Dec10 DAY 22 Tenaún

Beth left in the afternoon for a boat heading south and I needed to plan the next leg of my trip. All that was certain was my contentment to spend another night in Tenaún. My next step was not an obvious one. I was hoping to get to a small village, Raul Marin Balmaceda, across the Gulf of Corcovado but the price of bringing the rental car over and back was prohibitive and space on the next ferry already full anyway. There was also the option of taking the car back to Puerto Montt, returning by bus to the south of Chiloé then taking a ferry from Quellón to Raul Marin-but this idea did not particularly please me.
For the moment I thought it best to take advantage of the day. I took a walk through this charming village of one main street, a restaurant which was closed, three shops, some homes and the church, dwarfing the other structures, with blue stars to mark the exterior. The sound of the sea was ever present. Continuing onto a road that rose high above with a view of the islands, I espied the cows and sheep and they espied me. After my walk, I took a pause to enjoy the sun and write at a table outside the shop where I had bought a drink. The owner came out, a short time later, offering me a piece of homemade “kuchen”(cake) and it wasn’t long before an elderly man came by to join me. He was a long time resident and poet; together we enjoyed some conversation and the warmth of the day.

Returning to the hospedaje with my traveling plans still unsettled, I was offered an unexpected solution. A lovely Austrian couple proposed to travel together the next two days then taking the car back to Puerto Montt while I unencumbered could reserve a place on the ship from Quellon. In addition, a Chilean couple staying at our hospedaje contacted some friends in Raul Marin and organized my stay.