Seth in Chile: The South

I know I said I wouldn't do another blog post until after I return from Patagonia, but I think, with my trip last week, I would have too much to write about and end up posting a book. So I’m going to split it up.

For those of you who don't know, I just got back last night from a week-long school trip to Pucon, which is a village in the South of Chile. I finished all my laundry today and then packed it right back up. I've been home for just under 48 hours and I’ll be leaving again in just over 4 hours (at 2:45 in the morning). We’ll fly out of Santiago around 5:00 in the morning, and arrive in Punta Arenas around 10:00.

If Pucon is considered the south, then Punta Arenas is the South Pole. It is, in fact, the capital city of the Antarctica Chilena region of the country and is the largest city beneath the 46^th parallel south. So in other words, it’s pretty far South. Pucon was cold and rainy, and it’s not even halfway as far as Punta Arenas is from Santiago.

I live in Santiago. Pucon is right in the middle, just above the words "Lake District." Punta Arenas is the city farthest to the south.

It was a twelve hour bus ride to La Ruca (The House), the lodge we stayed at. The country got wilder as we got further south. We pulled off the highway at around 7:30 and made our way south on smaller roads. The towns got smaller and farther in between. We went through nothing but dark fields for an hour or so before passing through a little town (which I would later learn was Pucon). After another half hour of woods and fields, we arrived. I stepped off the bus and was met by biting cold and a sky full of stars, more and clearer than I've ever seen.

La Ruca. The words say "Kom Che ni Ruka" (Native Language) and "Casa de Todos," which is Spanish for "House for All"

We had a brief introduction to the building and its caretakers before unloading the bus and settling into our rooms. We finished dinner at 11:00 then had some free time. I foolishly assumed that we would go to bed right afterwards. I quickly learned that Chileans seem to not need as much sleep as Americans do. We regularly had activities until 2:00 am and we needed to wake up at 7:00 or 7:30 every day. Our last night there we were up until 4:00 in the morning, and needed to wake up at 7:30 to clean our rooms and load the bus.

I made up for the lack of sleep and endless strenuous activities by eating an absurd amount of food. For breakfast all we had was bread and tea or coffee. I would start my day off with 7-10 pieces of bread for breakfast every morning. Sometimes more. I really needed the extra energy. I had less bread with lunch and dinner because there were actual entrees, usually some type of casserole or meat.

We did have one uncommon meal, however: Lamb. That might not seem very unusual, but it was prepared in a special way. We got back from one of the day's activities to find three big sheep tied up behind the lodge. Our director told us what was about to happen, and about half of the class went inside. I got out my camera. A man asked if anyone wanted to volunteer, and one of my classmates did. He was given a knife and told to slit one of the sheep's throats. Afterward, a man who I assume was the owner of the sheep hung the sheep upside-down from a tree and began to skin it. Another man killed the other two and then did the same thing. Then they were disemboweled. Two days later, we returned to the lodge to find the lambs being cooked over fires behind the lodge. They were delicious. I'll attach the photos at the end of my blog so that no one who doesn't want to see them has to.

This past week was packed with adventures. We climbed a mountain, rafted some intense white water, zip-lined, did a (very) high ropes course, spent time with a Mapuche (Native Chilean) farming family, and went to thermal pools heated by one of the 123 active volcanoes in Chile. I'll try to cover all of the bases briefly.

On our first full day in the South, we went for a hike. I wasn't sure what to expect, and I was unimpressed when we got off the bus and walked up a gently sloping hill for twenty minutes. What I didn't realize was that we weren't even on the trail yet. We arrived to the trail head and split into groups. The trail immediately got steeper and my legs were burning within five minutes. We rested for a bit at a little shelter, where the first of many good photo opportunities presented itself to me: a little fox came over for a visit. He was very interested in us, or at least in our food. I would have loved to take a photo, but I forget my camera on the bus, which was very frustrating because some of the sights were breathtaking.

It was a four and a half hour hike to the top. It got consistently colder as we rose, and the last third of the hike involved some very, very steep climbs (both hands and feet were necessary) and waist-deep snow. Only one third of the sixty or so people that started the hike made it to the summit.

Not where we climbed, just a nice view. To give you some perspective, we went much higher than this.

On the second day, we split into groups and went to Mapuche households. The group that I was in spent eight hours herding sheep and planting potatoes. The farmer that we worked with estimated that what we planted will yield 5,000 potatoes. My back is still sore.

The field that we planted.

There are lots of sheep in the South

The following day we did white water rafting. I've rafted several times before, but never like this. This was some intense white water (Class 4 or 5). Not to mention the water was frigid. I really can't believe we were allowed to do that on a school trip. It was a blast.

The next day we went to a high ropes and zip-lining course. It was a pretty park with some nice views. Personally, I think zip-lining is a little dull. Yes, we were up high, and that was fun, but each stretch of the eleven-part course lasted less than ten seconds. I preferred the high ropes course, which was challenging and exciting.

On our last full day, we went to the thermal pools, which were thoroughly disappointing. Imagine a run-down resort full of elderly people and foggy, lukewarm pools.

This past week was the most adventure-filled week of my life. But I will be spending the next week exploring one of the most beautiful places on earth, so Pucon might not hold the record for very long. I'll let you know.

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT AHEAD

I left out the most graphic ones. You're welcome. This was part of the "Meet the Culture" Day, when we visited the Mapuche households.