After Chiloé, we stopped off for a night in the pretty river town of Valdivia where three rivers meet just inland from the coast.
We got there late and after escaping the clutches of the talkative hospedaje owner (a hospedaje is like a bed and breakfast), we only had a few minutes of light to admire Valdivia's chief attractions: the sea lions. And they are so cool! I just couldn't get over how much they look like lions. The male ones could be stand-ins for the lion in the Wizard of Oz (so long as it wasn't a scene where walking was required). I'm not sure how the sea lions happened upon Valdivia, given it is not on the coast, but it is heaven for them. There is a large fish and seafood market on the riverfront, and the fishmongers throw the sea lions the fish scraps.
We spent a good portion of the next day watching them. It was a lovely little ecosystem with the blue-eyed cormorants and vultures cleaning up what the sea lions didn't want. The only other thing we did in Valdivia was shop at the market and go to the university botanical garden. We bought the strange regional fruit recommended by the hospedaje owner called chupón that looks like miniature batons (seriously weird) that you eat the white bit of and chicha which is a sort of cider made from apples. Neither were fantastic, but good to try. The closest match in taste to a Chupón would be a bitter lychee but in form, it is out on its own. The botanical garden had a big sign prohibiting lying on the lawn or picnicking. What else does one do in a park? Ball sports were out too. That left jogging, and we weren't doing that. So we were naughty and had a picnic lying down. But we made a special effort to pee in the bushes and pick the wild blackberries, two things not on the 'thou must not' sign, though Mark did point out that eating the berries was in effect, removing seeds from the garden. Oh well.
It is not the first time in South America we have come across such (seemingly pointless) strictness. In Argentina you can sleep overnight at the bus terminal, so long as you don't lie down. The security guards will go as far as righting you if you slump to far over. It's ridiculous. The only thing that pissed me off about Valdivia was the hospedaje would not let us leave our bags there for the day so we had to lug them back to the bus station and pay for storage. It is such a standard thing, we didn't ask. More thumbnails ...
Where I stayed:
Hospedaje Carlos Anwanter
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