Three quarters of a century celebrated in Paradise!

Three quarters of a century celebrated in Paradise!

Because a festival band from Mexico was also staying at the Quiquico lodge, they gave us a "cabin" on stilts with magnificent views of the green countryside and bay below.

The annual Dalcahue festival (each town has its own) was fun and lively and we enjoyed watching and talking to the locals who are a mix of indigenous Chono (canoe people), Huillinco and other Mapuche and Spanish. The Spanish imposed the "encomienda" system, a type of serfdom, to pay tribut to the king of Spain, and used to mine gold, weave wool cloth, and log the alerce (fine, tough wood which is nearly extinct in Chile).  Chiloe was the last holdout of the Spanish (who arrived in 1567, and the last part to be incorporated into the new independent country of Chile in 1826.

The largest Chiloe church, served people who came from all the smaller islands close-by. Repairs were made from home shingles. This house must have been yellow! The Jesuits were expelled in 1767, because they were considered too tolerant of indigenous beliefs and taught the people to read and write. The Franciscans took over after that, but the styles did not change much. The type and pattern of the shingles on homes were all that were needed to find someone's home.

The 16 wooden Jesuit circuit churches (this, the oldest, in Dalcahue) are symbols of the island. Chile is a land of blended Catholic legends and Mapuche and Chono superstitions. Two serpents, Cai Cai Vilu (protector of the sea) and TenTen Vilu (protector of the land) competed to create the mountains, volcanoes and rivers. There are many mythical characters, including the evil forest-dwelling seducer of virgins,"el Trauco."

Castro is the largest and capital city of the island, with palafitos (homes on stilts)

Graves are protected from werewolves and other grave robbers in Huillinco on the lake of that name. Some of the characters of these legends are below.

We spent a couple hours learning about the flora and fauna from Magdalena walking several trails in the beautiful Chiloe National Park, and then drove to the north side of lake and river to have lunch at the home of Albertina, a local of Cucao, who would sell her delicious empanadas, "milcao" (a potato flatbread) and other specialties and desserts on the country road. She had amazing gardens and greenhouses where she grew all vegetables and fruits. Her father composed one of the popular cuecas "Todos los de Cucao."

A typical Chiloe bay/river/lake scene at low tide. 
January 30 we drove, took the ferry to the mainland, and drove on to Puerto Varas, where we stayed in a beautiful hotel overlooking this popular town on Lake Llanquihue (South America's fourth largest), in the beautiful Lake District, which opened its doors in 1854 to Germans, Swiss, Austrians and Italians (although still very much a stronghold of the Mapuche). We spent some time in Puerto Octay and Frutillar, visiting churches, model German village museum, and the gorgeous festival theatre with amazing acoustics.

We drove to Puerto Montt to board the 3-day Navimag ferry to Puerto Natales, Patagonia. The accommodations are simple,the food OK , the company from all over the world wonderful, and the views spectacular. We played games (mostly with a fun family from Santiago), read, talked, sun-bathed (not me), looked for dolphins, whales, sea lions, birds (not too many). The weather was gorgeous, even hot when the boat had to slow way down to hit the right tide times to pass through narrow channels. We had a funny "ferry"director, Rodrigo. (I can't seem to delete the duplicate painter , though he was always painting, without deleting everything!)

Below is the route, starting at Puerto Montt on the left, ending at Puerto Natales on the right.Mostly we were "inland" but went out onto the Pacific (in the center) the second night.

 

We couldn't have been luckier with the weather...all was amazing! We landed safely, not on the rocks like the "Capitan Leonidis"in 1968. The birds have built their nests there, and it serves as a warning to other boats. The pilot was transporting sugar from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso (sold it in a scam along the way, pocketed the money, and was thrown into jail). And on to Torres del Paine National Park, which was even more amazing than all the photos I've drooled over for a long time. We stayed in a luxury Mongolian style yurt on Lago Pehue with a spectacular view of the Paine Massif. We had two days of fairly easy hikes...only a few drops of rain (very rare sunshiny weather), strong wind in places (strongest I've ever felt, but normal for Patagonia), delicious food, fun fellow travelers, and memories to last a lifetime.

What an amazing place to spend my 75th birthday!
The staff (not intended either to be duplicates!) brought me a small manjar (dulce de leche) cake, guide Nino gave me a hug along the trail among the guanacos and birds on our way to some caves with indigenous paintings.

 

From Torres del Paine we drove to Puerto Natales and stayed in the "Singular Hotel", a renovated meat (lamb) freezing, packing, and shipping factory operating from 1918-1971, with most of the machines, lifts, remains of refrigerators and boilers still on view!
Early the next morning we were driven to Punta Arenas to fly back to hot Santiago....the flight over and along the Andes and coast of Chile was breath-taking. I was glued to the window!

while I was off traveling to southern Chile, which was a truly unforgettable experience, I was not forgotten at home. My 3 Utah kids and families gathered to send me happy 75th birthday wishes!

And yesterday some friends (age span 14-90) (Mariange, Hna Correa, Crisand Cecilia, Hna Gallego and Hna Araya) in Santiago gave me a lovely celebration as well.... I feel truly blessed all around. Thanks to all of you who have enriched my life.