Finally

Hello all, sorry I haven't posted for a while, but I've been traveling to the far reaches of Chile with my dad for the past two and a half weeks. I didn't have class at all the first week, and then I just came back for three days for the second week. I'm so glad that he came, and we had a blast together. Now I have to catch up on all the blogging I missed. I'll try to keep this organized.

April 3
I left early to pick up my dad at the airport, and we then spent the day in Santiago. We climbed to the top of this hill overlooking Santiago, and we started talking to an American who asked us to take his picture. It turns out that he is an airline pilot, and he was flying the plane right behind the one that dad was on the night before. We then got an overnight bus down south, and I must say that they are awesome. They have fully reclining seats, and they are so comfortable that dad and I slept for almost the entire 11 hour ride to Puerto Varas.

A view of Santiago, the smog is very bad in Santiago, and this is considered a very clear day:


Here's proof that dad was here and having a good time:


Bird highlights: Variable Hawk, Southern Lapwing, Green-backed Firecrown, Chimango Caracara, Austral Thrush

April 4
We arrived in Puerto Varas at around 8:00, and then walked around town until the hostels opened up. We town is a little touristy but very nice, and it has a strong German influence. Chile had two strong waves of German immigration, roughly coinciding with the world wars. We then caught a bus to the falls of the Petrohue river which is part of the first national park of Chile, Parque Nacional Vicente Perez Rosales. The falls were beautiful, and dad definitely enjoyed his first real day in Chile.

Here's the falls:


Volcano Osorno with the falls:


Bird highlights: Brown-hooded Gull, Yellow-billed Pintail, Thorn-tailed Rayadito, White-throated Treerunner, Tufted Tit-tyrant, Black-chinned Siskin

April 5
We caught the early bus to get all the way to the town of Petrohue where there's a trail that climbs the base of the main feature of the national park, Volcano Osorno. The volcano is often called the Mt. Fujiyama of Chile because it's so symmetrical and it just dominates the landscape. We hiked all day and definitely got a work out. The volcano itself is 8,700 ft in altitude, and a popular site for mountain climbers. It's also one of the most active volcanoes in the region. We made it back to town just in time to catch the last bus of the day. This would become a theme for the trip.

Us and the volcano:


Dad and the view in the opposite direction:


Sunset over the volcano highlighting the snow:


Black-faced Ibis roosting on the roof of a hotel in Puerto Varas:


A handsome lizard sunning itself on Volcano Osorno's slopes:


Bird highlights: Great Grebe, Aplomado Falcon (preceded by a Peregrine), Patagonian Tyrant, Striped Woodpecker, Black-faced Ibis (roosting on the roofs of the houses in town), Fire-eyed Diucon

April 6
We spent the morning running errands in Puerto Varas, and then took a Cruz del Sur bus all the way to the town of Castro on the island of Chiloé, the second largest island in South America. To get to the island, you need to take a half-hour ferry across the channel. This ride gave us some great surprise birds including an albatross. We got to the town in the late afternoon, and after dropping our stuff off at a hostel, we walked around town. The towns of Chiloé are known for their old, wooden churches, built by Jesuits in the 18th and 19th centuries. Dad began to feel ill by dinner time, and we went to bed early.

Our ferry across the channel:


Part of the town of Castro:


Bird highlights: Black-necked Swan, Black-browed Albatross, Red-legged Cormorant, Imperial Cormorant, South American Tern, Speckled Teal

April 10
Dad was pretty sick this day, so I just got him some drugs at the pharmacy (200mg Nifuroxazide and 350mg Activated Attapulgite for those interested). We spent the day resting, and I wrote an essay for school. Not too much else happened.

The houses here are the famous "palafitos" of Chiloé. They are brightly painted houses that are on stilts over the water. In reality, only the poorest people live here as they don't have modern plumbing and are at a high risk for tsunamis. The town of Castro has been destroyed several times by fires, earthquakes, and tsunamis.


That was the first week.