I’m not sure how it is for a Year Abroad student in Europe, but out here in Chile, surrounded by so many incredible things, people and places, the first thing anybody thinks about doing is travelling. Of course, this was no different for me.
One story I somehow forgot to touch on, was that of my first ever travelling experience, down to the South of Chile. When I say the south, I unfortunately do not mean Torres de Paine and Punta Arenas on the Chilean half of Patagonia, but instead just about as far south as you can get on a bus before being forced into Argentina as Chile turns into a collection of islands.
My travel buddy actually chose the location, and so going into the trip I really had no idea about what to expect apart from one thing alone, Penguins! The Humboldt penguins of Chiloé, a species on the brink of extinction which are well preserved on islands stretching all the way up the Chilean coast. I could not have been more excited, and to spend a bit more time there, I even decided to skip a class in University just so I could leave earlier. If you’ve seen my first post, penguins are the reason why I chose to come to Chile, so skipping class was a matter of priorities.
The day before we left, I met up with my travel buddy, a girl from Miami, to talk about our plans. We would leave on the Thursday night and get a bus back on the Sunday night. In this time we would visit four different places in the following order: Puerto Montt, Puerto Varas, Isla Chiloé and Frutillar.
With a lot to get done, there was no time to lose.
A Killer Bus Ride
In the past, I used to dread the 3 hours drive it usually takes to travel back and forth to my university in the UK. Now, I would welcome it. Travelling around Chile really puts into perspective just how small the UK actually is.
We left at about 7pm to catch our bus at 8:30pm. Overnight buses are a popular thing in Chile because nobody likes to waste a day, and given the heat in Chile, it would feel like spending several hours in a sauna, and coming out of the bus a bunch of shrivelled wrecks. Also, the seats are quite comfortable, and for the equivalent of roughly £10 more, you can upgrade to a Cama, which reclines almost horizontally.
We chose to do the latter, and kitted up on snacks and whatever else, we were prepared for what was to be a very long 14 hours travelling. Fortunately they put a film on the bus, Red, on the TV on the wall right in front of us. Ironically, on the bus back we would find ourselves watching Red 2, neither of which were particularly good unless you like watching Bruce Willis in exaggerated and impossible fight scenes.
The night was slow and we finally arrived at Puerto Montt, our first stop, at around 10am. I had been very hot during the whole trip, likely because of my stupid decision to wear a thick jacket, and waking up, I paid the price. I woke up, as I am sure many of you will be able to relate, with a very horrible taste in the back of my throat, messed up hair and a general feeling of self-disgust. Before we left the bus terminal, I made sure to get a coffee, brush my teeth and change my clothes almost straight away.
One story I somehow forgot to touch on, was that of my first ever travelling experience, down to the South of Chile. When I say the south, I unfortunately do not mean Torres de Paine and Punta Arenas on the Chilean half of Patagonia, but instead just about as far south as you can get on a bus before being forced into Argentina as Chile turns into a collection of islands.
My travel buddy actually chose the location, and so going into the trip I really had no idea about what to expect apart from one thing alone, Penguins! The Humboldt penguins of Chiloé, a species on the brink of extinction which are well preserved on islands stretching all the way up the Chilean coast. I could not have been more excited, and to spend a bit more time there, I even decided to skip a class in University just so I could leave earlier. If you’ve seen my first post, penguins are the reason why I chose to come to Chile, so skipping class was a matter of priorities.
The day before we left, I met up with my travel buddy, a girl from Miami, to talk about our plans. We would leave on the Thursday night and get a bus back on the Sunday night. In this time we would visit four different places in the following order: Puerto Montt, Puerto Varas, Isla Chiloé and Frutillar.
With a lot to get done, there was no time to lose.
A Killer Bus Ride
In the past, I used to dread the 3 hours drive it usually takes to travel back and forth to my university in the UK. Now, I would welcome it. Travelling around Chile really puts into perspective just how small the UK actually is.
We left at about 7pm to catch our bus at 8:30pm. Overnight buses are a popular thing in Chile because nobody likes to waste a day, and given the heat in Chile, it would feel like spending several hours in a sauna, and coming out of the bus a bunch of shrivelled wrecks. Also, the seats are quite comfortable, and for the equivalent of roughly £10 more, you can upgrade to a Cama, which reclines almost horizontally.
