Working on Illani's farm was a great international experience. Illani has 3 guys who work for her (Hugo represents here), plus, there was Solen (pictured here)land from France, Amber from England, Kate, a California girl who G was in love with and us. Another example of South Americans using what they've got to do what they need to do. And then more beautiful scenery.
For our last week in Chile we joined Bri and Ameen in Villarica on thier WWOOFING farm. The owner is an American woman named Illani who married a Chilean and has lived, for the most part, in Chile since 1965. She is a wonderful, open hearted woman, and the farm and other volunteers were lots of fun. We all had Almuerzo (late day lunch) together every day with at least one toast to celebrate something, anything, but usually the cook! She has 12 horses, so lots of the work is around their care, including riding them every day. The sunsets were beautiful every single night and on clear days we had a view of yet another Volcano - Volcano Villarica.
Our friend Vilma from Argentina came to visit us in Chile. She had shown us some beautiful places in Lago Puelo and we really wanted to return the favor, so we decided to get back on the horse and try a trek back over the treacherous bridges of La Cascada. I was terrified when we got to the bridge where Gabriel fell, but we all made it, and it was well worth the fright. :-)
The not-quite-town of Las Cascadas is fed by a waterfall from Volcan Osorno, and is the main in town attraction. It is a magical fairyland of a place. These pix are from our first attempt. We didn't make it all the way to the falls because Gabriel fell into the river at the last rickety bridge, and I went in after him. We just weren't up for the rest of the hike that day for some reason...
While we were in Las Cascadas we met a lovely American woman named Trina, and her 10 year old daughter Charity. They've lived in Chile for the past five years. Trina owns the local tourismo place and runs the best pizza place in town. Whenever we hired her local guides to take us somewhere Charity came along. She had never rapelled off a cliff this high either, and she was scared, but she did it. Then we scrambled up a crazy steep path to get back to the top. This was Mary's favorite Chile activity. The plant pix are of a cool, fluffy fern that grows only in specific places under the trees. They are air ferns that don't root into the ground. We just thought they were cool.
All around the lakes region there are thermal baths. It seemed like half of them were in the Lago Villarica area, so we took a day off from the farm to check one out. It was right on the river, and if it had been just a little warmer, a dip in the cold river straight from the hot pools would have been great.
Activity: Rapelling down the waterfall (M), Horseback riding (G), Making cheese! (N)
Drink: Fresh milk (N), Manzanilla con Miel - iced (Chamomile with honey tea - comes flavored )(G), Still Mate (M)
Food: Roasted local chicken and vegetables - Mary's triumphant dinner. (M and N), Blackberry crumble (G).
Plant: Giant skunk leaves - Nalca (N, G and M)
Treat: Illani's Mote con Huisillo - a very sweet juice with toasted barley and a whole dried peach in it (G), Amber's berry lemon cake(M), Fresh whipped cream and fruit (N). All of these were in our last week at the farm in Villarica.
Animal: Llamas (M), Sheep and kittens (G), Pollito - Chilean tarantula (N and G).
Place: Field at top of hill above Illani's farm (M and G), Top of Osorno (N).
As we ended our time in Las Cascadas, before heading up to join Bri and Ameen, we decided to take a quick side trip to the Island of Chiloe. We're so glad we did. We got to see penguins and otters, hang out on some beautiful beaches, stay in a cool tower house and, best of all, we met Mile and her family. We're pretty sure Gabriel and Mile were separated at birth. Her mom, Sandra, is Peruvian and her dad is from New York. We are hoping to get to see them this summer when they come to the U.S.
The top picture is a giant jellyfish that washed ashore. It was about 5 feet long.
