Being a 20 year old girl traveling alone tends to surprise people - shocking, I know. My age though was never something I really thought about until others made such a big deal about it. My sex, lack of directional sense, and cluelessness were the issues I was more concerned about when I decided to travel by myself. Sure I may be young but considering everything else I have done in my life traveling alone didn´t seem like that big of a leap, I have lived away from my family for quite some time now. However in Chile, where people live with their parents until they get married, a young girl like me is an oddity.
I was reminded of how much curiosity I can stir up during my bus ride from Puerto Montt to Ancud in Chiloé. Everything was going fine, I was on the bus headed the the right direction, when suddenly a man sat down beside me and started chatting with me. OK that was fine, solo travel can be loney at times so it was nice to chat and practice my Spanish. My positive attitude slowly began to dissolve as the man grabbed my hands to emphasize points of whatever he was talking about, he also poked me in the stomach when he asked if I liked Chilean food and tried to cup my chin at one point after telling me I was such a chicatita. That I pulled away from so he didnt try to do that again but he continued to tell me how genial I was and how it was amazing he could confide in me - he told me the reason he was on the bus was because he no longer drove after an accident. I asked what happened and he said he had been on drugs but that he has been clean since, 3 years now, he even showed me some kind of surgical scar related to the accident. Things got even more awkard for me as he began to compliment me on being such a great gringa and so linda y hermosa y having ojos celestial. He also asked if I have a tour guide for my time in Chiloé or if I wanted a companion. I thanked him for the offer but said I liked to travel alone. I really wanted to move at this point but I was at the window seat and had my gigantic backpack on the floor below my seat. Luckily I was saved when the man decided to take a nap for the remainder of the bus ride. This was not of course before he gave me a kiss on the cheeck and wished me a safe journey! I was saved further awkwardness when the man did not get off the bus at my stop, hopefully I will not run into him again but Chiloé is a tiny island!
So aside from enchanting men with my gringaness I have been having a great time in Chiloé. Yesterday I spent my afternoon wandering around Ancud. When to a museaum about the churches of the island, the beach, and also watched the volunteer fire department run tests for new recuits in the plaza de armas. After watching the ongoings for a bit I decided that if a building were on fire here it probably had a better chance of getting put out by the rain then by the fire department!
The rain - it is here all the time! I am getting used to it now but I miss the warm sun of Santiago!
Today I am in Castro, the largest ¨city¨ in Chiloé. Have walked around town quite a bit, saw the church here which has a gorgeous wooden interior plus very graphic depictions of Jesus on the cross - just what everyone wants! Also walked along the coast line here which has houses on stilts and a lot of abandoned boats. There are also these wierd birds here that make sounds like monkeys.
Oh yeah and I almost forgot - I saw penguins this morning! I went to the northwestern coast of Chiloé with the duena of my hostal, we picked up some of her friends along the way who told me all about the history of the area as we drove along and when we stopped at one point to take photos they went over to a plant chopped off a long spikey branch and offered it to me to eat! I didn´t try any though cause apparently it wasn´t ripe enough. Once at the beach I took a boat ride out to a group of islands where the penguins live. I got to see them waddle around, make noises, and I even saw a group swim around near my boat! I also saw an array of odd looking birds and sea otters eating shellfish! It was a great time and afterward I got to drive along the 7km beach. The views made me feel like I was in New Zealand and on location for the movie the Piano.
Not sure what I am going to do tomorrow, maybe take a tour of the national park here - I just gotta be back in Puerto Montt by nightfall, I leave for Punta Arenas the following morning!
***I apoligize for any typos in this post. I don´t have English spell check right now!
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