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. 

Step One: Wrangle up some sheep. One of my classmates sympathizing with the sheep.

Step two: I used the least graphic picture that I had.

Step three: Hang and clean. The sheep seen in the lower left-hand corner knew what was coming at this point.

Step four: Cook.

Step five: Try to forget about the previous steps and enjoy your meal.

Two Months: Deadly Animals, a Hole in the Ozone Layer, and Eggs

             It's been a while since I've updated this. I write every day in Word, but the things that I write usually aren't worth copying over to this blog. It's been long enough now that I've accumulated enough semi-worthy scraps of writing to make a semi-decent post.

            This should be considered my two-month update, even though it's only day 54. I'll be out of town for the majority of the rest of October (tomorrow is my last day of school until November- and we get out at 12:30). I have two trips this month, one to the South of Chile with my school and then another to Patagonia with Rotary. I'll have two days of down-time between trips. I should have a lot to write about and a lot of pictures to post.

            It feels strange to have suddenly jumped from the youngest in the group to the oldest. I was always the youngest in my class and in my group of friends. Now that I’m in the Chilean equivalent to a junior class, I’m one of the oldest students, if not the oldest. There are only a few exchange students that are older than I am as well, as it’s not common to do a post-graduation exchange.

A friend told me that there are no deadly animals in Chile. There are no spiders that could kill a human. He said the worse they have here is the Chilean puma, and even those don’t attack humans. Coming from a country that is loaded with things that could kill you (Grizzly bears, rattle snakes, Outback Steakhouse), I was seriously skeptical. I need to look into that.

The results: My friend was more or less correct. There are no dangerous snakes in Chile. Apparently the worst that Chile has are the Brown Recluse and Black Widow spiders, the bites from which are very rarely fatal in humans. A bite from a Brown Recluse could cause kidney failure and necrosis around the bite, but it’s only fatal 3-4% of the time. A bite from a Black Widow can cause vomiting, muscle rigidity, severe pain, and sweating. Symptoms can persist from a few days to several weeks, but almost never result in human death, excluding in children or other weak bite victims. Anti-venom can be administered, but since the bite really isn't life threatening, it’s usually just for pain relief. Apparently it doesn't help much, according to Wikipedia.

Just last night, I found a Brown Recluse in my bedroom. After taking some pictures of it, I smashed it with a book called "The Exchange Student Survival Kit." I guess that title wasn't false advertising.

My host mother told me that the hole in the ozone layer affects Chile more than other countries. I didn't really believe that. Yes, it’s hot, so what. Well, after really feeling the sun burning me today, even through my clothes, even though it was only in the 60s, I looked into it. Turns out she was right. The hole in the ozone layer is directly above Antarctica, with little branches that reach out towards Chile and Australia. Areas under or close to the hole experience greatly increased levels of UV rays. Good thing sunblock is cheap.

Pomaire is a little village about an hour away from Santiago. It became an artisan village when it was discovered that there is abundant natural clay in the soil in and around the village. Today, while it is still small, Pomaire is a popular spot and is composed of very little more than street vendors and restaurants. Very fine quality pottery can be found all over the town and for very low prices, as it's all made right in the shops. Pomaire is known for its Chanchos, which are clay pigs that are supposed to bring good luck. They're often in bank-form. I bought a tiny one (the size of a dime) for my jacket.

While in Pomaire, I had a typical Chilean dish: Lomo a lo Pobre. It consisted of a massive steak, a mountain of French fries, fried onions, and all topped off with two fried eggs.

Lomo a lo Pobre

I had a similar meal last weekend at a sandwich shop that is owned by my host mother's brother when I ordered Chorrillano. It was a massive plate of (heavily salted) French fries topped with diced steak, grilled chicken, caramelized onions, sliced sausages, grilled peppers, and a fried egg. It was huge and absolutely delicious. Chorrillana originated in fishing villages, when fishermen would throw whatever they had together and call it a meal (when they got tired of fish, apparently). It was delicious. It is the kind of dish that you can eat once a year.

Eggs don’t need to be refrigerated here. I remember reading somewhere that in the U.S, eggs are power-washed to prevent salmonella, which could be present in the chicken coops, from entering the egg. This process removes a natural protective layer from the egg. The layer is basically the egg's immune system, and if left in the heat without it, the egg will spoil. Here, chickens are vaccinated so that salmonella can't be transferred to the eggs in the first place. The eggs are sold in stores on shelves with everything else or, if being sold from a vendor, sitting in the sun. There is also a wider variety of eggs here than in the U.S. Turkey eggs are commonly sold, along with eggs from much smaller birds. I noticed the turkey eggs for the first time when we went to Pomaire the other day. I saw more eggs in the mall today, including some small, spotted ones that were from the condorniz, or common quail.

Chicken, turkey, quail eggs in a supermarket near my house

Turkey eggs next to chicken eggs, Pomaire. You can see some pottery in the background. There's a lot of it.

 My classmate, Benjamin Tapia, told me the other day that he had read my blog. When I asked him which part, he told me that he had read all of it. He asked me to keep doing it. He also recognized that I had written about him in the part about black people. He seemed honored. In fact, he asked me to add a picture of him as an example of a Chilean black person.

Benjamin "Negro" Tapia

Pictured above is my good friend, Benjamin Tapia. Most people call him "Negro." While not exactly light-skinned, he wouldn't be called black in the United States. This is because there are very few black people in Chile (I wrote about that in much greater detail a few weeks ago- when Negro realized I was talking about him).

I probably won't post again for a couple of weeks (I probably wouldn't even if I didn't have two trips coming up), but in the mean time, if you'd like me to write about anything or have any questions, let me know.