Winging it in Bío Bío!

Let me tell you a story of what happens when a lonely gringa ventures out into the unknown, with no plan, no bus tickets, and no place to stay.  Just an adventurous spirit and a burning desire for some good 'ol english conversation with people her own age.

Final Destination: Bío Bío (The region just north of Araucanía)

We'll start our quest Friday morning (as this gringa was tactical enough to schedule all of her classes Monday-Thursday leaving Friday-Sunday for aventures). The brisk morning air quickly woke her up as she headed out of the house, backpack and all, on a short walk to the Perquenco bus station, with each step forward, hoping and praying that a. the bus she intended to take did, indeed, exist and b. that said bus would actually come.  As it turns out, it doesn't matter if there is a bus or not, if you're not waiting in the right place for it.  Apparently the idea that a bus would actually pull into the bus station is farrr too radical. But no worries! Crisis averted at the last possible minute when a local yelled over to the poor lost gringa sitting alone by herself at the station that the bus was arriving around the corner.

........3 buses and 5 bus stations later (no, the math is NOT supposed to work out)............

Stop 1:  El Salto del Laja
In Chilean Spanish (yes, they speak a very "particular" type of spanish here-- but that's for another day) Salto means waterfall.

Luckily the people working at the salto were much for receptive to the wandering gringa than those in the various bus stations.  She made friends with a parking attendant, an older, cheerful man who had worked there pretty much his entire life, spending more time chatting it up with travelers than he spent doing his actual job.  He was the type of man you'd want to be your grandfather, HUGE smile, and willing to talk about just about anything.  A great way to pass the time while waiting for a fellow volunteer to meet her at the Salto.  

Once he arrived, the exploration began.  There were trails all around the salto so you could see it at every single angle, from far away, or up close and personal.    It was there that this now team of gringos decided it would be a good plan to get as close to the bottom of the salto as possible and take shelter behind a giant boulder.  One of the gringos came fully prepared, dressed in waterproof clothing from head to toe.  One of them was not as fortunate, walking around for the rest of he day soaked and chilled to the bone.  You can imagine which one THAT was.  But the wet and cold is a small price to pay for the picture (to the right) that resulted from this rash decision.

By a stoke of luck, just as the gringos were headed out with no a clue what to do with themselves or how to do it, the friendly parking attended decided to introduce them to his friend in the tourist information booth...  Boy did they luck out meeting him! It was a match made in heaven.  They, having not a clue in the world where they were headed and him with a look on his face as if he were a 10-year-old on Easter morning.  It was as if the man had worked in that booth his entire lives, and these two gringos were the first that dared to walk in.  A stack of brochures 2 inches thick on every single region in Chile (there are 15 by the way) and three sets of hugs and kisses later, the gringos were off, and finally with a plan.    

Stop 2: Yumbel
Upon the far too anxious tour guide's recommendation they took a local bus to a small cozy town called Yumbel.
Population: 20,000 people.
Main attraction: The Church of San Sebastian.
The church is apparently a main hub of religious tourism, which the gringos are not.  So after a quick walk through the church they passed the rest of their time wandering the beautiful, peaceful streets and taking photographs along their way.  And of course a pit stop to unload their backpacks and snack on some cake and coffee while looking over the mountain of tourist pamphlets they had just recently accumulated.  Not a bad way to pass a Friday afternoon.

Stop 3: Concepción

The two gringos eventually left the calm little town, and arrived in the big bustling city of Concepción, the capital of Bío Bío.  They were soon met by two more friends, both of whom were also desperate for gringo contact.

--There's strength in numbers.

After trekking up and down the city in a very failed attempt to find a halfway decent hostel to stay in, they decided to suck it up and split a hotel room.. SOOO WORTH IT. 

After dropping their stuff off they set out for a night on the town.  For these gringos, it had been their first time eating out at a restaurant, their first time conversing with people their own age, and their first night out past 9 since they've arrived at their placements.  Dinner, above, consisted of a typical Chilean plate called "Bife a lo Pobre" (translation: beef to the poor) aka french fries topped with beef, fried egg, and onion dipped in a delicious aji sauce, and of course accompanied by the Chilean drink of choice, Pisco and coke. Needless to say, the 4 of them made up a rather slaphappy crowd, making a scene and living up to each and every obnoxious gringo stereotype there is.  Oh well, they would do it all again if they had the chance. 

