Chilling in Chillan

I almost missed my train because I was trying to take this photo of the cute uniformed girls. That will teach me...

I heard my alarm this morning, thankfully.   I showered, packed up, enjoyed a final breakfast at Casa Chueca, and checked out.

In hindsight, I was dumb not to check my bill.  The total cost of room, breakfasts, dinners, bike rental, and beer/wine for the 2 days was 61,000 Chile pesos (about $95 US).  This seemed like a lot to me but then maybe I´ve already been in South America too long.  

That said, my money problems continue - Casa Chueca didn´t take Visa!  And I didn´t have enough Chile pesos!  So we had to do a combination of 40,000 pesos (all I had) and $35 US.

Produce at the market in Chillan.

Also, my logistical challenges continue.  My train was at 955am and I had to allow time to call a taxi, wait for the taxi, and drive to the train station.  Talking with Nichole over breakfast, we planned out the timeline required.  And at 830am, I was feeling ok about the timing.  But for some reason eating, paying, etc took longer than expected and suddenly it was 905am by the time anyone called the taxi for me.  So then I waited for him to show up.  And waited.  And waited.  Finally at 935am he showed up.  I explained to him that I was in a hurry to make my train.  Well, he flew down the dirt road and weaved in and out of traffic.  We got to the station at 953am!  I had saved 10,000 pesos for the taxi ride - which turned out to only cost 4,000.  But of course, he didn´t have any change either!  The important thing is I made my train.

Beans anyone?

I spent the 1.5 hours on the train trying to figure out my plan for the next few days.  I was beginning to  realize that the Lakes Region in Chile has a lot to offer and it would be nice to spend a bit more time here.  But I have the fixed date with my Navimag boat.  So I have to keep pushing on.  I´d like to go to Pucon - heard great things about it - but will have to save that, maybe for a snowboarding trip sometime.  

I decided to stick to my original game plan and cruise the markets of Chillan by day, and then take the overnight bus to Puerto Montt.  From there, I might go back up to Frutillar or Puerto Varas as a day trip.

Me being ghetto.

I spent the afternoon today at the huge market in Chillan.  Lots of everything - produce, meats, fish, arts and crafts, flowers, etc.  I stopped for lunch and enjoyed my first "completo" (italiano version, i guess), which was a hot dog smothered in tomatoes, guacamole, and some kind of mustard-mayo blend.  Whew.  A heartstopper.  But when in Rome....

I also took a walk along Avenida O´Higgins (seems like every town has a street named after Chile´s liberator) to Chillan Viejo to see the birthplace (well, birth neighborhood) of O´Higgins. Had fun doing some self portraits, too.

I spent the early evening in an internet cafe, emerging only to find that most of the restaurants had closed.  Strange.  After doing several laps around town, I finally stumbled on a tiny place that was basically a woman cooking in her kitchen and serving it to people on the streets over a counter top.  So I dived in and ordered a churrasco - sort of like a steak sandwich i guess.  While she cooked it, I sat at the counter and talked to her young daughter, who was learning to count to 10 in English.

Afterward - now about midnight - I said hasta luego and boarded my overnight "sleeper" bus to Puerto Montt.