Valdivia - is this really Chile's nicest city?
Trip Start
Apr 05, 2008
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86
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Trip End
Mar 20, 2009
Valdivia,
Lake District,
Chile
Saturday, November 15, 2008
As we were keen on going over the Siete Lagos route (7 Lakes) we decided that as you can do this from San Martin this would be the ideal way for us to get to Bariloche. Next question - how do we get from Valdivia to San Martin, this proved a little more tricky as we wanted to avoid back tracking to Pucon. We had read about a route through the Hua Hum pass where you take a bus and then a ferry which is meant to be as picturesque if not more than the Puerto Montt / Bariloche route. We decided to go forward to Valdivia onto San Martin having read that Valdivia is Chile's nicest city with a German background and quaint German breweries which painted a vision in our minds of old colonial charm
Kunstmann Brewery
. On arrival to Valdivia our initial impressions were questionable as to if this truly was Chile's nicest city as there didn't seem to be much to it. In fact driving in on the outskirts it was reminiscent of Dannevirke. After eventually finding a hostel we went off to sort out getting out of here. Further investigation of the Hua Hum pass border crossing proved easy enough to get to the Chilean border but after many phone calls and internet searches we still had no clear idea of if there was a bus on the Argentinean border to San Martin. The idea of being stranded was not appealing given that the border is in the middle of a national park so we found ourselves with a bus ticket in hand back tracking via Pucon. As the earliest escape was Sunday I picked up a brochure of what to do in Valdivia in 48 hours - maybe there is more here than meets the eye.The next morning, after checking in to a different hostel, one overlooking the river, we set out in search of some bikes. Gareth managed to get a bike not only with a comfy seat but also with gears, mine was lucky just to have brakes. Our first stop was to see the local seafood and produce market down on the waterfront with musicians playing and local Artisans selling their wares. The merchants were incredibly friendly so I soon found myself laden with bags of fruit. We set out across the bridge to Isla Teja bound for the coast and the little town of Neblia. It was a long 20km cycle especially up all the hills with no gears, it started feeling like a spin class - one I haven't been to in a long time
The beer sampler
. Gareth on the other hand was just cruising along making the most of having gears and grinning back at me. The cycle was along a spectacular route following the river to the coast. We found a great restaurant for lunch in a native forest setting and enjoyed chilling out there with great food and superb hosts. After lunch we further explored more hidden beaches and at one point looking out over a view point with pine trees and flax we had to remind ourselves where we were, it was such a typical shot of New Zealand. Having had problems with my bike chain in that it kept coming off we managed to find a bus to take us part of the way back to where the Kuntsmann Brewery is located - after all the wine tours it was time to try beer. This is the only brewery we came across in Valdivia let alone finding any of the quaint Colonial buildings and restaurants we had envisioned. We sampled their full range of beers and I found myself liking some surprising ones. There were 7 types of beer; 2 Lagers, 3 Ales, 1 black beer and one which can only be described as drinking liquid honey (Cerveza Miel). GT enjoyed the unfiltered Lager whilst I loved the Bock (black beer), it tasted like a cold espresso so much so I kept expecting to get a caffeine buzz after every sip. The other close contender was the Gran Torobayo, an Ale where the yeast is imported from Germany and it tasted like toasted caramel. With a glow on our cheeks we set off on our bikes for the home stretch, we'd definitely done enough sightseeing for one day, covering the recommended 48 hours worth. So is Valdivia really Chile's nicest city? After exploring it further we can certainly appreciate the appeal especially along the river and out around the coast, it's an ideal summer vacation spot whether you're camping or in cabins and we met some of the nicest people here. The center of town though lacks the old colonial charm the guide books all dribble on about, it's just another university city, just head over the bridge for the coast and there you'll find it's beauty. 
