Leaving for the Chiloé Archipelago

Chile, South America awaits my welcome in less than 24 hours. It's a country that has returned to democracy for the last 18 years and has made many strides in technology and politics. The county was the first to elect a female President from 2003-2006 and the number of people living below the poverty line has been reduced to under 5%, that's less than the US.

Having read so much material about the country, I can attest there are 101 reasons to visit and I'm not even there yet. Because Santiago is below the equator, their seasons are opposite to us so they're breaching their summer season while we are exiting ours. I'll make sure to bring exactly the same clothes I'm wearing now.

The biggest day of the year is tomorrow, Sept. 18th, when the country celebrates its Independence Day. The festivities continue for a week with a party called a fonda or ramada that brings together communities to eat empanadas and drink chicha (fermented corn drink).

I'll be arriving from Atlanta, a 9 hour flight, into Santiago and continuing onto Puerto Montt, a port city and commune in southern Chile. The trip revolves around the Los Lagos Region, a gateway to Chiloé Island and several smaller islands in Chile's inland sea.

My dear friend Denise was worried about my safety in Chile. Over a bottle of vino and roasted marshmallows tonight, I assured her that from a health standpoint, Chile is one of, if not the safest, country in South America. The water is safe to drink, food-borne diseases are rare, violent crime is rare and catcalls are common but harmless.

The peso/dollar exchange is still in our favor and credit cards are accepted nearly everywhere. ATMs are omnipresent so no need to even bring cash. Spanish is not my strong suit, I favor French and German, but I'll make due with my small phrase book.

I'm already learning that "cachai" and "al tiro" is slang for "get it" and is repeated often. Others useful expressions include "¿Habla usted inglés" and "No habla español", I've already aced those.

Chiloé is a 41-island archipelago that is as isolated from the country by as much as 1 mile. Only 130,000 indigenous cultures populate 35 of the rainy islands. I've been told that rich folklore and mythological spirits rule most of the islands but it's the Magellanic and Humboldt penguins on the island of Puñihuil that dominate. Adventures begin on Puñihuil but continue swiftly onto The Cliffs Preservein Patagonia, an eco-friendly retreat with a temperate rainforest and the famous Andean Alerce tree.

The tree-hugger in me is ecstatic to squeeze these giant sequoias, many up to 4,000 years old so I, most likely, won't be the first! It's the largest tree species in South America, growing to almost 200 feet tall and 16 feet thick. The leaves are big enough to simulate an umbrella should an unexpected spring storm open up.

The lake region offers one of the country's finest and wildest scenery imaginable, it's almost untouched in some areas. Should I stumble upon an endemic species not yet discovered I'll have my trusty Sony EX3 with me to record the moment.