for the coffee and tea - not a drop spilt and his body just moved with the bumps and turns of the mountainous roads. Speaking of roads, these ones through the mountains into Argentina swerved and zig-zagged like a Scotsman drinking Tennant's Super on the way home from a Celtic game, and the bus driver was trying out for pole position on next years F1. Instead of thinking about the possibility of dying on the trip, I looked out the window and enjoyed the view, which was amazing!

Some of the views from the bus into town.

Chocolate!!

St Bernards being used to sell expensive photos with tourists.

Getting out once in Bariloche and you can immediately see the difference between the neighbours - the grass is definitely greener on the other side in this case! Pulling into the bus terminal and grabbing a cab (lazy I know!) to the hostel, this place really did feel like Switzerland. Town sitting on the slope of a hill overlooking a deep blue lake and surrounded by soaring, snow-capped mountains! The town is also know for it's chocolate, just like Switzerland, and along with the many many artisan chocolate stores, everything has a real christmasy feel to it - I even saw in one window front a self-snowing Christmas tree, which threw down snow from the top, collected it down the bottom and repeat. The town has that Queenstown snow-town, summer adventure feel to it with it's architecture, mixed in with Argentine style - mad driving and the strange accents. Argentinian people are very friendly, you say thank you very much for something, they say 'no, no please!' The bus drivers say hi to everyone and even kiss some people when they get on! Everyone is smiley, happy to help, relaxed (sometimes too much!) and always sipping Mate (every hostel receptionist so far...), which I enjoy as well. I also saw one guy with a leather Mate carrier with room for his cup and flash - very fancy!

Beautiful Bariloche!

The perfect way to see Argentina - or the world even!

First thing on the list was changing money, and if you have ever been to Argentina, you may know what a funny way they have of doing it here. The government has done something funny with it, something with deregulating it (I'm not sure and can't explain as I'm no economist), and so there is the 'official' exchange rate and then there is the 'blue dollar.' Basically, you get a better exchange rate on the black market rather than a money exchange office, so that is how I went about changing some Chilean Pesos to Argentinian Pesos. The hostel guy told me that 'Samuel' was they guy to do it with, so I wandered the streets, and I was approached by these money guys, "Change? Cambio?" and i'd reply, "Are you Samuel?" This is how is went for a while, and decided to see what another guy could offer me. Back of a souvenir shop, a small tin box behind some 'I Love Bariloche' shirts, the guy has stacks of foreign bills - I tell him I'd think about it and come back. I did find my guy eventually, and Samuel took me upstairs to his 'office.' It was a single room with a barred and blocked out window, a single 3-legged stool in one corner with an electronic money counter sitting on it and a tin box on the ground full of cash. We did the change and he was really friendly and a good guy - he's a young from Spain but living here... I wonder what he tells his mum what he does for a living her ("I'm in banking mum!"). Changing this money I felt a little like I was buy drugs or guns on the street, and thought I was going to get caught... but that's how it's done here.

Enjoying the chairlift up to Cerro Campanario.

Wooden church on Lago  Llau Llau.

The view from Campinario.

Bariloche and the surrounding area looks like the Swizz Alps, so I thought what better way to enjoy it than to do some hiking to see the mountains and the lakes. Carro Campinario is close to the city, a 20 min local bus trip away, and give a great view of the area. I cheated and paid for a chairlift up (150ARS/$15) but that was fun and part of the experience I think, but when I got to the top, I was nearly blown away - figuratively and literally! The wind here was incredible - if you face into it you get the cheapest facelift, but maybe also a free snack of bugs. Giving a 360 view of the lakes, I couldn't stop taking photos, and really couldn't believe that I was actually here! Stopped in the small cafe at the top for a coffee - a real coffee too! In Chile they don't use a machine, it's boiling water and a packet of Nescafe. In Argentina, when you order a coffee, you also get a small glass of sparkling water - very posh! After ordering the coffee, I realised that I didn't have enough money, and card wasn't accepted either - I desperately explained that to the waiter that I didn't have enough and asked if he took Chilean Pesos, he said no problem and did a quick money exchange for me - everyone is in the banking industry it seems.

Enjoying the view from the cafe at Cerro Campinario.

A 'Swiss' cabin in Argentina.

