Viernes, 06 de Diciembre de 2002

From Puerto Varas we took a local bus to Puerto Montt. As we stepped off the bus, ahead of us was a large shipping yard with an ocean-going freighter tied up. There was a strong fish smell. We walked along the waterfront street past antique shops wi th old nautical gear. This is the major southern port of Chile. We found a charming place, Hotel Suizo run by an artist with beautifully tiled bathrooms and windows opening onto views of the harbour and mountains. We walked downtown looking for a real cup of coffee and found Cafe Real. As we drank, we noticed an older couple speaking English with a man who appeared to be Chilean. I went over to talk with them and they are Texans who have permanently moved to Puerto Montt, and have lived here for the past 9 years, ¨" because the quality of life is better than in the U.S.¨". I asked ¿in what way? They said the medical care is better - they have all their doctor´s home phones, the medical service and technology is equal or better than the U.S. They are safe and don´t need to lock their doors. People are cordial and they have everything they need. They each have a small business. The taxes they pay on their income are deposited in the bank when they are paid and at the end of the year, it is all refunded and the government keeps the interest. The cost of living is half to a third of the U.S. Then they walked us to a large shopping mall to show us modern consumer Puerto Montt. The Mall is owned by a Palestinian family. Many Palestinians live in Chile. Puerto MOntt was founded by Germans in the 1800s and there is s till a strong presence of Germans.
We walked to the little fishing village of Angelmo, which is now mainly a handicrafts and restaurant place, although there is still a strong maritime atmosphere in the whole city, reminding me of the docks of Seattle in my childhood.
The next day we got on the bus to Castro on Chiloe Island. The bus got on a small ferry. Castro is half way south on the island which is 32 miles long and about 15 miles long. Much of it is roadless and its western shoreline is on the ocean. All of the towns are on the inland channel and there is extensive salmon farming. There are rolling green hills cultivated and also herds of sheep and dairy cows. People´s appearance is different than in Northern Chile - many had round faces, thick lips and black hair. We watched boats come in loaded with a kind of seaweed that they said is sold in Japan. At the Central Market, there were an amazing variety of sweaters and woolen coats.
The plan was to travel to the tip of Chiloe and catch the only ferry this week on Wednesday. We took the bus there and found several other tourists had also arrived to find the boat office closed and a sign on the window saying there was a strike and the next boat would be 12-18.
John and a couple of German women who spoke excellent Spanish tried to find a fishing boat to take us to Chaiten. This boat is essential to get us to the next part of our trip to southern Chile and the glacier area - the most remote area. However, there seemed to be no way to get there so we reluctantly boarded the bus and sat on it for 7 hours back across Chiloe through Puerto MOntt to Osorno. Osorno appears to be a business center, although not a very large city. It is named after the nearby volcano. Downtown in the coffee shop, men and women in suits and business clothes greet eachother and also talk on cell phones.