Chiloe, blog 3

Paul and I are up early this morning and since breakfast isn’t until eight, we decide to take a stroll despite the overcast sky. When I walk out of the bathroom, Paul hands me the Kindle and says there is bad news from Dr. Amy about Taz. I immediately begin to cry as I assume that bad news means my cat has died. That isn’t the case but the fact is she is in very bad shape. For some reason her glucose readings were very low and this makes no sense because she was eating and getting her shots. Taz didn’t respond to the initial care from the boarding people nor to the veterinarian’s emergency work on my sick cat when they opened their clinic which is next door to the boarding place. Dr. Amy decided to take Taz back to her clinic in Wamego and see what she could do for her. I email back and say that I know she will do what is right for Taz and give her my permission to use her own judgement on what needs to be done.

Paul asks if I still want to take our walk and I nod my head that I do. I don’t take my camera as it is fairly dark and it appears that we could encounter some rain. It is low tide and in places the gulls and whimbrels are feasting on what was left stranded after the water receded. There also is a turkey vulture hopping around looking for food with the traditional sea birds. I found this a bit odd esp. since it is so early in the morning and vultures normally aren’t active until mid-morning.

At one point we notice a few segments of a splintered sea wall, left over from the tsunami that destroyed a large part of Ancud in 1960 (I think). The tsunami was the result of a strong earthquake that originated near Santiago. There is a plaque acknowledging the United States for their assistance in building the new sea wall that is in place now. It makes you look at the peaceful ocean today and know that it can turn deadly almost without warning.

Breakfast is the usual fare of cereal, breads, fruits, and the offer of eggs. I eat some toast and fruit but I don’t have much of an appetite. Rafa arrives shortly after eight so we gather our luggage and say goodbye to the owners of the hotel. I tell Paul to ride in the front today as with the low light this morning the photo ops won’t be good. Besides, I don’t feel much like conversing and Paul will be able to hear Rafa better if he is sitting beside him.

Our destination this morning is the Chepu River to search for the endangered Southern River Otter or “Hullin” as it is called here. We arrive at the river where there is a very small parking area right next to the dock. There is a man standing there and he motions to the spot that Rafa should park. It is beginning to rain a little and it is chilly so Paul and I put on our rain pants before we climb aboard the boat. Fernando who is the owner of the boat is a cheerful fellow who smiles and hands us our life jackets. The rain begins to fall more steadily so I wrap my camera in the rain cover I brought and place it under the bench seat. Rafa told us yesterday that the weather we experienced was not normal and we shouldn’t get used to it. Looks like he gave us good advice. Chiloe on average receives 60 inches of rain so overcast skies are more the norm then sunshine.

As we cruise down or maybe up the river, Rafa sees a Ringed Kingfisher which is similar to our Belted Kingfisher. After watching the bird for a bit, we continue on at a good clip down the river. We come to a place where the river narrows and the vegetation thickens and our search for the endangered Otter begins as this is where Fernando last saw an otter. The river otters need shoreline that has heavy vegetation and boy does this fit the bill. Paul and Rafa are looking off the left side of the boat and I am searching the water’s edge to the right. Suddenly I hear Rafa excitedly say “that was a Bittern”. I quickly turn to look but it is too late as the secretive bird has flown into the cover of the trees and bushes. Paul saw the Bittern standing on a dead tree just before it took flight. To tell you how rare it is to see a Bittern, later as I look at the list of birds for the Lake area to check the Bittern off (even though I didn’t see it), I don’t see the water bird listed. Rafa tells me that they don’t bother to put the Bittern on the list because no one ever sees it. Oh great, I can’t believe that I missed this elusive bird!

We continue down the river which in places is very narrow but there is no sign of an otter. We break into a wider part of the river where Rafa plays the call of the Many-colored Rush-Tyrant that lives in the thick patches of reeds growing here. Luckily for us a couple of the beautiful but tiny birds come to check out the stranger that is singing to them from our boat. It is impossible to get a photo of the vibrantly colored birds but we certainly enjoy watching them.

It is time to head back, the good news is the rain which has been getting lighter has now stopped falling entirely. Again, we all peer under the trees and bushes that grow in the water on along the edge of the water. At one point I hear a large splash but Rafa sees the Spectacled duck flying away that is responsible for making the noise. I missed that bird too! We take time to admire the flowers, grass and plants that are growing on top of the many dead logs and stumps that are submerged in the river. I am not sure a human could have created a prettier garden if they tried.

As we are nearing the wider part of the river Fernando, who is a master at navigating this river by the way, begins to throttle the engine up since we are leaving prime otter territory. Ahead of us In the distance I see a ripple and a small shape poking above the surface of the water. I half stand and point while saying “what is that”? Rafa looks in the direction I am pointing and declares, “it’s an otter”. The otter is swimming in our direction so Fernando slows down to see what the creature will do. In the mean time Rafa who is smiling widely high fives me and Paul who really wanted to see an otter says “way to go Nancy”.

What happens next is unusual according to our guide. The inquisitive otter swims to our now idle boat and begins a game of hide and seek. Fernando begins to “talk” to the otter and the sound he makes is similar to the grunt of a pig. The otter will surface, take a look at us, submerge, swim under or along the boat before coming up to take another look at these odd things staring at him. It is very hard to get a photo of the otter as he can disappear in an instant but that doesn’t stop me from trying.  Rafa is videoing the rare otter with his phone and we all, (well not Fernando), are walking from side to side and end to end to try to keep tabs with our sleek visitor.  At one point the cheeky fellow stands halfway up out of the water but I didn’t get the photo of that either darn it. The otter is grunting himself part of the time and Fernando’s imitation of the otters’ voice is really good.