I also had a great walk around from Llau Llau (pronouned 'j-ow' in Argentina) to Bahia Lopez (Lopez Bay),  starting from the very expensive and very impressive Hotel Llau Llau. The walk was quite easy, but enjoyable and the landscape was incredible - I kept forgetting where I was. There are many ways you can see the area - boat trips, cycling and by car, but walking is the best for soaking it all up, and taking photos of course! I also made a short trip to Villa Trufel, a 2 hour bus trip away on the other side of the lake to Bariloche. The village was tiny and you can count the houses on your fingers - this doesn't stop them from having a cosy little cafe and a restaurant with an open fire and an extensive menu. A coffee (plus sparkling water) and 'media luna' (croissant) before starting a walk, the weather wasn't great but cleared up 10 minutes into the walk. Distances on walks here seem to be exaggerated - I took the 1 hour return trail to see a waterfall, and it took me 15 minutes to reach the viewpoint. Since this one took me such a short time, I took the longer one that said 2 hour return, and was back in time for the bus within an hour. Dinner in a nice restaurant that night was well deserved and I managed to find one 2 blocks from the hostel. Locally brewed craft beers (at 50% off Happy Hour prices) and great food, along with a vibrant atmosphere, I felt really content with my time here in this town. I started speaking to a French guy at the beer, who recommended a few beers to me, and he asked how I liked the town so far. I replied that I think I want to live here - he just laughed and said that's what he said 6 months ago, and he's still here.

The Hotel Llau Llau.

My time in Bariloche had come to an end, after a great 6 days there. I had a great time, and I was also blessed to have shared that time with a great person who made the experience ever better - you know who you are and thank you. I am now in my 2nd month of travelling and haven't really been alone for more than a day - you may think that is a bad thing, but it has been great. You need your time alone sometimes, but the best kind of travelling partner is someone who knows that and gives you that time - and the time you spend together should be really natural. If you are lucky enough to find these people on the road, be more than just Facebook friends. It is such a change to talk to 'real' people, not just 'hostel' people, who just talk about what they've 'done' (Oh yeah, I DID Santiago, it was awesome) and trying to be cool and seem wordly, and there is always some long-haired guy playing Bob Marley on the guitar (and trying to sing). Give people a chance, and you will find some good ones - you can't be friends with everyone either, but you can always be friendly, so smile and wave people.

Bariloche - the Switzerland of South America.

Patiperro Australiano

Puerto Varas.

“No man is brave that has never walked a hundred miles. If you want to know the truth of who you are, walk until not a person knows your name. Travel is the great leveler, the great teacher, bitter as medicine, crueler than mirror-glass. A long stretch of road will teach you more about yourself than a hundred years of quiet.” A quote from a book I recently read, written by Patick Rothfuss, which I think sums up travel. It teaches so much, about yourself and the world, and if you are open enough for this, you can and will learn from it, becoming a better person and hopefully wanting to make the world we all live in a better place. It also makes sense in the way that not all travel is wonderful - it's so much more than the glamorous photos that we post on social media. There are many words and phrases for people who feel the 'need' for travel - the feeling is often called 'wanderlust' in English (but came from a German word). people talk about being 'bitten by the travel bug,' having 'itchy feet,' but here in Chile they call it 'Patiperros.' All terms for people who need to explore, who need to get out there and be in different places, face new challenges, live through the good and the bad, but know that 'easy is boring' and that life should be a challenge.

Osorno on a clear day is something to just stop and admire.

Happy little street dog.

Just chilling.

Chileans have a way of making up slang and idioms, often related to animals, and this one is my favourite. Patiperros basically means to walk to streets like a dog, it's for people who don't like to stay at home and are lead to explore new places by their curiosity. If you have ever been to Chile, you may understand this more regarding the reference to dogs - street dogs in Chile are unique. Street dogs are everywhere and very friendly, they'll walk you home, chill at a cafe with you, but always go their own way in the end. So, in Chile this is how people describe restless travellers, and now I use it. After working in Conce for the last 9 months, it's time to hit the road and head south. I have a rough plan sorted out (worked out and drawn on a whiteboard at a company I taught at), and the first stop is Puerto Varas.  I would then slowly work my way down, jumping to the island of Chiloe, then back to the mainland and following the Carretera Austral, jumping in and out of Argentina as sometimes there are no roads in Chile this far south. Lots of hiking and beautiful scenery to come, including the Torres del Paine. From the south of Chile, possibly even as far south as you can go, Cape Horn, it would then be north through Argentina proper. This is the first leg of my South American Journey.

