Chile is not your latin america

this update is being precariously typed out on the road to Pucon. We have been driving for about two days now. As we drive further south, the landscape mimics that of southern oregon and northern california. The climate seems the same.. but reversed.  Chile isnt a vacationers paradise.  Theres no promise of exotic drinks beach front or that feeling of getting away from it all. Chile is America through the looking glass.  Store fronts are road side stands offering; Queso - cheese. Beautiful white cheese that takes on regional flavors, Frutilla stands - strawberries or melons in the regions we have been, or a variety of stands that offer empenadas or hotdogs... sandwiches are big in Chile.  I have given up my staple diet of road food fair. Yes there is plenty of fresh fruit and avocados - palta - but hipster vegetarians be warned, quinoa and hemp hearts do not exist here- although I did have a lovely plate of palm hearts.
Ensaladas have no dressings, flavors are derived from ingrediants. My Caesar salads only flavor came from the parmigiano cheese.  I know this sounds like a lot of trite petty bitching. But if food and beach side partying are your thing, then you would be best to stay out of Chile.  Chile has its appeal though. If your wishes are to travel and get out of a consumer driven society, this might be your escape. Old world charm.. with wifi. How long this Chile survives is anyones guess.
I had something of a breakdown yesterday after our night of camping outside of pilamachou. After the overload of Valpairaiso and the quick stop into Vina del mar, we headed sout to another stop on Andys bike trip. An oceanfront community, clean, thriving and highly dependant on the seasonal surfers, it was fairly quiet and probably would have been lovely to spend the day at if i had not been just done with life in general. Partly my fault for coming to this country with a huge langauge barrier as well as coming here with my western ideals in place and trying to be the patron saint of dogs, a small dog at the campsite was my breaking point. Somewhere about 700 kms back theres a Chilean campground owner telling peple about the crazed Canadian woman who started crying over a dog.
We just left the town of Mulchen..  a pretty dreary little town that we ducked into after passing by the flaming leftovers of the campground we had thought to camp at.  Mulchen is very much the standard of latin amerian towns. Affordable housing with a town center, mercados for your basics on every corner. Restaurants from someones home, advertising pretty much the same damn thing three houses down and two stores over. Variety is definitely not the spice of life here. Just the  basics,  buttloads of mayo and avocado whipped up like mayo.  Sandwiches, hotdogs and pan (bread).
Having just seen my life flash before my eyes as a lumber truck swerved into our lane, I think I will take a break from typing and continue my mantra of, "I will not die in a geo metro".

A couple hundred miles later.... the polar opposite of everything I have just written.  We are at the base (BASICALLY) of Volcan de la Rica.  We have driven thru Villa Rica and are now in Poucan and if this isnt where the rich Chileans go to play, then I give up.  Aside from the steaming Volcano - not far enough away - there is a huge lake surrounded by volcanic sand. Every water sport imaginable is apparently available and theres a beach club feel.  Venders and umbrella people vie for your money. Its not obnoxious yet.  This is the outdoors-persons playground. Rafting, parasailing, climbing and god knows  what else is readily available.  This is resort Chile and I would be lying if I said I didn't like it.  We are staying at the cutest campground just outside of the central town and a couple blocks off the beach. I think we are both hopeful for a meal thats something MORE.  We stayed at the beach a little longer than we ought to.  The redhead didnt burn but I'm all sorts of crispy around the edges. Damn broken Indian.

We are now 8 days into the trip and have just bought an audio cord so that we can listen to our music in the car.  You know you have a good marriage when your partner doesn't unbuckle and kick you while you are sleeping/snoring after they have driven the entire day with no music and no conversation.  Either that or he was just waiting to get closer to the volcano.

Disclaimer... its not a Geo Metro. It's a Chevy Spark.

Tuesday -heading South

We woke up and made coffee and breakfast.  During the previous night, we had a small dog show up and hang out with us in the evening. It looks like she also slept in our site.   She is an incredibly sweet dog, probably a pomeranian/collie or something similar, and about 25 lbs.  looking at her, Carolyn found a tattoo in her ear, so she isnt a street dog and must be somebody's lost pet.  We asked the campground peope but they didnt know how to do anything about the tattoo and finding her owner.  It felt quite horrible leaving there without being able to either get her back to her home or bring her with us.  We left a bag of dog food with the campground guy for her, and hopefully it all works out.  Think i will email them and ask in a week or so.

