Off into the hinterland - Lago Ranco

As mentioned in the last blog, peaceful street protests take place during the day and you can move around safely. Only at night do a few angry Chilenos roam around causing some vandalism. The majority of the population drums with spoons on frying pans at night to demonstrate their dissatisfaction during the "Toque de Queda" (curfew).

Due to the paralysis of public administration, the university has been closed for the entire week. In fact: unusual freedom for me. In combination with fantastic weather forecasts and my "hornets in my behind" (quote from Yannik), I explored the area and ran an average of 15-20 km per day. I am quite impressed with myself and well prepared for my big hiking trip, which starts next week.

Tuesday at 10 PM, my German friend Julia calls me: Hey Frieda, I spontaneously got two days off, do you want to go to "Lago Ranco" tomorrow? So why not, this huge lake is in the hinterland and therefore no unrest is expected there, and you can finally get out of the city and really unwind from the protests. (Funny fact: Julia comes from Frankfurt Oder, went to the same school as my cousin, and we met at an English Meet-Up here in Valdivia. How small the world is!)

The next day we are on the bus to Futrono. When we arrive, we realize that we seem to be the only tourists. The city is actually a resort for Chilenos in the summer and because of the protests, not many people dare to travel. Maybe that's why the owner of our hostel didn't realize that we had booked. So we had to clarify by phone that we would like to stay here and he cleared the house just for us. The rest of the day we explored the city and the surrounding beaches. As soon as the sun appears, it really burns mercilessly on shoulders and face. Even if you put on SPF 50 sunscreen, it feels uncomfortable. Maybe the ozone layer is much thinner here than in Europe, but in any case, you have to apply sunscreen, otherwise, you will have red skin. But the sun also has its advantages for crazy girls ;). A quick dive into Lago Ranco and a photo shoot was included.

To finish the day, we finally found a restaurant after a long search (because we are the only tourists) that served us delicious salmon.

The next day started relaxed, with breakfast at the hostel, which was even included (I had never experienced that before). Last night we completely changed our plans because visiting a national park was only possible by car. So we tried hitchhiking to another town on the other side of the lake. Wow, how exciting, my first time hitchhiking. Conclusion: in Chile, it's super easy, on average every 3rd car stops because it's just normal here. Actually, you don't have to be afraid, you just have to use common sense when choosing a vehicle. We had super sweet conversations and learned something about the country and its people.

In general, Chilenos take much more time for small conversations and are much more open than us Germans. So we had to convince our waitress at the restaurant yesterday not to take the day off tomorrow to accompany us to the national park. I can only advise you to take the time for such small talk, you can learn so much from them.

On the way around the lake, there were two beautiful waterfalls, for which we also took some time. Plus, the mountainous landscape around Lago Ranco with its gigantic vegetation, radiant sunshine, and a little road trip. Folks, that's what freedom feels like! I felt pure happiness in that moment.

In the early afternoon, we arrived in the aforementioned village, that was quick. We even had time to walk to a viewpoint overlooking the lake and the surrounding national park. Vale la pena! (It's worth it,) Breathtaking views, even of a more distant volcano.

We had covered half of the return journey when Chileans we met up at the mirador stopped with their pickup. On the rest of the trip, we got to ride in the cargo area. Wind in our hair and Lago Ranco in front of us, it was a perfect end to our short vacation. Pure euphoria.

Alive!

Finally, we bought some empanadas and then took the bus back to Valdivia before the curfew started.

What have I learned? I think a lot: spontaneous trips are the best. Sometimes you have to be a bit crazy and dare to do something. Overall, you will ultimately get where you want to go. There's really no reason to be afraid of strangers or a foreign culture, you should get to know them. Take time for conversations and the lovely people around you. It's not important what you do, but rather enjoying what you do.

Frieda (25.10)