Greetings from Puerto Varas!

Taking the other path.

Wooden church in Frutillar.

Puerto Varas is just 30 minutes north of the main city of Puerto Montt, where the Calbuco volcano erupted earlier this year, and it's a real adventure sport town - hiking and rafting in the summer and skiing in the winter. The buildings have that ski town feel, the wood and stone, and people walking around in hiking gear. The town itself is small, and you can easily walk around it in less than 30 minutes, but the most striking thing about it are peaks of the volcanoes that straddle the lake. The weather wasn't fantastic the first day I arrived, Sunday, but I met up with a friend who lives locally and got the guided tour. Although the clouds didn't leave the peaks of the volcanoes on the first day, the second day I got some luck. When the sky is blue and clear, this is the real Puerto Varas - mountains and water, the best combination. I went for a walk around the lake, following the train line up to the next town, enjoying the warm sun and the peace and quiet.

Fishing off an old railway bridge.

Osorno seen from  Todos los Santos Lake.

Lake and Volcano.

The South is very different from other parts of Chile - the bus drivers know everyone and aren't jockeying for paying customers like in Conce, people are friendly, and it's all a little more relaxed. The churches down here are also something to note - old and wooden, all very un-South American, and much more European. My walking took me to the town of Frutillar - there are two parts of town, the one on the hill which is like any other town, and the lower part on the lake which is just like a little German town. Slightly over-done, it feels a little fake, like someone had built the town based on a fairytale. The lake just shines here, you can clearly see Osorno, and I was tempted to swim but the wind was very chilly. Being myself, I didn't bring any kind of food and it was now lunchtime, but sadly, due to the tourist trade, there are no supermarkets, only over-priced themed bars and restaurants. I found a small convenience store and was content with bread on the beach before heading back home. Out on the town later on, it is a must to have a Terremoto (Earthquake), and the best place in town is a little place called "Entre Amigos" or "Amoungst Friends." A terremoto is fermented wine and pineapple ice cream mixed with either vermouth or grenadine. A tall glass, nearly a pints worth, is 2500clp ($5) and after two you are more than ready to rumble!

Rapids at Petrohue.

Calbuco hiding in the clouds.

I decided to get out and see and do a bit more further away from town the next day, and take advantage of the great weather - it usually rains every day here. I jumped on a local bus (2000CLP/$4) and rode it for an hour to the Saltos de Petrohue (Petrohue waterfalls). Although the little bridge was being repaired, getting ready for summer, you could still get a good of the rapids and the wonderfully and nearly unbelievably blue waters. I continued up 6kms more to the lake to have yet another cheap gypsy lunch sitting down enjoying the views. This part of Chile, it's sometimes hard to remember where you are - no beeping car horns, no dogs barking, no rubbish... just pure nature! After a great day out, heading back to the hostel to cook wasn't sounding like that much fun. Luckily there were some really fun people at the hostel, and we had loads of fun hanging out. The hostel also has a sweet little dog called Sophie, who after only a slight hesitation, was my new best friend and sitting on my lap whenever she could.

Canoes on lake Llanquihue

Dream a little...

The road can be lonely sometimes. If you want to do it, you can't always wait for people. I you wait for people, you will end up waiting your whole life for something to happen - you need to make it happen. It's true its usually better with someone, and if you are lucky enough to have someone special to travel with it can be, but you have to do it anyway. Being by yourself can also be a great thing - sitting alone on a mountain, just contemplating and enjoying the moment. It's probably overstated in today's world, but I feel we are too attached to devices. People don't look out windows anymore - they're too busy trying to find something to do on their mobile, checking that work email, playing that time-wasting game. I say 'look up' and see the world - even if it's the same bus journey to work, open your eyes, look out the window and enjoy the view, dream a little, talk to someone.

Sailing on lake Llanquihue.

Next stop on the trip is over the border into Argentina and into the Lake District to visit San Carlos de Bariloche. I'd never heard of Bariloche before this trip, but just checking out photos made me want to go. It means crossing the border, a long windy bus trip, but I am sure it will be worth it.

