Valdivia--photographic proof of travel.

Víctor, the TA for my geography class, always talks to Julie and I about how we need to “aprovechar” (take advantage of/ make the most of) our time in Chile, and how we should “conocer” (get to know) the country and its varied landscapes. Luckily enough, Amy (from Midd) is living in Valdivia, and last weekend I got to visit her! I got to know the city, her university’s campus, and some of the nearby towns that Víctor had told me about. Among those towns was Niebla, where we went to a fort and ate empanadas (separately). We ferried across the estuary (Amy knows her oceanographic terms) to Corral, and walked around for approximately fifteen minutes before heading back on the boat. It was a pretty small town. We watched the sea lions (“lobos del mar” = “sea wolves” in Spanish), smelled the sea lions (eww), made burritos at her pension, ate lemon pie, and saw the Michael Jackson movie. Success.


Doesn't the siding on this house look like fish scales?


It was a great weekend.

Love and sea wolves,
Tiernan

P.S. Amy and I learned a good lesson when we went out to lunch-- no one orders tap water here. We, however, being from outside of Chile and not wanting to pay for water, did ask for "agua de llave". This resulted in free water, but also in our waiter thinking we were the cheapest people ever. When he brought bread and pebre to the table, he whispered, "The bread is free." We made sure to leave him a nice tip : )