Sabor de Chile: crema de aji and yogurt bags

There is a condiment here called crema de aji. It is kind of a cross between ketchup and Tabasco sauce, and I love it. Be warned: in restaurants, the yellow bottle is mustard and the red bottle is crema de aji. Ketchup is in the green bottle. Also, regular mustard is really sweet, almost like honey mustard but without the honey.

I already know I will miss this when I leave

In other sweet food news, if you want to buy yogurt in larger quantities than single-serving cups, it mostly comes in bags. I hope you have some Tupperware. Or that you want a lot of yogurt at once.

Ancud, Chiloé: Lock up your daughters!

The last whistle stop on our Intro to Chile tour was Ancud on the northern side of Chiloé.

In a place known for its rainy weather, we were happy to get partly cloudy with stretches of sun. We wandered through town and along the water, stopping in random museums here and there. Chiloé is known for its prevalent mythology, featuring such characters as the Trauco, an ugly little forest imp with a hatchet, no feet and a sexual magnetism so powerful that no females can resist it. Is your unplanned pregnancy raising awkward questions? Blame the Trauco!

Oh myyy-- somebody hold her back!

There he is again! Resistance...slipping...

The male version of bruja (witch) is brujo. I really wish it were "broja." Ya know, because he's a bro.

A wicker broja in flight.

Other random museums included the info center for all the wooden churches, complete with a very detailed model of each, and a few random windows, doors and other parts that fell off original structures over the years.

What church is complete without a...wagon wheel?

Speaking of parts, here are some blue whale parts from a different museum. Big ones.

At last, it was time for dinner. We had big plans for eating, and I do mean big. Chiloé is also famous for a dish called curanto. There are mussels, clams, two kinds of potato dumplings, more potatoes, pork, chicken, and sausage, as well as some kind of herbs. Traditionally, you dig a hole, throw in some hot rocks and all the ingredients, and cover it up for a few hours. Once it's cooked, you serve it in a big pile with a side of salsa.

So. Much. Food.

Cultural sidenote: when we showed up at the restaurant at about 6:45 p.m., we were the only ones there for almost the entire meal. Not because the restaurant was unpopular, but because 6:45 is so very early by Chilean standards. We were basically eating at 4:30 like senior citizens catching the blue plate special.

After that gut bomb? I...doubt it.

A bottle of wine on the porch of our hostel wrapped up the visit nicely. It was an odd feeling, knowing that the vacation was ending but "real life" was not resuming. There are places that exist between holiday and life as usual, and we would be exploring those places for the next 3.5 months. We were staying in Chile for a while. Salud!

Castro, Chiloé, and the Forks of Glory

4 March 2014

Phase II of the pre-adventure adventure began with a plane ride, bus ride, and ferry ride to the island of Chiloé, famous for its wooden churches, mythology, and seafood cooked in a hole. First, the churches.

Castro is the biggest city Chiloé has to offer. It is also home to the biggest of the 16 UNESCO World Heritage wooden churches built in the Chiloé Archipelago in the 19th century by Jesuit missionaries. The outside certainly looked impressive (and vaguely Minnesotan in color scheme...), but a sign on the locked gate informed us that the inside was closed for cleaning.

 

Disapproving Ninja disapproves of locked churches

The color scheme seemed less outlandish at night.

 



 In the meantime, we walked a circuit around town and admired the palafitos, houses on stilts over the water.

Unassuming front side...

...hiding a secret identity out the back door.

panorama overlooking Castro

We also visited the market, which boasted many handicrafts, fruit, seafood, the most gi-normous garlic I have ever seen, and lots of this:

It's called cochayuyo, it's seaweed, and people eat it. I never figured out how, besides via jars of jam for tourists.

Later that afternoon, Iglesia San Francisco de Castro had finally opened its doors. After the oh-so-Latin American color scheme on the outside, the interior made a stark contrast. They weren't generalizing when they called this a wooden church. The exterior structure, yes, but also the interior, and on a cathedral-sized scale. The sun even made an appearance at last, and between the stained glass and afternoon light on the honey-colored wood, every surface radiated with a warm glow. Simply gorgeous.

 

Lest the place seem too heavenly, there was the usual motley array of statues you find in Latin American Catholic churches.

Mary was tasteful.

 The Archangel Michael vs. Sin was certainly action-packed.

 I thought the Tin Man was an odd choice to include, though.

 

--wait, sorry. He was outside.

And then there was this puzzling statue of Christ carrying the cross:

Jesus is bearing not only the weight of our sin on his shoulders, but also what appear to be three large serving forks in his head.