Last Days in Conce

Ciao Conce!

Conce at sunset.

Conce at peak hour.

So ten months have passed in the blink of an eye. That's what it feels like anyway. I moved to Chile in February, and Concepcion in March, and already it's time to pack up and hit the road. I've finished working and am spending my last bit of time here trying to enjoy the company of good friends and the sun at good beaches. Teaching in Chile has been tough at times - students don't really have a great attitude towards learning, even less with English. The poor teachers get paid very little here and have to deal with 40 or so kids in a class and very few resources. Apart from this, the Uni students always seem to be on 'toma' (strike) for things such as free education - yes, free everything would be nice right? How about stop playing your bongo drums in the square, sitting around drinking and smoking and actually go to class and learn? Wow, maybe I'm getting old... Anyway, I hope I have made a small difference to my students here, the kids and adults alike - it's important to have fun while learning in anything you do, otherwise you won't enjoy it and won't learn much. If you're not having fun, why are you doing it?

How I feel after a year of teaching...

Everyone knows that living in a country is very different to just passing through on holidays. Italy is a great example of this for me - I lived there in 2009/2010 and didn't have a great time. It was expensive, I earned crap money, bad working conditions (regularly late/wrong pay/drive a million miles for a class), terrible drivers that I had to face every day and a cold, dirty little house that was so cold that the water froze in the pipes during the winter. On the other hand, travelling around that sun-drenched countryside that is Tuscany, seeing places like Pisa, Florence, Venice and Rome (ah Roma!), just doesn't seem real sometimes, even when you have photos to prove it. Chile, sadly, can draw comparisons with my time in Italy, and there are quite a few things I won't miss about living here - but it was a big part of the experience right? There are whole Facebook groups for foreigners who are complaining about living conditions here in Chile - everyone needs a vent, and I am the first to complain about my own country too, so it's only fair!

Pelicans at Talcahuano.

Throw the wood!

Sailboats at Talcahuano.

The infrastructure here, even in a fairly modern city like Conce, is quite bad. The roads, as I have mentioned before, are badly built, flood with a drop of rain, and full of holes and bumps in which the buses seem to deliberately aim for. Rubbish is another beef I have here. There are garbage trucks, and they drive past my house at around 1am, but there are no real rubbish bins - plastic bags are either left on the ground (where the dogs eat from them and spread it everywhere), put in cage-like containers on the street (which the dogs still get at) or hung on your gate. Dogs also roam the streets at all hours, and although some are very sweet, packs of hungry street dogs are not, and can be downright scary. I have been 'escorted' home by a nice bunch of dogs on occasion - including my two favourite dogs - Peluco and Dennis. 'Hairy' and 3-legged 'Dennis (Hopper)' are just a few of the exceptions, as the rest wander around eating rubbish, peeing and whatnot everywhere, and barking - day and night, all day, every day. I read recently that street dogs here only live for a year on the street - a very sad story indeed, but nothing something people here concern themselves with much. There are a few other things that seem to annoy the hell out of me, but doesn't phase the locals. The car alarms here are ALL the same... that amusing-at-first, flash back from the 90s car alarm, which gets really annoying really quick. A good night's sleep is never a sure thing - late night drive-bys by flaite's playing the same 3-beat regaton tune, dogs barking or a car alarm.

Lobo Marinos at Tome beach.

Boats at Tome.

A sea lion enjoying the sun on the beach at Tome.

As the weather is finally better, the beach is the obvious choice for something to do on the weekend - although most people here stick to the malls on the weekends. Being on the coast, there are quite a few nice beaches, but all of them are cold. Being on the West coast of the continent, the current brings cold water from the south, so you just have to either stay out of the water, or do what I do and sprint in and deal with it! Being from Australia, where we basically worship the sun, I am used to people swimming and sunbathing - not so common here. The 'Chilean Bikini' as I like to call it is pretty much a jacket, jeans and shoes. They don't like to swim, and when the sun comes out and it warms up to 20c, the people in Conce hide in the shade and complain that it's too hot... this after nearly 6 months of cold, rainy weather (and complaining about that). I'd been waiting since June to lay in sun and feel warm, and so I jumped at the chance to do this on the green of the Uni before work - and was the only one. Their loss. It's generally the same at the beaches - kids swim, but the adults sit under umbrellas fully clothed. Tome is the standard go-to beach for most people here, but it's noisy and not the cleanest, but there are shops and places to buy food. I prefer places that are quiet and have good, clean sand - like Punta de Parra. No wind, a few waves, and no hordes of beach go-ers and dogs to annoy you! Just relax and soak it up - just like the Sea Lions do when they can, but the poor ones at Tome are constantly harassed by stray dogs.