Our little campsite buddy

We drove south through some more of the coastal region, including the beach we camped at last year, then looped inland for a bit.   Most of today was with the intention of getting south a fair ways so not a huge amount to write about.   We ended up in a town called Mulchen, just off the main highway, and after a fair bit of searching, found a hotel for the night.  This is a much poorer town than most that we visited last time, a little more like what you would expect in Mexico.  The street dogs here seem to run im gangs.   Often in packs of 5 or more.  They also seem to be a little more agressive, so I dont think we will walk around here feeding them.  Our hotel also has a gated parking lot for security, so this would definately be a little more dangeous than other Chilean towns.  Having said that though, it doesnt feel unsafe inany way, you would probably have to do something stupid for something bsd to happen.

Wednesday - Pucon, Chile's jewel

Woke up in Mulchen and hit the road right away.   We drove south about 200 kms and turned towards Pucon.  On the way there, on the main highway, a large truck slowly veered off into our lane.   It just kept slowly drifting until it got too close for comfort and I hit the brakes pretty hard.  Carolyn had let out a scream and it left her a tad bit shaken.   Then, on the turn off to Villarrica we hit a pot hole that must have been huge.  Our little 13 inch wheels jarred in really well and we felt the entire thing inside the car as if we had hit something.   Again, Carolyn let out a scream and was somewhat shaken.   Then she saw the smoldering volcano we were headed towards... Probably shaken for the whole damn night.

I on the other hand will sleep like a baby.

     Driving through the town of Villarrica, which is on the other side of the lake I noticed a beautiful lakeside boardwalk and remembered seeing all of this under construction last year.  They did a fantastic job of it, and Villarrica now looks more like a resort.   Heading on to Pucon, we stopped in the same campgound we used last year.   Located almost directly within the town (10 minute walk to the beach), camping here costs $10 per person, while even a shared dormitory hostel can run $50 and up.   Pucon is in a way Chile's version of Whistler, except it's mountain view is of a smouldering volcano.  Yep, you heard me, smoldering.   You can see the steam rising out of the top and Pucon is right at the foot of it.  They even have signs siymbolizing the escape route.   Without any concern for the potentail destruction of the town at any time in the future, construction is going on full tilt around here.   Most of the places would be multi million dollar homes in Canada, and judging from the real estate value here probably not much less in Pucon. When you go from a town like Mulchen and into one like this, you really do see the disparity in wealth amongst Chilenos.  Sometimes, when your in parts of Santiago, Pucon or even Pichelemu with all if it's Cabana construction, you can forget your in a third world country.  Then the Mulchen's of Chile remind you.  Although both have their own charms, the people in general seem friendlier in the poorer towns.  Which brings me to another thing I have noticed... People aren't as friendly to me this time.  We are assuming its because Carolyn can look a little Chilena, and perhaps they think I stole one of their women.  I would offer to give her back but they would expect her to speak Spanish. Foiled again.   I knew I should have married a blonde, much easier to pass off in other countries, and nobody expects them to be bilingual.

Monday- driving thru the countryside

Today we hoped in the car and left Valparaiso, driving south towards Pichelemu, a quaint seaside surfing town.  When we arrived, we stopped at the same empanada stand as last year, and wandered around the small park that overlooks the ocean.  Last year, the park had been packed with thousands of people celebrating new years, but on this visit the park was virtually empty. We took some photos of the beach and town from above, such a beautiful little place, and one of my favourites in Chile. Carolyn suggested we find our camping for the night so  We drove a little ways out of town and found a campground next to a lagoon.   We set up camp and then headed a little ways back into town to get some food.   After all the walking of the previous few days, Carolyn just wanted to hang at the campsite and get some rest, so we just hung out there for the evening.

Pichelemu park

Pichelemu beach

Thé lagoon at our campsite

Sensory overload. #valparaiso #chile

This is the face you begin with. I have been joyously spending my money on dog food and saving my leftovers.  There are alot of dogs in the city, people in general are kind. They do what they can... 

They are a ragtag group of dogs. Mostly midsized...all ridiculously charming.  I would happily spend the rest of my time feeding the dogs of Paraiso.  

I really am overwhelmed with everything we did today. I was high from the beauty of the cities murals and graffiti. Thrilled to have been able to communicate with people about the things they loved... a garden caretaker and his trio of behemoth rhodos... an artist, a muscian, a man and his opinion about a sickly dog to the pure joy he sharedwith us for feeding the dog. I can feel that I could easily fade into the stonework here. 

I am leaving you with just some of my seeing today. 

C.