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Squint your eyes on most any corner of Valdivia, and you can imagine you’re in Germany. You might see German homes that seem straight out of Bavaria, complete with sloping roofs and shutter windows; signs with German names; gothic German churches;…Continue reading→

An excerpt from my novel-in-progress: However, all extended vacations eventually tarnish. As her daughter’s family eased back into their normal routines, Pamela had to entertain herself. Without a car, her outings consisted primarily of long walks to downtown Valdivia. Once there,…Continue reading→

The Town: In 1552, at the time of Valdivia’s founding, a cohort of Pedro de Valdivia journeyed to a large inland lake and established a fort on its banks. Both became known as Villa Rica (‘rich village’) for nearby gold and…Continue reading→

In my novel-in-progress, Clara Valle studied Chilean history before she began to take her own journeys through time. How that could happen … well, no one really knows for sure, though opinions abound. Her historic travels are, without doubt, strange events….Continue reading→

A bit of history: Jesuit missionaries arrived on the island of Chiloé in the early 1600s for the purpose of evangelizing the Huilliche inhabitants of the region. No population was too small: not only did they reach out to those living…Continue reading→

Wrapped in fog and lush vegetation, Chiloé Island is a brooding place of mystery and mythical creatures. Two characters in my novel-in-progress come from there — the long-suffering girlfriend and mother of the son of tour operator Pete Snyder, a man…Continue reading→

A bit of legend: In the early 1500s, survivors of a Spanish shipwreck off the Strait of Magellan — starving, haunted by the cold and hunted by the fierce inhabitants of the region — made their way north in the shadow…Continue reading→

I don’t want to overdo the ends-of-the-earth image (refer to the last post if you don’t know what I’m talking about), HOWEVER, the forts that once protected the city of Valdivia were known at the time as ‘los fuertes al final…Continue reading→

Al fin del mundo / to the ends of the earth … The phrase itself conjures up romance and mystery, a lonesome, exotic, and breathtaking destination. Such a place resonates with people from all walks of life. For example, the Argentinean…Continue reading→

One list of GREAT THINGS TO DO IN VALDIVIA includes a ride on El Valdiviano, a steam-powered train transporting passengers to three towns along the Calle-Calle River. Unfortunately, the train only operates during summer months; fortunately, one day remained to climb…Continue reading→