Punta de Parra, with Tome in the background.

Near Conce there is the port town of Talcahuano, and actually forms part of the greater Concepcion area. It is home to many fishing trawlers as well as Chile's Navy. Not much to look at really, and not a safe place to be at night unless you like to be robbed and stabbed. On a sunny day though, wandering around down by the port is quite pleasant - pelicans swimming around looking for scraps off the local fisherman, lobos marinos (literal translation is "Sea Wolves" but we call them lions) baking in the sun and trying to sleep, and small craft sailing around. There are also still signs of the 2010 tsunami that hit this part of the coast pretty badly. There are still overturned ships in the harbour, and some have been pulled in and tied up and just left to rust and rot. One ship that is still in good shape though, and is far older than the rest, is the Huáscar. This ship, a 19th Century, British built Ironclad, was captured by the Chileans in the War of The Pacific (but not the WWI one...) fought between Chile, Peru and Bolivia. The war was over taxes imposed on a Chilean mining company in the north by the Bolivians. Peru got dragged in as they had previously signed an alliance with Bolivia - so the three of them duked it out for 5 years with Chile the eventual winner. Coming up trumps, the winners took land - everything north of Antofagasta, including the Atacama Desert, now belongs to Chile because of this silly argument, and Bolivia also lost their access to the sea. Wars.

The spoils of war - the Huáscar. Bolivia won't be needing it anway...

The crazy Colo Colo fans.

The lone Conce fan. Be afraid...

For my last week of a 'normal' life before I head off travelling, I visited a friend in Santiago and got the chance to see the most popular team in the country play football. The team, Colo Colo, have a huge following, but mainly consist of 'flaites' and troublemakers. Flaites are basically people of low social status, who have a reputation for drinking cheap beer (Escudo), smoking weed and getting tattoos - 'Bogans' in Australia and 'Chavs' in the UK. They also love a bit of bling, basketball shoes (usually Nike Air) and their favourite tattoos are of their children (names and/or pictures) and their football team (Colo Colo of course!). There was a big crowd to get in, 31c heat, plenty of flag waving and singing, and people selling everything from hats and flags to drinks and 'putitos,' the very smelly 'meat' sandwiches they love here - don't ask what the meat is though. The game was a good one, even though I was expecting some problems from the local hooligans. The stadiums here in South America have more high walls and barbed wire than most prisons in Australia - there to stop fans from jumping into the expensive seats and also to stop them from getting onto the pitch. This does not stop them, and in fact the kick-off was delayed due to people climbing the barriers. Colo Colo won, and 99.99% of the crowd was ecstatic - the lone fan for the other team (which happened to be the University of Concepción!) quickly took off his jersey and ran. I met some of the other fans outside, all giving the Colo Colo salute (3 fingers, not 2 as that is the sign of their enemy University Catolica), and they were very happy for me to snap some pics of them - probably because I was dressed as one of them for the day!

My new friends at Stadium Monumental - thanks for the awesome photo guys!

Street art in Conce.

Eating a 'putito' sandwich.

Ok so I'm a bit tired of the city life and of working - but that's very normal after a year of teaching - time to hit the road. It has been tough in Chile, the noise, living in a student house with 1 bathroom and 8 other people who don't clean anything, the cultural differences and language, but this feeling of needing a big holiday happens every year for me. It's teaching that does it. Work for 10 months, then travel for two, then start again. That's the usual equation, but this time it's different - I have worked hard, scrimped and saved, eaten pasta and rice for months, all so I can have a big South American trip for 4 or 5 months! This will be my last post in Conce, the next one will be on the road somewhere down South!

"With the blonde and some Cristal (beer), we are the beach!" Ahhh summer advertising in Chile!