I’m not sure how long our curious visitor stays, several minutes for sure, but eventually he retreats to the other side of the river. The otter swims behind a bush and comes almost completely out of the water as he peers through the branches at us. We get a final look at the little fellow as he begins swimming down the river. We all have wide grins on our faces as Fernando fires the boat up and we speed back to the dock. Rafa has told us that the best estimate is that only two or three thousand of the river otters are left. Hunting, habitat destruction and the American mink are some of the reason these personable creatures are disappearing. How did the American mink get here? People brought them in of course and the mink thrived, competing for the same food the otters eat.

Once we dock, we thank Fernando for the great time we had and clamber up to the walkway. As we approach the tiny parking lot, (there is room for about eight cars), we are astonished to find that our vehicle is blocked in by another row of cars. Rafa goes to see if he can find the “parking attendant” in hopes that he has the keys for the car parked behind us. Nope, he doesn’t have them and evidently isn’t very concerned that we are stuck. There are some people walking down the road to the dock and we hope that they are the owners of the car but they aren’t. A boat docks a little while later but they aren’t the car owners either. Rafa and Paul speak with another man and they look at the raised walkway that borders the small parking lot. Paul walks off the width of the walkway and compares it to the width of our vehicle. The three men huddle together and they agree that it might be possible to drive forward onto the wooden walkway far enough and then to maneuver our car to the walkway that is parallel to the car blocking us.

I retreat across the road with several other people who are beginning to take an interest in what is transpiring here. I left my camera in the car darn it but half the time I can’t bear to watch as Rafa drives the car forward, (did I mention that the walkway is elevated from the parking lot by a foot or so?), then cranks it to the left and maneuvers the two left tires onto the parallel walkway. Paul and the other man help direct Rafa in this amazing escape plan while the spectators, including me, are laughing and shaking their heads. At least one person is filming the spectacle with his phone. There is probably a YouTube video out there somewhere. Much to my amazement, Rafa, extricates the car from what looked like an impossible situation. Paul and I climb in the car laughing and shaking our heads at our capable and determined guide. We are due at Fernando’s family restaurant and that is one reason Rafa was so determined to get the car out. He also said that people often take a boat to a beach on the river so they could be gone all day.

We have a wonderful meal at the restaurant, delicious chicken, potatoes and green salad but as usual there is more food than I can consume. The restaurant sits above the Chepu river valley and despite the heavy sky the view is stunning. We do a little bird watching from the yard of the restaurant after lunch and see three Chilean Flickers that are clinging to some dead trees in the distance. On our drive to Castro we see a flock of Slender-billed Parakeets flying in front of us. We have seen these parakeets before but the difference this time is that the noisy birds land in a grove of trees right next to the road. Rafa stops the car and we finally get a really good look at the colorful birds as they feast on the fruits of the trees they have landed in.

Rafa drives to the hostel Palafito Waiwen our abode for tonight. It is really a cool place. There is a whole row of these houses on stilts which allows them to sit over the water when the tide comes in. These Palafitos were once fishermen’s’ houses making it very convenient for them to step out of their stilted houses right into their boats. The Palafitos are now hostels and hotels. We take our luggage to our room which is small but adequate. Rafa is waiting for us when we go downstairs and we proceed to walk to the town square which is probably a mile away.

Our main purpose is to visit the San Francisco church, another wooden church but this one is designated as a UNESCO world heritage sites. Once we near the square you can’t miss the brightly colored church as it towers over the lovely park. The town square is filled with people enjoying the sunshine and each other. Yes, the sun has come out and it is quite warm. The three of us go inside the church where Paul and I marvel at the intricate work that is all made of wood. The huge wooden pillars fascinate me and the multiple arches are beautiful. I sit down on a wooden pew later to just soak in the beauty around me. Paul and Rafa peruse the posters that are set up in rows that are explaining the history of the church, (there are English versions clipped to the side). I take several photos which is allowed as long as you don’t use a flash.

We take our leave of the beautiful church and Rafa points out a super market to us as we want to buy something for supper. Rafa then leaves and Paul and I go into the market to purchase some bread from the bakery, sliced cheese and water. At first the women at the cheese counter try to sell us a big chunk of cheese but after using hand gestures indicating we want something much smaller the friendly women hold up some sliced cheese. We vigorously shake our heads yes at them. This is exactly what we are looking for. We have fruit left from one of our boxed lunches so the apple and a sandwich is all we need for dinner. We enjoy our supper in the community kitchen/dining area. Afterwards I go out on the deck and take photos of the wonderful views and birds. I really like this place.

There is an email from Dr. Amy tonight saying that Taz has slightly improved but now she is running a high temperature which doesn’t make sense to our vet. Dr. Amy is beginning to think that it isn’t the diabetes that is to blame for Taz’s illness but something else entirely. I write back and thank her for keeping me posted and again let her know I trust whatever decision she makes about my big black cat. I also let her know that we will be off the grid tomorrow and most of the next day. I have a flicker of hope for Taz but know her condition is still very bad.  Nancy