The Travel Chica

Live Simple. Consume Less. Experience More.

Puerto Varas, Chile: Recovery and Deciding to Let Go

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After my trek to Cabo Froward, I hopped on a plane from Punta Arenas to Puerto Montt.  Thought I would share the photo of the worst airplane meal I have ever had.  Yep, even worse than the crap the US airlines serve.

Chilean Airplane Food

The sandwich was on that same thin, flavorless bread devoid of any nutritional value that they use in Argentina, and I think there was a layer of egg salad and tuna salad.  After one bite, I decided to stop, so I cannot be sure.  And I have no clue what this dry, spongy cake with the fluorescent orange layer of glue on top is called.

Arriving in Puerto Varas

Luckily, I was advised by my friend Jeff from Lengthy Travel (who is probably starting to wish he never met me now that I rely on him for all of my Patagonia travel advice) that Puerto Montt is not very pretty or pleasant, so I hopped directly on a bus to Puerto Varas which is only 30 minutes away.

This is the first time I have had a local bus driver NOT help me get to my destination.

I was the only obvious traveler on the bus with luggage.  I asked him to tell me when to get off the bus.  He didn’t.  We started driving out of town, and I ran up to the front and asked him if we were past my stop.

Yes, we already passed the center of town.

He stopped and let me out.

I had to limp on my swollen feet 1km back to the center of town.

Letting Go of My Inner Planner

I met up with my friend Tim who I met at my hostel in Puerto Natales.  We had plans to rent a car and drive part of the famous Carretera Austral.  But our third person dropped out, and it is just too damn expensive to rent a car in Chile.

To be honest, I was still in a funk from my traumatic, near-death experience (I really don’t think I’m exaggerating here).

I was okay to do whatever Tim wanted to do.

And that is when after 14 months of travel, I let someone else drive my travel plans.

I’m kind of a loner and don’t like to compromise.  But in my weakened state, I just wanted to have a little fun and companionship and not have to try and figure it all out on my own.

Of course, I already knew from our time stranded in Puerto Natales that Tim and I were compatible personalities and that we would have lots of fun.

Because Tim is all about having fun.

We decided to keep our travel plans simple.  Spend two nights in Puerto Natales for me to recover.  Then take a bus to Island Chiloé, and at some point make our way to Valdivia.  I have always planned to visit Valdivia, but I never planned to go to Chiloé.  But I am no longer in charge.  I am just along for the ride.

This is perhaps the most laid-back about traveling I have been during my entire travel sabbatical.

And I’m excited about it.

I will leave you with a few photos I managed to get of Puerto Varas during the small amount of time I stopped soaking and elevating my feet and recounting my horror story to anyone in the hostel who would listen.

Puerto Varas

 

If you are a control-freak loner like me, have you ever decided to let someone else do the travel planning? How did it turn out?

 

Travel Tip: Tim got to Puerto Varas before me and did lots of day trips to the surrounding towns.  If you have the opportunity, it seems like a great place to settle down for a bit and explore the nearby sights.

Comments

  1. You poor thing! I was a little confused reading the first part since I’ve always had pretty decent meals on LAN – usually on domestic flights you get a little Havana snack box – but as soon as I saw the Sky cup I realized why the food was so awful.

    I’ve yet to visit Chiloé, so I’m looking forward to seeing your pictures.
    Emily in Chile recently posted..Saturday in Santiago: Madame Tusan

  2. Never, haha. No, once in awhile John has total control and that usually is more fun, I’ll admit =) Though we don’t necessarily see everything when he’s driving. Trying to think of what we did in Puerto Varas – it rained a lot. I definitely remember that church!
    Andrea recently posted..Photography: 7 Super Shots

  4. Hello fellow control-freak :) Between Marco and me, I am the total planner. What can I say, I like to plan and be prepared… but you’re right, sometimes, when you have no influence on what happens, you have the most fun :)

  5. Great website and get post. I am a planner so I like to know where I am going and be prepared. love the pictures especially the last one of what I think might have been a church?

  8. So far I always planned everything, from transportation, over hotel up to sightseeing I was always in charge. People expect me to know everything as a travel blogger. Here, in Thailand I told my friend to take all my guide books and plan everything… I’m just going to go with her and take notes… Will see how this works :)
    Sebastian recently posted..Photo Of The Week: Donkey in Melnik, Bulgaria

  10. Thanks for sharing your travel experience and pictures! And about the food served in airplanes, i have had experiences like you when the food do not look tempting at all. I wish you all the best in your traveling plans and look forward to read more about your travels.
    rashmi recently posted..Vacation Planning Extravaganza

  11. I wonder what percentage of solo travelers (or travel bloggers) are control oriented (I will refrain from using the word “freak”). Probably pretty high. I actually hate planning and gladly give up the control anytime I can find someone willing to take the reigns for something I am interested in doing. And, since I am usually up for anything that isn’t that hard. I even tagged along with you in Buenos Aires multiple times thanks to your kind offers and my planning laziness. I am sure that far offsets any small amount of Patagonia advice I may have had to offer.
    Jeff recently posted..Travel Video: Iguazú (Iguaçu) Falls

  12. You know, it always astonishes me that airlines serve such horrid food. How hard can it be to just whip up a big batch of whatever the local specialty/staple is and serve that instead? I’m sure it’d be cheaper and it would be serve as a great promotion for that country. I’d rather eat tasty local food than whatever bland version of Western food they come up with!
    Wanderplex recently posted..3 romantic spots in Italy (to enjoy when you’re single)

  14. You’re right, Puerto Varas IS a great spot for checking out the surrounding area.

    I don’t remember ever having to rely on someone else’s planning but would probably just go with the flow.
    Our own planning usually involves checking out a place before we arrive and then following our feet once there.
    South America ME recently posted..10 years and big news

  15. My planning depends on who I’m with. If i’m with a freakishly organised planner, I’m happy to let them get on with it. If not, I’ll generally throw something together myself. As long as I get time to wander aimlessly with my camera, I’m happy 😉
    Laurence recently posted..7 Super Shots

  17. Sorry about what you had to go through. At least you got good pictures out of it! Traveling with a buddy hopeflly will be better next time. Maybe spontaneity will make a difference for you?

  19. I just went on a weekend away with a guy and I didn’t plan anything at all! Even left my lap top and camera at home … the weekend was relaxed and for once I didn’t plan my activities around what I would blog about … and it was great!

    Glad you were able to chill out and rest up after your hike. :)
    Cheryl recently posted..It’s A Dog Life’s In Costa Brava.

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