Puerto Varas--My Return to Chile

Our final two days together, Becca and I briefly explored Puerto Varas, then took an overnight bus to Chillán so she could meet the fam and friends I spent 9 months with. Puerto Varas instantly became one of my favorite places in Chile, for its small-town vibe, beautiful surrounds (huge, crystal clear lake, the largest in Chile, and two volcanos in the distance), beach-lounging and swimming options. We hung out at the beach prettymuch all day. I swam several times, even though the lake was freezing. I don't really like laying out unless I have the option to swim. At the start of our day, around noon, the beach was pretty empty, but by afternoon, it was packed. There was this little shit kid running around nearby, throwing sand, trying to force his dog into the water, putting too much sunscreen on so he was coated in white. I was cracking up at him, because I love kids that have a little bit of wildness to them. He noticed me and came over and sort of hovered. We started chatting and I ended up hanging out with him for a couple hours. His name was Juan, he was 10 years old, and had lived in Bariloche, so we had a lot to talk about. We buried our feet in the sand, made volcanos out of sand, had races in the water, looked at the pictures and maps in the guidebook. I gave him one of Becca's fake dinosaur teeth as a present. He was so precious. I love how sometimes kids just need a focus for their energy, and then the little shit in them transforms to this delightful little person. I was kind of sad to say goodbye to him! Rebecca, however, was not, since his dog was obnoxious. It brought dirty diapers to our beach towel and devoured them, and kept barking at the ice cream salesmen. It would go into a frenzy, barking and nipping them. Rebecca got scratched and showered with sand, as she was caught in the middle. Misbehaved dogs are the worst. I also managed to make friends with another little girl while I was swimming. She enjoyed jumping off my back or bent knees into the water. I love Chile, because in the US, you always feel a little bit like parents think you are a child molestor if you want to play with their kids, but in South America, from what I can tell, most parents don't give a shit. Becca and I ended our day by cooling our sunburns with some beer and dinner on the balcony of a cute restaurant. I ate some rico ceviche. I love ceviche!

The next day, we arrived in Chillán around 6 a.m. and I went HOME! After trying to open the (now warped, apparently) door for like 15 minutes, Felipe came to my rescue. We nappend and then ran errands, and for lunch, Zuni made my favorite, humitas, which are basically ground corn with margarine and a bit of onion boiled inside corn leaves. It is possibly my favorite Chilean food. It was so cute, because Ema set it up so we could eat humitas as a special treat for my homecoming. I topped out at four, then felt kind of sick. We ran more errands, then met Stacey, Alejandro, and Sarah for a bite to eat. Finally, we capped off the night at the Universitario, our standby pub, with Felipe, Emilio, and Sarah's new boyfriend Guillermo. We drank, caught up, and, of course, danced. I had really been missing dancing to reggaeton with my best Chilean pals. It was very difficult to leave at 11:30 to catch our bus to Santiago. I wish we could have stayed longer. I have especially missed Felipe, and being as our time together was so brief, I hated to see it end.

Volcan Osorno.
Walking to the beach.
That's Volcano Osorno on the left and Volcano Calbuco on the right.
Taking the first dip of the day.
Playing with my new pal.
Kids are like sharks around a fresh kill when they find an adult who will play with them--just look at them coming for me! Juan has his back to the camera.
The crowded beach as seen from our walk home.
Cooling off with a beer on the balcony of a restaurant in downtown Puerto Varas.
Basically, I can't wait to go back to Chile. I might even return to Puerto Varas before heading back to the States.