Stop 4: Talcahuano
They set out early the next morning for the tour guide's 2nd recommendation; a peninsula to the west of the city called Talcahuano.
Talcahuano is named after an Araucanían chief of the indigenous Mapuche and translates to "Cielo Tronador" or "Thundering Sky".  It marks the mouth of the BioBío River.
It's a HUGE fishing port, so you can find seafood just about anywhere.  To the right is one of the local fish markets along the water that the gringos were bold enough to venture into.  Needless to say, the locals were not accustomed to seeing gringo tourists. (Chilean tourists, yes, but gringos not in the slightest).  However they were delightfully receptive, posing for their pictures and offering them free samples of today's catch.

The group stopped in one of the markets to refuel, anxious to get their hands on some fresh mariscos (shellfish), as many of them live in the campo where the protein of choice is always meat.
To the right, is a typical chilean dish as well called "Mariscal".  It can be served hot or cold, however this gringa was wayyy too scared to try the cold uncooked version.  It includes an assortment of all types of shellfish, octopus, eel and other unidentified sea food topped with cilantro.  The dish comes out sizzling in a hot cazuela where at the very last minute, an egg is cracked across the top and cooks as the dish is being served to the table.


After a more than filling lunch, the gringos continued on where they ran into some men offering to take them around the peninsula on a boat tour.  After some tactical bargaining by yours truly, we boarded the boat and began our tour.  Besides the beautiful view of the harbor and shore, we passed a Chilean Naval base with a ship docked in the harbor left over from the War of the Pacific, along with many shipwrecks that have accumulated from the various earthquakes and tsunamis that strike the region.

Oh yeah, have I mentioned that the entire port is swarming with lobos (sea lions)??  One lonely lion, looking for love in all the wrong places, managed to shimmy himself all the way up to the fish market!! It was a rather startling site as the gringos leaving the market were blocked by an unexpected buddy just hanging out right in the doorway.

Aside from the coast, the entire town is built along rolling hills **Tsunami rule of thumb: head for the hills** (but really, it's written on signs along the entire city)

To conclude their wonderful day, the english speaking pack decided to make their way up the highest hill to get a view from the top.  They were pleasantly greeted by a fully equipped playground at the peak of the cerro, which of course being gringos, they had no choice but to help themselves to.

Another fun night on the town in Concepción followed this lovely day, but this time, the gringos found themselves some Chileans to befriend who took them under their wing and took them out to a huge club smack dab in the middle of suburbia.  

Stop 5: Lota

Needless to say, the next morning started out slow, but it started none the less.  The gringos had to gather their stuff, check out of the hotel, and lug all of their belongings with them to their 5th and final destination, Lota, an old mining town with so many hidden wonders.

Lota is another costal town, located an hour an a half south of Concepcion by bus.  Another town with rolling hills and lined with different colored houses.  It sounds like all of the rest, but Lota is absolutely breathtaking.  Another place where gringos clearly don't belong, but the people of Lota were happy to have us none the less.
First stop, lunch at another market, but this was an even bigger hit!! To start out, Sopapillas with aji (fried dough, my guilty chilean pleasure) with "ponche de mariscos" (a fisherman's drink containing alcohol, shellfish juice and an egg-I still shutter thinking about it, but it's a cultural experience I suppose).  Followed by another serving of Mariscal, and topped off with the most amazing empanada this gringa has ever had in her entire life.  Empanada de jaiva y queso, translation: crabmeat and cheese fried empanada. Amazing.

After lunch the pack set out to explore the city, backpacks and all.  One lesson that was learned rather quickly about Lota: Sunday Funday.  Every local they ran into that day was borracho (drunk), anxious to talk to them and play the 20 questions game, and then personally escort them to where ever they were looking to go. In the particular situation you see to your right, while the gringos were taking cover from the pouring rain they managed to get stuck in, they were invaded by a pack of crazy dogs in heat.  3 males, 1 female quickly turned into more of a gang rape.  Just moments after this photo was taken, they were accompanied by yet another guest; a drunk old man with missing teeth that waltzed up to them pointing and laughing saying "¡Estan mojandose!" Translation: You're all getting yourselves soaked! As if they hadn't already noticed.

On that note, they decided rain, or no rain, it was time for a change of scenery.  Out they went, in search of the beach and a view of the ocean.

This is just a small peak at just how out of place our gringos looked at the moment...

The gringos finally arrived at their destination, atop a gigantic rock formation jetting out into the ocean.  It was here that they posted up to admire the view and reflect on their trip for the remainder of their time in Lota. (That's your'se truly down below!)

And truly what an incredible view it was!

Because all gringos love cliques, it is appropriate to end here stating that they clearly saved the best for last....