Nature-what a pretty thing

So it started off with an idea and ended with an adventure.  Brandan messaged me and told me he wanted to take a trip down south and I told him I was in. So Wednesday he and I bought bus tickets to Puerto Montt for Brandan, Logan and I.  Thursday night we left Viña at 5:45pm. On the bus Brandan ended up sitting next to an American.....and the American happened to be from Utah and graduated from Waterford (nearest high school to my house) in 2011and played lacrosse there. Small world! We woke up in Puerto Montt and got off the bus at around 10am. Soooo if you're counting that's roughly 16 hours on a bus. Good thing we all slept a little bit a least. Honestly traveling on these buses isn't as bad as you might think, they're generally pretty comfortable. From Puerto Montt we decided we wanted to go to the island Chiloé.  It's the second largest island in Chile at 3,200 square feet after Easter Island. We made up our minds to go to the town of Castro and bought our tickets for $12. Rode the bus and ferry to Castro which ended up taking nearly 4 hours. Brandan has a Lonely Planet book so that was fun to actually use a book because usually we just walk around and see where our feet take us. The book recommended a great restaurant with a special daily menu so we went there. The boys enjoyed fish while I had pork and mashed potatoes.  Castro is a little fishing village on the coast where "all the guys have long hair, beards, and their ears pierced"-Logan.  After deciding we wanted to go to the national park we got on ANOTHER BUS! This one had seats for 14 people, but in

true Chilean fashion we fit 30 people on board. The ride was beautiful and we arrived 

bus from Castro to Cucao

at a hostel 2 hours later. So if you are counting still within 26 hours we had been on buses for 22 hours.  It's amazing how bus travel becomes part of your trip as you look and see all the country side along the way. Our hostel was only 2 years old and one of the best infrastructures I've seen in the country. Maybe that's why it was $26/night/person. We made pasta and chorizo for dinner and then sat on the dock looking at the stars. It's hard to beat the sound of a distant ocean, the breeze over the lake and looking at the stars with friends.   The next morning we got up at 7 and ran to the ocean followed by throwing rocks at bigger rocks for 20 minutes. ahhh simple entertainment. The hostel made a great breakfast of homeade WHEAT bread, eggs, fruit and yogurt. Best breakfast we've had here. After breakfast we paid the $3 fee to enter the national park and hiked for a couple hours. There was no one around which made for a peaceful journey. After leftover lunch we wandered the little town of Cucao where we could have easily been in Ireland. We saw sheep, horses, pigs, cows, and chickens freely roaming. After bidding farewell to the beautiful hostel and simple town we bused back to Castro and then bus/ferried to Puerto Montt and then a 40 minute micro ride to Puerto Varas.  We were stunned at the beauty of Puerto Varas as we arrived at dusk.  We stumbled upon a hostel Margouya ($16/night), a quaint place full of personality.  We settled in and headed to buy pizza for dinner and sandwich stuff for the next day.  After a minor scuffle between three 70 year old German men who didn't want Logan sleeping in their room we went to sleep. Really why are you staying in a hostel when you're in your 70s?! That's just asking for trouble. 

Puerto Varas

       Sunday morning we woke up and made breakfast and set out on a.... bus to the waterfalls at Patrohué and then on to Lago Todo los Santos. A $4 bus and a $3 entry fee to the waterfalls and we were set.  Lewis, Clark and their trusty Sacagawea were having an adventure. Often times we'd say "are we in the jungle, lava field, the Pacific Northwest of the US?" and then there were the 3 snow capped volcanoes in the distance.  The water was some of the clearest I've ever seen. I proceeded to fill my water bottle straight from the lake and none of us have gotten sick yet! We hiked around for almost 5 hours that day keeping ourselves occupied by playing a little game started by someone saying "I'm thinking of a [insert "animal, movie, person, place, restaurant, or food here]".  The other people try to guess what you're thinking of by asking yes/no questions. So it's like 20 questions, but you have unlimited questions. Endless entertainment. The beauty of this incredible peaceful, serene place cannot be captured through words. I'd say it's like the Tetons+Red Fish Lake+Canadian Rockies+Valdez, Alaska. You get the idea that it was GORGEOUS! We took time to just sit and look at this beauty we were amongst. Most people we saw that day were old couples on vacation or young couples on their honeymoons. How cool is it that we're in our 20s doing what they're doing? Another opportunity to be thankful.  After another $4 bus ride we made it to the supermarket to buy ingredients to make the nachos I've been talking about for 3 months.  A little rotisserie chicken, chips, cheese and homeade guac makes for a feast for kings folks. Logan left on a bus that night and Brandan and I took hot showers (much needed after a few days) and watched as the Red Sox beat the Cardinals :) 

Volcan Osorno

   Monday Brandan and I wandered the city finding churches, chocolate shops with the best chocolate in Chile, a giant cross on the hill, and a delicious lunch at Barista Cafe.  We also found a Patagonia clothing store, whoop whoop (don't worry mom I didn't buy anything)!!! We continued to talk about the beauty we were surrounded by in the German town with wide roads and greenery everywhere seated on the lake at the base of volcanoes. Brandan said "isn't amazing how nature sounds different in different places?" and that got me thinking. The birds sound different in Hawaii compared to Alaska, the waves in a lake sound different than those of the Pacific Ocean but yet it's all still pleasant. We left at 5:15pm for the 13 hour ride to Santiago and then the 2 hour ride to Viña arriving in time for class at 10am (see we do go to school).

     These were definitely some of the prettiest and most tranquil places I've ever been. Thanks mom and dad for dragging us on all those trips as kids where we spent little money and filled our days hiking, camping and skipping rocks. You've contributed to my love of nature and my constant curiosity to see more of the Earth's beauty. I guess all those road trips when I was young have taught me to love looking at the window dreaming and thinking. Spending time on all these buses allows for great conversations. I love to ask people questions and there's plenty of time for that when traveling. Some questions for you to answer that we all answered....If you were granted 3 wishes right now what would they be? If you had 1 million dollars right now what would you do with it? If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go? 

“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As longs as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.” -Anne Frank