June 4 is my mom's birthday and what better way to say feliz cumpleaños than to post the epic tale of my parents' week-long visit to Chile. In early April my mom (who henceforth will be referred to as "Mom") and Carlos (my stepdad, who henceforth will be referred to as "Carlos") took a break from the hustle and bustle of their busy, doggie-dominated daily lives to visit me on the other side of the world.
This was the first time I've had my parents visit me while abroad. While I've hosted visitors before (see archives) both in Chile and Japan, at various times of the year, each time has been a completely unique experience. This one was no different and definitely the most comfortable/classiest and tastiest visits of them all.
When my parents travel, the trip revolves around food and given that I've spent the past nine months starving myself, surviving mostly off of hot dogs, ham-and-cheese sandwiches and cheap beer, I was more than willing to comply with their restaurant-heavy itinerary.
They arrived at 7am on a Saturday. Lovely. Even lovelier was the fact that I'd been covering the KISS concert the night before and had been up all night finishing the article. So on no sleep, running on fumes and mate, I showed up frantic and an hour late to pick them up from the airport. When I arrived, they had just gotten through customs and I laughed at myself for forgetting that everything in Chile runs an hour behind schedule.
We had a flight scheduled to Puerto Montt that same night, so we spent the rest of the day taking in the sights of Santiago: Plaza de Armas, La Vega, Mercado Central, Lastarria. Laura (my lovely media naranja) assisted me in my tour guide duties, joined us for the rest of the trip and hit it off with the fam (yes, even with my mom; a feat that many a customer service representative have crashed and burned upon attempting).
We caught the plane that night after a much needed afternoon nap (in the filthy, piss-stained house I currently reside in) and got into Puerto Montt late and went right to bed. A big bed, with a TV in front of it and clean warm blankets on top of it. I'd forgotten how nice hotels are. It's great traveling with parents, especially when you're broke.
After multiple failed attempts at renting a car, and cursing myself for not remembering that everything is closed on Sundays in Chile, we took a cab to Puerto Varas in the late afternoon and set up camp at the luxurious Solace hotel for the next few days. Wonderful establishment. Highly recommended if you have the means and are in the area.
Puerto Varas and the lakes region was one of the most beautiful places I've seen in Chile. I realize I'm not the first person in the world to state that, but I'll reiterate it none the less. We rented a car (which we conveniently found available two doors down from our hotel) and drove around Lago Llanquihue. Stopping to eat, pick berries and apples and trespass onto beautiful somewhat vacant property.
The next day, it was time to fish. Carlos and I hit the river with our fly-fishing guide early in the morning, leaving the ladies on their own to drive around and most likely sample every type of chocolate available in the region.
We were pretty much the only boat on the river and fished the whole day. I, a novice fly-fisher, got some lessons (much more difficult than it looks, and it looks pretty difficult) and Carlos got to revisit his zen fly-fishing state. I forgot my camera, so while it would've been nice to have some pictures of the beautiful scenery, or one of those standard son/dad-holding-fish-on-a-boat shots, I'm almost glad I did. We were able to sit back and soak everything in. It was something that I'll always remember and the kind of beauty that can't be captured in photos.
That night, we ate at La Olla, a restaurant that came highly recommended and whose praise I will shout with all my mite. We ate at some excellent restaurants during this trip, but for me La Olla was the best. They specialize in sea urchin and serve mammoth-sized portions. I ordered a seafood sampler type plate that the server assured me was for one person. She must've meant one-hundred persons. I felt so bad leaving so much good food on the table.
We spent the rest of our time exploring the various lakes, waterfalls, mountains and rivers in the area and left Puerto Varas sad to be leaving, but ecstatic to have gone.
"Did they teach you to apologize at lawyer school? Cause you suck at it!"--Brian Cox's character in Erin Brockovich
(the trademark Carlos twist)
We only had a couple of days left, so we spent the time seeing more sights in Santiago and then journeying to Valparaiso for their final day before they caught their flight home that night. We enjoyed Valpo, but it could've been better (I hate tour guides).
The general consensus was that it had been an excellent week. We ate well. Saw nature. Saw the city. Saw the ports. Went fishing. About as much as you can hope for in a one-week vacation. Mom and Carlos loved Chile and I was reminded of how lucky I am to be living in such a unique and beautiful a country; and more so, how lucky I am to have these people as parents.
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