First reaction: ...whaa...?

On further thought, they are painted gold and forking outward, so I assume they are meant to be rays of glory. They just look like forks.

It got me thinking. Our perception of glory is so flawed, and our ability to recreate it even worse (see above photo), but God accepts our efforts anyway, like any loving father. You drew me a picture? That blue blob on a stick is me? That's wonderful, let's put it on the fridge! I think God has a sense of humor about the forks, and it's a good thing He does. I fork up a lot.

Setting sail for the Nao Victoria

3 March 2014

We spent the morning at the Nao Victoria, a full-scale reproduction of the 16th century ship that was the first to circumnavigate the globe.

But really, are there any non-thematic museums?

This thing was obviously a labor of love, built using period-appropriate techniques and materials, and following the original plans.

 

Kat just about to swab the deck

They set sail in 1519 with a compass, a triangle made out of wood, and some wildly inaccurate maps. I kind of admire that; sometimes you just want to know what's on the other side. In this case, sometimes you just want to make tons of money in the spice trade, but let's assume a spirit of exploration was involved as well.

 

Considering the circumference of Earth, the Nao Victoria seems ridiculously small for a crew of 43 men to live on for three years, like driving around the world in a Winnebago stuffed with 12 people. Of course, most of them died by the end, so that left more space for the others. Yay?

What's a journey without a native and a llama?

 

The steery part of the ship

Captain's cabin. How primitive! Windows XP!

The middle deck of the ship (can't remember the nautical term) was under the deck but above the bottom steerage area, and only about 4 feet high. This was the crew's sleeping/living space, which I found slightly terrifying, and I'm not even claustrophobic.

Nothing more relaxing than a hammock in a box

Naughty crew members were apparently locked up right next to everybody else. Interesting dynamic, I bet.

Stop moaning, Juan! Some of us are trying to sleep

The museum won some sort of award from the government when it opened in 2011 for promoting national identity. Here in 2014, the ship itself is holding up well, but the crew is showing definite signs of neglect, and several were missing. Hey, just like the original voyage! Also, we were the only visitors there.

Avast! I spy me wooden radius! Where be me sleeve??

Maybe this is why it has been so quickly neglected:

Meet the historically accurate full-scale replica of the HMS Beagle, still in progress. I get the feeling that the museum founder really, really loves researching and building historic replicas. What to do with them afterwards is less interesting.

I was going for "salty sea dog." I achieved "I smell old fish."

In any case, if you're going to build Magellan's boat, this is a good place to put it.

When you're in the neighborhood, stop by for a visit. This guy will leave the light on for you.

Here in the earth

The public cemetery in Punta Arenas (Cementerio Municipal de Punta Arenas) contains a fascinating mix of solemn and playful, grand and humble, Spanish and-- Slavic? What's with all the Kusanovic's and Covacevich's?

Sure enough, there were a number of Croatians who emigrated down here in the 19th and early 20th century. Go figure.

There are hundreds of mausoleums laid out in a tidy grid, like a miniature city of the dead. The architectural styles vary widely, even between next-door neighbors. Unlike some living neighbors with different tastes, however, these folks seem to be living in peace. Make that resting in peace.

Italian and French families

Avenida de Pinas: Avenue of Pines

Here are a few of my favorites. First, the Germanest grave I have ever seen, marking the final resting place of WWI's Admiral Graf, complete with a looming black metal eagle, giant shell casings, and for that delicate touch, ribbons in the German flag colors.

Rest in the peace brought only by the supremacy of
Kaiser Wilhelm II

So delicate...so reflective...so explodey

Some looked like standard Western graves, but not many.

A charitable group plot for poor German immigrants

There was row upon row of grave-shaped planters, for lack of a better description, with little inset cabinets in the headstones full of photos or memorabilia. Almost all the graves and mausoleums were family plots for anywhere from two to six or more inhabitants. Many were simple and white:

 

Others were not white.

Or simple.

I am assuming her lawn looked like this in the living years, too

Apparently there was even a grave-sized pyramid somewhere, but I didn't see it. You can tell a lot about a person and their culture by how they are buried. In the Punta Arenas Cemetery I met a man who blew things up for his country, a woman who loved whimsical lawn ornaments, Germans and Croats who literally went to the ends of the earth looking for a better life, and many, many people who wanted to spend eternity surrounded by family. I'll pass on the polka-dot bees, but give me family of all kinds in my forever.

Rough translation: We leave our body here in the earth,
our love in the hearts of men,
and our spirit in the hands of the Creator.