I was distracted by the news that my host familys cat was murdered by our neighbors dog. I was informed by 7 small children all talking at once and pointing to the grave they had constructed, while they recounted the heroic death of la Flor. Needless to say all very traumatic for my host mom and host sister, a vigil was held for the cat. Part of me just doesnt believe it, but there you have it.
Anyways, I left off recounting our kayaking adventure in Chepu. Here are some photos that Fernando, the owner, took and gave to us.
from left to right: My dad, George (Allysons dad), me, Allyson, Eleanor (Allysons mom) and my mommy.
Allyson!
Mom and Dad, at least one of them looks like they are having fun
I survived!After Chepu we headed south to Castro, the quintessential Chiloe town. Chiloe is famous for its wooden churches, and they are a UNESCO world heritage sites, just like Valparaiso. The one in downtown Castro was gorgeous. Smooth, curved wood, arching ceilings. Incredible to think these were built long before power tools came into existence, and are still standing today. Most of the churches have one bell tower, but this one has two. There is one on one of the little islands that has three, and large blue stars on the front. We went to another church in Dalcahue, which was not as beautiful as the one in Castro but is home to relics used back when the church was a more prominent feature of society.
here is more information for those who are curious:
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/971
In honor of the Christmas holiday we had a Charlie Brown christmas tree with seashells as ornaments. We used dental floss to hang the shells. It added a homey touch to the whole affair. In traditional Chilean style we celebrated on Christmas Eve, for us it was more of a time issue the next day since we had a flight to catch. Allyson and I made some unexpectedly potent pisco sours for our parents leaving my mom "so sloshed". The next morning we made French toast sandwhiches with dark chocolate filling, good way to start the trip back.
To conclude this trip was amazing. The people we met were so kind hearted and caring and it really made me think more about the benefits of farm life and learning how to live with the environment. Cochamo is so untouched by human life and I sincerely hope it stays that way for a very long time. I told my mom that I am going to live on a farm in southern Chile when I grow up, she said that was fine as long as I came home sometimes. I will probably have to hire someone to slaughter my pig for me. Marina suggested I just live off chickens instead, she said theyll get so annoying youll want to kill them anyways...food for thought.
But seriously. In the near future you may get a letter from from the depths of Chile telling you I successfully tilled my own crops.
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