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| Bus drive to Loncoche |
As a practice for our Independent Study Project, which is the capstone project of this study abroad, our academic director set us loose at the bus station in Temuco with $80 each and a small town to go explore for a presentation 2 days later. My group of 3 waited an hour for the bus to Loncoche, where we met several Mormon boys from Utah on their mission to convert southern Chileans to the religion. It was funny to interact in English but we quickly parted as soon as we arrived in Loncoche to find a hostel to spend 2 nights.
There is little to report about Loncoche except that it is a very small town- the 3 restaurants we found only served completos (hot dogs with tomato and avocado) or small sandwiches for dinner, which is typical of pueblos here. Over the 2 days, the highlights were eating a picnic lunch of local cheese and Mapuche tortillas (thick bread, not normal tortillas) next to the river in town and finding dried cranberries. The region produces a lot of fruit and berries but most of it is exported, so we were lucky to run across the only type of berry I have found in Chile that was not in jam-form. We also found an amazing 2 room museum in the town that showcased Mapuche ceramics and leather products, as a local artist uses cow udders to create intricately preserved bowls. It was definitely an interesting experience and a crazy way to get to know a town- getting dropped down in front of the bus and having to figure it out on our own!
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| Beautiful artificial laguna in Loncoche |
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| Plaza de Armas in Loncoche |
- Marisa
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