My 7 links

A slight digression from my usual posting topics as I appear to have joined the world of the bloggersphere by being tagged in this '7 links' thing that's doing the rounds.

Thanks to Rob W of the South America Blog (this is the chap who runs Woodward language school which brought me up to a passable level of Spanish, Chilenismos and all) I have to rifle through the archives of my blog for 7 posts that are the most beautiful, popular, controversial, helpful, surprisingly successful, lacking the attention they deserved and that I am most proud of.

This actually turned out to be quite a fun task, as I got to rediscover stories I'd forgotten about and I enjoyed feeling incredibly proud of my blog and realising what an interesting historical record it is for me. So without further ado, onto the 7 links.

My most beautiful post

Difficult to define a beautiful blog post. Although on the whole I am pleased with how I write, I'm not sure any of the posts are exquisitely crafted literary masterpieces. So if we take beautiful to mean photography and subject matter, it doesn't get more perfect than A sprinkle of magic - the story of Frutillar and one volcano that made a last minute appearance to give us the most phenomenal setting for a pastel coloured sunset.

My most popular post

Judging by stats alone, this award goes to The most beautiful place on earth about our visit to Bariloche in Argentina, before it got covered in ash from Volcan Puyehue. A worthy winner. That said, I never tire of this view has been hanging around at the top of my most visited list since I wrote it way back on 20th October, so I think it deserves a mention too.

My most controversial post

I don't really do controversy on this blog, but I guess that Civil unrest is the closest I've come to any kind of political statement, or for that matter, to writing anything negative about my experiences here. 

My most helpful post

My very first posts, First impressions and A day of small victories stand out for me simply because various friends I have met here have told me that they felt reassured reading about my rather wobbly experiences in Chile at the beginning. So I'm nominating these for helping people know that they weren't alone in feeling adrift in this strange new place.

A post whose success surprised me

New heroes was the first time I received feedback from Chileans about my blog, with many of them in agreement with my admiration for Michele Bachelet. This was a turning point for me, where I discovered that my blog was being read as much by my new friends here as by my old friends back home. The amount of attention my Food post got was also a genuine surprise - it seems eating is what my readers are really interested in!

A post I feel didn't get the attention it deserved

Looking through my archives I found it difficult to find a post that didn't get attention, but eventually I opted for Museum of Memory and Human Rights because I don't remember getting much direct feedback on it. Maybe the subject matter was too painful for some, or maybe the history is too distant for others. Either way, I thought this post would get more of a reaction than it did.

The post that I'm most proud of

Trying not to sound too cheesy, I can honestly say that I am incredibly proud of my entire blog. I only started writing it because I fancied having a go at blogging and a couple of people had suggested it might be an interesting thing to do. But as I said at the beginning, it's turned into fascinating record of my time here; I love reading it and I hope others do too. Selecting one post, therefore, is pretty hard, but I think I'm going to plump for Immigration. Partly because it made me and a lot of other people laugh, partly because I enjoyed writing it and working on getting the humour across, and partly because I'm really proud of what I achieved that morning!

So now I have to pass on the tag to five other bloggers. So 7 links on their way to:

1. Callie Mills - Ruffle Your Feathers
2. Carolina Leseigneur - GoodCatt's Random Musings
3. Pepe's Chile Adoration Page
   
   Next was going to be fellow Chile blogger Angie Clifford with Angie's life, but she's already been tagged so instead we change topic to...
   
   
4. Ruth Lund - Cherry Coloured Twist
5. Emma Fassio - Emma Fassio Knitting

A sprinkle of magic

By the time we reached Frutillar I was desperate to see Volcan Osorno. We'd spent the previous day on the shore of Lago Llanquihue under a damp blanket of low cloud and had woken up to hazy mist shimmering over the surface of the lake.

Frutillar

Having caught the micro (small bus) around the lake to Frutillar (a mere $900 pesos / £1.20 each), we alighted at Frutillar Bajo, on the lake side (Frutillar Alto being the main town slightly inland). We were presented with a beautiful view: a wide bay, lake waters lapping on a stretch of beach, an elegant wooden pier, tidy houses, more Germanic churches and the modern Teatro del Lago stretching out on stilts into the water. Still no volcano though.

So we sat down to have our lunch on the pier. Amusingly, we were joined by various other couples who divided into two clear groups. Chileans, dressed in normal daytime clothing, who walked straight to the end to take pictures of themselves with the view and partake in various public displays of affection. Then there were the internationals, dressed in their outdoor gear, who settled down on one of the side benches, opened up their backpacks and started assembling sandwiches from the various supplies stored within.

Ham and cheese hallulla (that's a bap to you and me) halfway to my mouth, I turned my head. "Mira!" I cried, "el volcán!" (Carlos and I spoke in Spanish the whole time we were on holiday in case you were wondering). Suddenly, the clouds began to part and, like a mirage, the shape of the volcano began to slowly appear out of the mist. It was a magical sight, and as the clouds rolled away and the sun shone brightly, we just sat and relaxed and admired this astonishing view of a perfectly symmetrical, snow-capped volcano seeming to rise out of the lake.

Thrilled that Volcan Osorno has appeared behind me

Volcan Osorno

Kuchen and hot chocolate

Of course, no blog post of mine would be complete without mentioning food. In Frutillar, we had been recommended a place to sample kuchen, which is German for cake. At "Duendes del Lago" (goblins of the lake) we had something similar to apple crumble and a hot chocolate - mine mint flavoured and Carlos' caramel. Plus some biscuits. Yum!

Afterwards, we were treated to another sunset. This time, with the mist and haze, the sky and sea turned shades of dusty pink and blue, like a pastel picture. Truly a sprinkle of magic.

Volcan Osorno at sunset

More Frutillar photos on Flickr:

www.flickr.com jaynescarman's Frutillar photoset

It's been a while readers...

I must apologise for my tardiness with writing. But you see, I've been away. Not once, but twice. I'm a very lucky girl. During my travels in the south of Chile I have:

• had one of the most amazing experiences of my life;
• been to the most beautiful place in the world I have (so far) ever seen;
• stayed in the most luxurious place I have ever stayed; 
• completed my longest ever journey by bus; and,
• witnessed one of the most astonishing views I have ever set eyes on.

Oh, and narrowly missed a volcano erupting.

I'll be filling you in over the coming days, but for now, here's a tantalising taster...

Nevados de Chillan

Bariloche, Argentina

Volcan Puyehue

Lago Llanquihue and Volcan Osorno

Valdivia waterfront

Parque Huerquehue near Pucon