MORE DISCOVERIES IN CONTAO

Saturday, January 23, 2010

I had a little accident; Last night  when we were sitting outside, I took a picture with the self timer, and the camera fell on the rocks. This morning I was not able to access the pictures I took yesterday; They’re all scrambled. I am very disappointed, because yesterday was one of our best days. We saw so many interesting things. I am more disappointed not having any pictures of Contao for Barney and Joan.

But we have learned, that there is always a reason for everything and that out of everything bad comes something good. I suggest we go back to Contao today and start all over again. Ramiro does not need to be convinced. We visit the same places we visited yesterday and discover the house of Ramiro’s uncle Wolfgang Stangl, where Ramiro lived for a year or so when he was still single.

We also identify the houses of the American employees in the village.
Ramiro wants to drive the 15 kilometers back to Quildaco to find Honoria. As we enter her yard, she walks up to us and tells us, she already knew we would be back and is so happy to see Ramiro. It is a very emotional moments for both of them. They talk about the time she worked for Barney and Joan and Ramiro for BIMA. Honoria tells us how heartbroken she was when all Americans left for political reasons.

Under control of the Socialist Government, the company operations continued with management appointed by the Government. Ramiro left Contao soon after the Government took over, knowing someone would be after his job.

In a few year’s time, BIMA went through a dozen different managers. As soon as the first one was settled in, the next one was already appointed. It was a mess.
With these political appointments there was no interest in the welfare of the company. It was put up for sale and changed hands three or four times. The last owner went bankrupt and auctioned off all equipment, buildings, land and company houses.
All that remains is the concrete foundation and the old shop.

Honoria continues to talk about the town and its people. Most people left, but she knows of one person who returned. His name is Carlos Schulz.
She tells us where to find Carlos.

After admiring Honoria’s organic garden and green house, we leave with a fresh head of lettuce and heartfelt hugs, back to Contao, where we find Carlos’ wife at home, tending their small store. She tells us Carlos is painting the church and calls him on his cell phone. It takes him only a moment to come home. In a small village such as this. the word spreads quickly. The whole town knows two Canadians are in town, asking lots of questions and looking for certain people. Some even know that the one Canadian is Ramiro Contreras. When this news reaches Carlos, he recognizes the name right away and is happy to see him and invites us into the house.

Not much of the original town is left, after a fire destroyed the company guesthouse, the store, warehouse and company office.
Newer homes have replaced the old ones and many new homes are being build, as well as a brand new tourist information office, on the corner of the road leading to the beach and carretera Austral.

Ramiro writes down a few more names and telephone numbers of former friends who have moved away.

It is time for us to move on. We stop at the ferry to Puerto Montt to inquire about its departure time which is every forty minutes. With the strong wind today and the enormous number of giant horseflies it is not appealing to prepare lunch from the car and decide to eat at the little restaurant serving the ferry passengers. Ramiro orders empanadas and I have Churasco without the bread. (This thin slice of very flavorful beef with tomatoes and avocadoes is a very good filler for my empty stomach).

We also find what we have been looking for all these weeks. Music for the car. A young man has a large case full of copied music; Three for two thousand Pesos (less than $5.00) Pretty good deal I would say. We make our selection by listening to some of the CDs.
Now we need to decide which direction we will take. We have the option to take the ferry at Puelche or take the big detour through the mountains along estuary Reloncavi, via Puelo. We take the road and don’t regret it. It is all gravel but the view is like one enormous postcard. We cross rio Puelo and have a terrific view of Volcan Yates.

Late in the afternoon, we stop at Ensanada to put our heads down for the night. As we stroll along the beach, we see two familiar faces on a balcony of one of the many cabins overlooking lake Llanquihue. We wave, but it takes a while for them to recognize us. As we come closer they remember us as the Canadian couple from the ferry to Hornopiren.
We enjoy a drink together and talk about our travels. They will be going back home this week. We feel so fortunate. There does not seem to come and end to this adventure of ours. There are a lot ore places to explore and a lot more fiends and family to visit