Valdivia

Valdivia is known as the "pearl of the Lake District". I don't have enough good things to say about it; it really is a very agreeable place to spend a few days. Three rivers flow through the city, and it is only about 10 miles from the ocean. Yesterday after arriving, I took a bus to the ocean. It was too cool to think about sunbathing or swimming, but I walked along the beach and then visited an old Spanish fortress on a cliff above the water.

One of the main things to attract me to Valdivia, besides its glowing reviews in the Lonely Planet guide, was the fact that it is home to the Kunstmann brewery, which makes what is widely thought to be the best beer in South America. After the dissappointing visit to the Cervecería Austral in Punta Arenas, I was determined in my cause to visit a brewery. The Kunstmann brand was started by German settlers to the area. This area of Chile has a lot of German influence; even some of the architecture is German-style. The brewery unfortunately does not give tours, but there was a museum and windows where you could look inside the factory, plus a restaurant and gift shop. I bought a t-shirt and ate what was probably the largest sandwich I have ever seen (about the size of a small pizza). All I can say is, I was hungry for something different after three days of boat food.

This morning I visited a local history museum which had a large exhibit on the Mapuche people. The Mapuches were the only natives to successfully resist Spanish control, and until the late 1800s still controlled most of the land in this area. I also visited a modern art museum which had the scariest hands-on exhibit ever. You have to walk through a tunnel which is completely dark, save for a few twinkling bulbs the size of an insect. Then you emerge in a room where the only light is coming from inside pieces of furniture, and then walk past screens airing videos of deserted towns and women with their hair on fire. I was the only person there, which made it even more creepy.

A guy working at the art museum and I had an interesting conversation about Chile, Chilean Spanish, and the name "Valdivia". Valdivia was a Spanish conquistador who was (big surpise) in search of gold. Legend has it that he was so brutal with the natives that they melted a bar of gold and then poured the liquid down his throat, killing him on the site of what is now the city of Valdivia. Even if it's not true, it is a story that is fascinating in a sick way.

The guy (Rodrigo was his name) had Chilean parents but had grown up in Sweden. He referred to Chilean Spanish as "redneck Spanish" and we talked about the culture in general. One thing about Chileans is that they seem to abhor being thought of as trashy or low-class. The worst insults are the ones which suggest a person is poor or a member of the lower classes. Maybe this is a reflection of the fact that Chile has one of the widest gaps between the rich and the poor of any relatively well-developed country in the world.

Tonight I return to Santiago via overnight bus. Travel by bus is very common here, and there is a wide array of classes from which to choose. I am travelling by salon cama, which is considered a luxury bus. The seats supposedly fold almost flat, and there are only 24 seats in the entire bus. It was a bit expensive, but I figure it is well worth it if I am spending 10 hours on the bus in the middle of the night.