On To Valdivia

It was cloudy today and was rainy during the two hour bus ride here. After saying goodbye to Claudia and her daughter, Anna, we left the bus station at 11:35 along with Julie, our French hostel-mate. The journey took us mostly up and down hills on a two lane highway which was a bit scary from the front seats, but totally out of our control. Two rivers come together here in Valdivia and flow into the Pacific Ocean here.



We reported to the AireBuenos hostel we had reserved online, but it was under construction and felt like a fire trap so we quickly ditched it for a more comfortable place a block away, it's literally the home of a couple of older sisters who share their kitchen with you.




The largest supermarket we have visited thus far on this trip is directly across the street from this hostel here in the center of town. Looking through the aisles of stores it's easy to see what foods are important in the Chilean diet. There are rows of mayo, oil, flour... not really different styles, just different packaging. Interesting lack of variety, by our standards anyway.
You think Keith looks like a 'frowning Browning'?! You should have seen the lines! 18 lanes, 6 clients deep, at the very least!





We will be here for three nights moving on to Puerto Varas on Monday, we have our bus tickets already.
There are a couple of day trips we will take from here to the seaside and historical sites nearby. We will also plan to take a boat ride around the harbor. This is university town with many cultural possibilities, it is a special weekend, at least it's advertised on signs around town.

Valdivia was struck by a 9.5 earthquake followed by huge tsunami destruction, not sure on the exact dates, possibly in 1960. We investigate that and post pictures of the estuary caused by the tsunami which is now a bird refuge area.