October 31: Rest day in Chaitén
My lodging didn't provide breakfast, mostly because I'm the only person staying there. So I went out for a look around a bit before 9 - specifically, looking for somewhere I could find some breakfast. There's two cafes: both shut. Three bakeries: only one looked legit, and it was shut. Supermarkets/shops: there were a handful and they were all closed.
Chaitén is a quiet small town, but it's a Thursday and this seems unusually quiet. And the reason is that today is a holiday: the "National Day of the Evangelical and Protestant Churches", but most people say "halloween". Tomorrow is "All Saints' Day", but the day is also known as "Day of the Dead".
So my breakfast search didn't work out. Things improved when I went out again a bit after 9; I had a coffee and some toast at an excellent cafe called "La Peregrina" (the pilgrim). Plus some cake.
From left to right: coffee and cake success. They even have Patagonia stores here. Nice blue bird, but it flew away when I tried to get a better angle. Day of the Dead themed napkins; I worry Chile’s Day of the Dead traditions are getting mixed with the artstyle from Pixar’s Coco!
I've picked up some breakfast things for the next two days. Tomorrow is also a holiday - and the day after I have to leave early to catch the ferry to Hornopirén.
The rest of the day was bright and sunny and warm. I spent a bit of time walking around town. Chaitén has a good vibe, and in the evening the streets got busy with trick-or-treaters. Just the same as everywhere else in the world, for better or worse: plastic pumpkins for candy, witch hats, vampire makeup. Also some Marvel characters, and I think I saw someone dressed up as Hermione Granger from Harry Potter.
From left to right: sunset. Traditional Chilean dish. Replica of the traditional “dalca” boats. Culverts and bridges alongside every road; hopefully they aren’t needed while I’m here...
On this trip so far I've had snow, wind, and mountains - fortunately one after the other and not at the same time. No rain so far! But that's going to change; on Friday the forecast is for rain and it's around until the end of the ten day forecast. Since the mountains are coming to an end, maybe that's going to be the theme for the last section.
