Latina America

Upon arrival in Puerto Montt, I went straight to the Navimag Office and to my extreme surprise, there was still some space left for the ferry Puerto Montt-Puerto Varas. 'Only in the cheapest category though', the lady of the office told me, and that was the one I wanted of course, I was not prepared to pay 1700 dollars for the votage! So, tomorrow, we sail of for four days through the Patagonian fjords and interesting landscapes, very excited about that! I will share a cabin with five other people and we will not have any windows in the cabin but I think I will not pass too much time in the cabin anyway.
The Isla de Chiloé was just lovely. There were plans to build a bridge a few years ago, Rough Guide said there might be one by 2005 but I can confirm there is none yet, you still have to take the ferry to get there. I stayed in Ancud, a quiet little city in the north of the island. It was good to relax a bit, stayed in hospedaje 'Su Casa' where in the beginning I was the only foreigner and there seemed to live a whole family there. They serve lovely breakfast, included in the price, all home-made with, of course, kuchen, the region's speciality. I went on a tour to Puñihuil to see los pingüinos de Humboldt and Magallánicos, Chiloé is the only place on this earth where those two types of penguins live together. I met a Belgian couple doing a RTW trip by tandem on the island and they are going to take the ferry to Puerto Natales on Monday, too.
Next day, I went to Castro, the capital of the Isla de Chiloé. It has some nice sites, like the cathedral with a nice wooden interior and the colourful 'palafitas'. I walked to the next village, Nercon, to watch the little wooden church. The Isla de Chiloé is very famous for its wooden churches, there is about 150 on the island. The one in Nercon made me think of the stave churches in Norway, although from the ones I have seen I prefer the Norvegian ones. On the way back to Castro, I went to eat a 'pastel de choclo', a maize pie in a very little bistro next to the road. I sat down at the only table there was with Fernando, who had already finished eating. We talked a little bit and when I stood up to go and pay, it proved to be that Fernando had already paid for my pastel de choclo! The coffee and chocolate biscuit were on the house, so I did not have to pay anything! Friendly people on the island. By the way, Tía Annemie, el pastel de choclo era delicioso.

Puerto Montt depressed me a little bit. I don't know, it is just the atmosphere that I do not like here and there is not a lot to see, so I took the bus to Puerto Varas, which is nicer, but still not half as nice as la Isla de Chiloé. You do not miss anything if you just pass by Puerto Montt and Puerto Varas, I think.
Phew, that's it, for the first time in my blog history I can write in the present as I am in Puerto Montt right now and will take the ferry to Puerto Natales mañana por la mañana, which also means that I will leave all of you in peace for the next four days! Finally I hear you thinking...

Besitos, que les vaya bien!