Oceano Pacifico

The town of Valdivia was founded in 1552 on the site of an indigenous Mapuche village by the first royal governor of Chile, the conquistador Pedro de Valdivia and named after himself. Set at the confluence where two rivers, the Cruces and the Calle Calle join to become the Rio Valdivia, it was to be a protected harbor and resupply port for ships traveling between Lima and Straits of Magellan. By the 1570's, Valdivia had a population of around 2000 (plus 4000 Mapuche) but the town was abandoned after the Mapuche uprising in 1599, along with all the other Spanish settlements in Chile south of Conceptión.
Forty years later, the Dutch recognized the strategic importance of the location from their colonies on the other side of the Pacific and tried to establish a fort here. But they were also forced to leave by Mapuche hostility. Embarassed, the Spanish, in 1645, sent the largest fleet ever seen in the Pacific, 12 galleons, to reoccupy the city. Spain established three forts at the mouth of the estuary at Corral, Niebla and on the island of Mancera, where they successfully defended Spanish interests until they were brilliantly captured by the British in 1820.

Determined to put our own feet into the waters of the Pacific, we set out west on the road to Niebla.

Bobbi Jo and Hanna soak their Tevas in the Pacific Ocean.

Henry, Joslyn, Richard and Susan

It's a long way to the next landfall.

Map of the opening from the Pacific into the harbor of Valdivia.

The guns of Niebla aim south across the entry to the channel. Together with the guns from the forts at Corral and the island of Mancera, they completely control access to the harbor.

From 1851, the Chilean government encouraged settlement here and large numbers of German immigrants arrived. They established industries in Valdivia and farms in the hinterland.

Here Joslyn and Henry are holding the beers!

The German influence remains to this day represented in the German language schools, the culture and at the brewery, Cervecera Kunstmann.

Valdivia Streetscene

Informal street art

Formal street art

"Your name still hurts Salvador" (Allende)
"Against the amnesia of the country"

Close shave.

Dive guy with admirers

The beat goes on.

The forest dies and humanity will also.
Celulosa Arauco y Constitución (CELCO) KILLS

Free Rivers - Water is Life

Joslyn pointed out some particularly ambitious street art.

Time's up. We hurried back to the hotel so Hannah could check out.

Sadly we said goodbye to Hannah W. She got a cab to Temuco to catch her flight to Santiago and then back to the States. Friday, she joined Chiara in South Hadley, MA, for more festivities at Mount Holyoke College before their graduation on Saturday.

We're sad to see her leave us, but she also goes with our hearty felicitaciones for her excellent achievement and all our best wishes for her future.

Valdivian Sea Wolves

Thursday we woke up to rain and wind pounding on the windows of our luxurious hotel. Looking down to the riverfront we could see Valdivia's famous outdoor fishmarket.

Before Hannah W had to catch a cab to Temuco, we were determined to find out what was so interesting about fish.

There was plenty of fresh salmon,

and yummy, yummy fish heads.

There were four kinds of clams,

colorful crabs,

fresh sea urchins, and lots of vegetables to complement your seafood.

It was no surprise then, to see why people aren't the only Valdivians to be attracted to all the food on display here.

The harvest of the sea is so bountiful that it also attracts half-ton Lobos Marinos, "Sea Wolves" or Sea Lions, as we know them, who swim twenty kilometers upriver from the ocean to beg for scraps. Here a feisty guard dog holds at bay one of the much larger carnivores that has sneaked over the barrier fence until help arrives with a firehose to force the Lobo back into the Marino.

All this activity is undoubtedly a nuisance and a danger for the fishermen, but greatly entertaining for the rest of us, who buy the tails and fishheads to toss to the creatures while we photograph them.

Here a lobo is standing on tippy toes for a treat,

until the ever watchful guard dog makes him back down.

Meanwhile this fellow has squeezed right under the feet of a fishmonger where he peacefully gorges on the trimmings.

Cormorants also grab a meal whenever they get the chance.

Journey to Valdivia

We said goodbye to Chiara today. She returned to Temuco to catch her flight to Santiago and then back to the States. Thursday, she will be in South Hadley, MA, for her pre-graduation festivities at Mount Holyoke College.

We're sad to see her leave us, but she goes with our hearty felicitaciones for her excellent achievement and all our best wishes for her future.

Hannah W and Katy will be joining her later this weekend, but as soon as Manuel returned with the van, we all headed out to pick up Henry at school, and then made the three hour drive in the rain to the coastal city of Valdivia.

It was dark and stormy by the time we arrived at the Dreams Hotel on the riverfront in Valdivia. Looking out the hotel room windows we could see the lights of the city, but after the long drive we decided to eat the excellent pasta buffet at the hotel, party at the rooftop disco and sightsee in the morning.

Kayaking in Chile

The weather stayed cloudy, but it was not pouring rain, so BobbiJo, Hannah V and Richard headed down to Kayak Chile for an afternoon run on the lower Rio Liucura where it joins into the Rio Trancura and turns into the Rio Pucón.

Kayak Chile is a local river sports company founded by Ben May, a resident transplant to Chile from Devon, England, and one of the authors of Whitewater Chile, A Paddlers Guide. According to the guide, the Lower Liucura and the Lower Trancura have class II and III rapids.

In the window of the shop is a poster proclaiming Patagonia Sin Represas! which means "Patagonia Without Dams". This campaign is especially important for paddlers who no longer have the opportunity to experience the seven-day wild whitewater trips on Chile's Rio Bío Bío since that river was dammed in 1996.

Inside the shop is a selection of hard shell kayaks for the experienced kayaker, but we opted to run the river in inflatable "duckys" reknowned for their stability and ease of handling. We also tried on our wetsuits and neoprene booties for proper fit, as we could count on getting soaked in the rapids and the water is pretty cold this time of year.

Here we are at the put in wearing our wetsuits, life jackets and helmets. Ben May is on the right inflating one of the duckys.

BobbieJo rode with Hannah, Richard teamed with Kayak Chile guide, Christian, and Ben May danced through the rapids in his kayak ready to provide assistance when we needed it. We couldn't take any photos during the run, but recent rains had put the water level up and the rollers were on the huge side of Class III! It was a great experience and we felt sorry for the other chicas who stayed at the casa next to the warm fire.

Termas Geometricas

On the other side of Volcan Villarica several hours away from Pucón is a narrow valley with a sensitively developed series of hot springs connected by a boardwalk called Termas Geometricas. Each developed pool is lined with natural slate pavers and surrounded by living ferns hanging from the canyon walls. It is easily the most beautiful hot springs we have ever encountered. The day was rainy, but that didn't detract from our enjoyment of the warm water in the lush environment.

After a good soak we dried off around the fire, ate ham and cheese sandwiches on homemade bread and drank complimentary spring water with lemon.