El Sur

So, I never got a chance to upload and update you all about my travels to the south of Chile. To put in pocas palabras, it was cold and rainy (however the people were warm and sunny), the towns were small and quiet, and the scenery was abundantly green and forest-y. 


My travel mate Ali and I went to 6 towns in 6 days by bus, van, ferry and car, all with our trusty backpacks and polar fleece long underwear. The architecture and food were very Germanic (think cottage-style hotels and kuchin), so it was a nice change to the Spanish and boxy buildings of Santiago. The landscape was also a nice change, with beautiful snow-capped volcanoes as the backdrop to vast lakes and giant green trees, it was like an Indiana-Irish countryside with an Antarctic twist.


One thing that never fails is that in every single established town in Chile, there exists a Spansh Plaza de Armas, with a center plaza, church, a government building, and sometimes a central market. The varrying sizes and styles of these town centers was interesting to observe and compare, but my favorite was the capital of the island we visited; the central church is an unlikely shape and is made entirely of wood, inside and out. This island itself however, was rather creepy as we were seemingly the only tourists there and the local folkloric tales of evil trolls and witches were a little too real in the pitch black, mysterious noise-filled nights. 


The moral of the story is that the region is surely a different world in the summer time when vacationers and sun abound and outdoor activities and tours are not impossible to do. All I can say is, thank goodness for the cute cafes were found in every stop and the indoor stoves for heating!


Here are some photos of the trip, credit goes to Ali for the first 11!



Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.