Valdivia

A few weeks have passed since we were in Chiloé, and we have left Southern Chile and its clouds and rains. Now we are in Santiago, the capital of Chile, in the middle of the country. It is sunshiney and eighty five degrees. Monica at the moment is at a five-day zen retreat on the outskirts of the city, and Mike is exploring the town on his own.

After Chiloé, we traveled up to Valdivia, and arrived there on December 23, in time to hunker down for  Christmastime. We stayed there for five nights in our cozy hostel and with our newfound, temporary, international community. It really doesn´t take much to make friends on the road. As soon as the tents are up and the fires are going, all is well.

Valdivia is a small, pretty university city near the coast in Southern Chile. It´s a river town with a lot of rain, and it rained while we were there. The town is just inland from the coast, and we saw lots of cormorants and pelicans, and lots of sea lions, hanging around the seafood marketplace.

This is the Pacific Ocean, just like in Oregon. It is great to be back on the west coast. We spent a lot of time inside our beautiful Aires Buenos Hostel. Viella is the owner. She’s from Eureka, California, and has even spent time in Eugene. She’s lived in Valdivia for a long time, and has created a very welcoming place for travelers passing through.

We cooked a big pot of black bean soup the first day we were there, a perfect rainy-day meal. Christmas Eve and Christmas were real events. Christmas Eve featured sushi, ceviche, and French crepes, as well as a Santa Claus origami workshop, led by Monica. The sushi was a group project. For many of the sushi rollers, it was their first time rolling sushi.

Sonya from France was the crepe maker. She said that everyone, yes everyone, in France knows how to make crepes from the time that they are kids.

The origami session was very well attended and enthusiastic. The next day, ten of us contributed time and money for a group mid-afternoon dinner, which began with our new favorite drinik–pisco sours. Moni whipped some up to please the crowd. Sandra and Martin, from Germany, cooked salmon and roasted veggies. Mike made a six-strand challah, and there was plenty of wine and champagne to stretch the afternoon into the evening. We’ll remember Valdivia as our last glimpse of Southern Chile before heading north into the warmer weather, and for celebrating our 28th anniversary there. We’ll remember the walks by the river and the refuge of the hostel, staying dry while it was raining, and enjoying our friends, as well as the backporch for a few bacgammon games.