[written on 01/14/22]
Approaching a lush green forest, Julián and I stepped outside on the outer deck of the fairy. I tightly wrapped my scarf around my neck and face just so my eyes could peak out. The cold breeze felt good after a month in hot Mendoza. Arriving in Chaitén at 10pm was unexpected but beautiful because we arrived with the backdrop of a orange and pink sunset. The Workaway host agreed to pick us up as well which I was thankful for as I didn’t have service upon arrival and the cabins lay 12 km outside of town. The owner is a peculiar man. I’ve learned that his tone of voice does not match his message and it’s hard for me to follow his Chilean Spanish. Nonetheless, a kind man with a bit of a hoarding problem.
We entered a cabin to be greeted by the other volunteers, 4 Chileans, cooking French fries just for us. I quickly bonded with this group due to their welcoming personalities and I love the Chilean slang they use. We work from 10am-3pm and then go adventure Chaitén and the surrounding forest after. We always cook meals together, hitch hike, and stay up until 3am talking. We’ve connected so much that we decided to go to Futaleufu together and rent a cabin.
Being in the forest, in cold weather, with a black sand beach nearby and fog hovering over green mountains in the distance has absolutely revived my soul! I’m realizing how healing nature is for me.
Going to Futaleufu was the best decision we could have made — it’s an absolute paradise filled with cows, turquoise water, mountains, and lots of sunshine. The owner at the cabins in Chaitén was a little upset we were leaving and told us there’s so much more to do in Chaitén and that we’ll get bored over in Futa. I think he’s just jealous he doesn’t live there. Working for him was fine, the cabins were really cool but most of the time I found myself reminiscing on how I’d love to stay here with a group of friends instead of cleanup after a group of friends! I figured 3 months of cleaning up after travelers was enough and couldn’t wait to be the guest in Futa.
The 3 hour bus ride had beautiful scenery but we were cooking inside the bus. It was basically a rolling oven and unexpected from chilly Chaitén. The ocean breeze really does a lot. There also weren’t enough seats so I found myself sitting on top of my friends’ laps or on the ground next to the bus driver.
The cabin we rented was perfect and quaint, right by a path that lead to the river that we swam in most days after our long hikes! It was perfect. The town reminded me a little of Missoula but smaller. I was grateful to be there and to realize I’ve lived in such beautiful places, similar to this one, my whole life. I’ve been lucky enough to explore the Pacific Northwest of the states, which with the nature access, has some of the prettiest sites I’ve ever seen.
The 3 nights in Futa flew by and then we returned to Chaitén to spend the night before catching a ferry back to Puerto Montt the next day. Unfortunately, I can down with some illness on the bus ride back and lacked energy to do anything besides sleep. We were going to hitch hike back to the cabins to stay for free because we never actually got our 2 free days after the week of working but the 10 mile walk with my bags seemed too daunting for my throbbing stomach. I also realized that I had money to pay for a hostel in town for the night and I didn’t need to suffer if I didn’t want to. I know that I’ve worked hard to save up money for this trip and so that now I can accept times to relax. The group decided to go that route too and we ended up negotiating for a cheaper rate. After being in Futa, Chaiten seemed like a dark ghost town. But maybe that was just my sickness talking…
It was great to be surrounded by so much Spanish this week, or rather this month. I haven’t spoken any English aside from phone calls back home. The Chilean slang did exhaust my brain cells at times and I found that especially when I got sick, I just wanted some English. But I think everyone is more irritable when sick. Nonetheless, I’m grateful to have met Denisse, Titi, and Tommy, and hope that they have the best travels. Now onto Torres del Paine!