We chose to do the latter, and kitted up on snacks and whatever else, we were prepared for what was to be a very long 14 hours travelling. Fortunately they put a film on the bus, Red, on the TV on the wall right in front of us. Ironically, on the bus back we would find ourselves watching Red 2, neither of which were particularly good unless you like watching Bruce Willis in exaggerated and impossible fight scenes.
The night was slow and we finally arrived at Puerto Montt, our first stop, at around 10am. I had been very hot during the whole trip, likely because of my stupid decision to wear a thick jacket, and waking up, I paid the price. I woke up, as I am sure many of you will be able to relate, with a very horrible taste in the back of my throat, messed up hair and a general feeling of self-disgust. Before we left the bus terminal, I made sure to get a coffee, brush my teeth and change my clothes almost straight away.
Just woken up and gotten off the bus. Not only is my face terrible, but I was barely awake enough to remember how to work the zoom on my camera and take a decent photo.
So much effort goes into planning for one of these long bus rides, you have to be prepared. Just wait until I get around to writing about my bus experiences in Perú, when even being prepared did not help. Long story short, anything under 10 hours is an easy ride.
Arriving in Puerto Montt
So maybe one of the worst things we did was arriving here without already having booked a hostel. Rookie traveller mistake. The hostels nearby the bus terminal were aready booked up, and we still had all our stuff on us, and it looked like we would have it for a while longer, until our good friend Eduardo came to our rescue.
Walking around the terminal, you pass by so many tourist offices with a rep outside offering what is supposedly the best tour you will ever take in your entire life. Eduardo was no different, and what drew us to his office was his assertiveness, resilience and basically the fact that he would not take no for an answer.
His tour price was actually quite cheap, and we needed something to do with our day as we had not really planned what to do in Puerto Montt, having heard it is a town with few things to do. We told him we were still looking for a hostel, and asked for a recommendation. He went out of his way to help us, and actually walked us to a hostel owned by a friend who gave us a room for a cheap price not too far away from the terminal. His help sold us on buying his tour, and it was a decision we would not regret.
My Facebook status from the end of the trip sums up the experiences I had pretty well:
“First day travelling the South of Chile. Saw a volcano, some awesome waterfalls, took a boat tour around one of the biggest lakes in Chile, bought a Chilean poncho/jumper thing, got forced to wear a rain poncho making me look like a ghost from scooby doo, went to an all you can eat buffet and now i'm off to a bar based on Sherlock Holmes! Good days work I'd say!” - 18/10/2014
I was pretty happy with the amount we got through. We went to a viewpoint for the Osorno volcano, one of the most active volcanos in the Los Lagos region of Chile, with a record of 11 eruptions in nearly 500 years.
Following on, we went up to Puerto Varas, a lovely portside town not much different from Puerto Montt besides it being more aesthetically pleasing. It was there that I bought what I am now confident is not a poncho, but simply a blue jacket made of alpaca wool. Unfortunately, we did not spend more than 45 minutes in the town centre, which was just enough time to visit the landmark of the city, its church, with a huge tower that would not fit within my camera range unless I crossed over the road and laid on my back on the pavement. See for yourself in the pictures below!
Arriving in Puerto Montt
So maybe one of the worst things we did was arriving here without already having booked a hostel. Rookie traveller mistake. The hostels nearby the bus terminal were aready booked up, and we still had all our stuff on us, and it looked like we would have it for a while longer, until our good friend Eduardo came to our rescue.
Walking around the terminal, you pass by so many tourist offices with a rep outside offering what is supposedly the best tour you will ever take in your entire life. Eduardo was no different, and what drew us to his office was his assertiveness, resilience and basically the fact that he would not take no for an answer.
His tour price was actually quite cheap, and we needed something to do with our day as we had not really planned what to do in Puerto Montt, having heard it is a town with few things to do. We told him we were still looking for a hostel, and asked for a recommendation. He went out of his way to help us, and actually walked us to a hostel owned by a friend who gave us a room for a cheap price not too far away from the terminal. His help sold us on buying his tour, and it was a decision we would not regret.
