Valdivia

the city

Valdivia is a fairly large city that is located right on the river located about 2.5 hours from Pucon crossing dozens of bridges, which all have a name, over the clearest rivers I've seen. It is also a university city, which influences the city a lot and gives it an unique style. The city was settled by Germans so it definitely different than any other town I have seen in Chile. The city is set up like this. There is the main city, which has plenty of things to do, beautiful German inspired old buildings, as well all the commercial things one could want. At one end of the city is the river, which is lined with boats, sea lions, and  a market with fish of all kinds, vegetables, and people yelling. It's full of personality. There is a bridge that crosses the river which is called Isla Teja. The Universidad Austral de Chile is on that side as well as museums, little cafes, and tons of parks. I would love to live there. The university is beautiful and has it's own botanical garden and when I arrived it was the first week of classes so it was full of life. I stayed at the hostel Airesbuenos which is so charming. The backyard is full of herbs and there is a pet cat, 2 chickens, and a duck. The first day I arrived, I walked all along the city and got my fill of museums.

the duck

The second day I took a bus out of town to a natural reserve called Curinanco. It follows the coast line of Valdivia which is absolutely breathtaking. It reminds me Northern California with giant green cliffs with a strip of sand lining the ocean. The majority of the ride was on a dirt road and the bus was filled with fishermen and students. At times I thought the bus wasn't going to be able to make it up the turning roads. The reserve was at the end of the road, literally the road just ended, and was up a hill in the middle of nowhere. It was a little spooky at first, because there was not a soul anywhere. The trails where overgrown, but I was determined to get a good hike. Without a doubt, it was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in my entire life. The trail twisted through shrubs, then overlooked the shore line, then out of nowhere, led to this ancient forest with ginormous trees that all lined the shore. It was breathtaking. The only noise I heard for the duration of the hike was the wind, the waves, the birds, the bees, and my footsteps. So great. The Valdivian coastline is so amazing, I would love to spend my entire 2 weeks just exploring the parks. After that amazing day, I went back to my hostel to get my stuff ready for the following day and realized that I could not find my new pants that I splurged on and spent almost 100$ for my hiking trip in Torres Del Paine. Turns out I had left them in Pucon. So I spent my last day on a bus for 7 hours going back and forth to Pucon to get my stuff that I had forgotten. Not exactly how I would have liked to spend my last day in Valdivia, but it was my bad. So after the constant traveling, I talked to the owner of the hostel and she said I could of just asked for them to put the pants on a bus and could have picked them up at the bus station. Knowledge learned. 

views from the absolutely amazing hike

                            

 After that I needed to get a beer. So I went to the Kunstman brewery to end my day. I ended up seeing some people from my hostel there so I joined them and found out that it was St. Patty's day. So I drank my German amber beer and ate Curry Shwitzle in Chile. We all went out that night to an Irish pub and everyone was drinking green beer and wearing green hats. It was definitely a mixup of cultures. I left the following morning with a bit of a headache  from the night before and headed for my 7 hour bus ride to Chiloe.

What the city is all about.

The City is filled with my two favorite things: parks and art.