VIAJE

I posted some photos (obvio):
Lots are from the campo, the two kids are dressed up in typical Chilean style for the 18. You'll see 2 gallos (roosters) in the air- it's because we let the 2 "rooms" with chickens and roosters out at the same time, and the two roosters attacked each other and even drew some blood! Apparently (duh), roosters are very territorial. The volcanoes are all different ones! Imagine that! The one of me is in La Niebla where the river meets the ocean- it was raining. Continue reading for details. The eggs are all from the abuelita's house, and were/are all delicious. I could never be a vegan- fresh cheese and eggs are just to delicious, not to even get in to the themes of chocolate and Nutella.


Whew! Back in Viña after a nice week of traveling and festejando.

My trip was great, aside from minor allergy/cold issues. Alvaro and I took a night bus to Valdivia on Sunday night (thanks to my boss teaching my remaining classes during the week), and we got dropped off on the highway in Lanco, about 45 minutes north of Valdivia, the nearest pueblo to where his abuelita lives in the campo. We got dropped off in the wee hours of the morning, but when we finally arrived by foot (with 2 backpacks each- carrying necessities such as the tent, clothes, sleeping bags, Sahne Nuss (chocolate bar) and Frugueles (small sugar coated gummi candies that are kind of like gummi Jolly Ranchers)) to his abuelita's house which was calientita- nice and warm from her wood burning fireplace and stove that she uses to cook. We spent the day with his family: his chilean aunt who lived in Sweden for a large part of her life, her Swedish vegetarian (score!) husband (Alvaro's uncle) and their two kids, Emilie (3) and Noam (5) who look nice and Swedish but speak Spanish and understand Swedish. There was also his chilean uncle and his Russian wife and their new guagua- baby (pronounced wawa) Mabel. And then, of course, the abuelita who left Chile during the dictatorship, went to the Soviet Union for a while, became disillusioned, and went to Sweden where they accepted political refugees. Both of the nuclear families (chileno-sueco and chileno-ruso) are living with the abuelita for a bit.

So, I spent the days with the family coloring with Emilie, chasing chickens with Noam, and playing hide and seek with both, flying kites, and trying to learn from Paul (Swedish tio) his vegetarian black bean burger and hummus sauce recipe. It was beautifully relaxing, and the landscape and campo couldn't have been prettier. It's known as the Lakes Region for a reason, and there was a pretty river that ran through the campo. His abuelita had a bunch of animals on her land too: chickens, turkeys, pheasants, 3 sheep, a young cow, and a dog named Mío- it means "mine", because Noam and Emilie always argued over the dog, saying, es mio, es mio! She also is planting blueberries and native potatoes, and the tios were busy constructing a greenhouse to grow more food. She drinks water that has been tested 3 times by the authorities (safe!) from a well, and cooks a lot with wood- I want to live in the campo! She also had the best jams- plum, blueberry, rhubarb, strawberry- delicious, all of them, and all from fruit grown on her land. Also, I ate freshly laid eggs for breakfast and I can attest that eggs from the campo really do taste better, are yellower, and (apparently), eggs from the gallina mapuche (indigenous variety of chicken) are apparently cholesterol free? OH! And the CHEESE! I had been missing cheese with flavor, and this cheese was heaven. Soft like goat cheese with a stronger taste and almost buttery- and I saw all the cows that produced the milk!

OK, so that was the part in the campo. But we didn't just stay in the campo. We also took a mini trip, traveling in a loop around the area. We hit up Panguipulli, Lican Ray, Villarrica, and Valdivia at the end, and camped around, getting to know the various areas. And what a beautiful part of the country- you're in a truck, driving to the next town, and you see a barn with its land behind it and in the distance: BOOM. Volcano. BOOM. Another volcano. There was a point when I could point to 3 snow-covered volcanoes, and it was incredible to feel the power around me. We had a good time getting to know the area, carrying everything on our backs, and wiping our noses constantly until getting a horrible red rash (ok, maybe that was just me). In Valdivia we ate a pizza (or rather, Alvaro ate most of the pizza...) and took a micro (small bus) to La Niebla where we saw where the ocean met with the river (river called Calle Calle), but it was raining so not so great. But earlier, in Valdivia, it wasn't raining and we were able to stop by the seafood/produce market and see the offerings (merquen- a Mapuche spice that's like chili peppers and honey as well) as well as the sea lions that live there- these sea lions are ENORMOUS because they depend on leftover fish scraps, but funny to see.