My Facebook status from the end of the trip sums up the experiences I had pretty well:
“First day travelling the South of Chile. Saw a volcano, some awesome waterfalls, took a boat tour around one of the biggest lakes in Chile, bought a Chilean poncho/jumper thing, got forced to wear a rain poncho making me look like a ghost from scooby doo, went to an all you can eat buffet and now i'm off to a bar based on Sherlock Holmes! Good days work I'd say!” - 18/10/2014
I was pretty happy with the amount we got through. We went to a viewpoint for the Osorno volcano, one of the most active volcanos in the Los Lagos region of Chile, with a record of 11 eruptions in nearly 500 years.
Following on, we went up to Puerto Varas, a lovely portside town not much different from Puerto Montt besides it being more aesthetically pleasing. It was there that I bought what I am now confident is not a poncho, but simply a blue jacket made of alpaca wool. Unfortunately, we did not spend more than 45 minutes in the town centre, which was just enough time to visit the landmark of the city, its church, with a huge tower that would not fit within my camera range unless I crossed over the road and laid on my back on the pavement. See for yourself in the pictures below!
Afterwards, we went on a boat tour of the lake Todos Los Santos (All Saints). The lake is a process of volcanic and glacial processes which gives it quite a distinct water color. It is also surrounded in part by temperate rainforest which made for great pictures and a spectacular view.
The rest of the tour were lakes and waterfalls of which I have many pictures, but it does not seem worth going into detail on them because I did not think they were spectacular. Instead, let me tell you about my first real experience of southern Chile, something which would follow and you could say haunt us for the majority of our trip: the rain.
Rain, Rain, Go Away...Or Just Mess With Our Plans
They say that if you plan on travelling south in Chile, only do it between December - February because those are the summer months and when the rain stops...maybe...and because of that, throughout the rest of the year, tours run inconsistently, road conditions can vary making travel harder and places like Torres del Paine actually close, or at least in parts.
I guess this recommendation is right because about halfway through the first tour, the rain started. In fact, the rain and wind formed the perfect team with the rain forcing its way out of the bursting clouds allowing the wind to pelt it at us full force. What the tour became was ridiculous, as the bus would stop at another site, telling us to go out and get photos. The weather did not stop us, but it made the trip faster, as the majority of our group took flight out of the bus at full speed through the area to visit the waterfalls or lake or whatever, take their pictures in 30 seconds, only to sprint at a speed which would likely qualify you for the Chilean national athletics team, back to the bus. This was repeated about 3 or 4 times until we finally ended the tour.
I actually invested in a giant rain parka because I had not thought to get my coat from my travelling bag which I had left at the hostel. Running next to my travel buddy made me look like a ghost out of Scooby Doo chasing after Daphne. It was a sight to behold, and something to laugh about in the miserable weather.
The rest of the tour were lakes and waterfalls of which I have many pictures, but it does not seem worth going into detail on them because I did not think they were spectacular. Instead, let me tell you about my first real experience of southern Chile, something which would follow and you could say haunt us for the majority of our trip: the rain.
Rain, Rain, Go Away...Or Just Mess With Our Plans
They say that if you plan on travelling south in Chile, only do it between December - February because those are the summer months and when the rain stops...maybe...and because of that, throughout the rest of the year, tours run inconsistently, road conditions can vary making travel harder and places like Torres del Paine actually close, or at least in parts.
I guess this recommendation is right because about halfway through the first tour, the rain started. In fact, the rain and wind formed the perfect team with the rain forcing its way out of the bursting clouds allowing the wind to pelt it at us full force. What the tour became was ridiculous, as the bus would stop at another site, telling us to go out and get photos. The weather did not stop us, but it made the trip faster, as the majority of our group took flight out of the bus at full speed through the area to visit the waterfalls or lake or whatever, take their pictures in 30 seconds, only to sprint at a speed which would likely qualify you for the Chilean national athletics team, back to the bus. This was repeated about 3 or 4 times until we finally ended the tour.
I actually invested in a giant rain parka because I had not thought to get my coat from my travelling bag which I had left at the hostel. Running next to my travel buddy made me look like a ghost out of Scooby Doo chasing after Daphne. It was a sight to behold, and something to laugh about in the miserable weather.
While it may seem like the rain would ruin our trip, the reason I remember it so well is for this reason. It was an experience, no more so than when we arrived in Chiloé which will be the topic of part 2 of this collection of articles.