Pedro de Valdivia...and how his city failed - or - It´s a Girl!!

Mea, Tim and I finished up our excursions with a relaxing stay in Valdivia, which just happens to now be one of my favorite Chilean cities. We had some exciting hitches from Bariloche across the border and on Chilean turf once again. Pedro de Valdivia, the main conquistador in Chile (and the only one killed here), founded Valdivia as a Spanish fort in the Mapuche area of the lakes district. Although a valiant conquerer of sorts, his city failed miserably. Located betwixt a slew of rivers, and thus nick-named the River City, it was sacked by everything under the sun: Mapuches time and time again, pirates time and time again, and the largest earthquake in recorded history in 1960...luckily that only happened once. Anyway, Pedro was stubborn and wouldn´t give up on conquering Chile, despite the fact that all others had. He didn´t end up defeating the Mapuches, and they remained the longest lasting free-reigning natives in the Americas until an agreement of sorts was made around 1900. All the major societies fell quickly: Inca, Maya, Aztec, etc. But the little-known Mapuches held out for hundreds of years and the Spanish themselves never conquered them. This girl sporting a campaign flag during the post-election celebrations intrigued me. "Estoy Contigo," Bachelet´s theme, means "I am with you." There were banners, parades, and honking all night. So that´s where we passed the end of our trip south. We were greeted by screaming throngs of Bachelet supporters celebrating her presidential victory in the run-off election. Now what are the chances that she could be elected in the states.....let´s see. She´s an atheist, socialist, divorced, mother of children from multiple men. Oh, and a doctor to spare. And Chile is supposed to be a Catholic, socially conservative Latin American country. That´s interesting. Mea and Tim in the botanical gardens, which weren´t really what we would think of them in the States but more of a pretty park with some labeled trees. And Kuntsmann! We later strolled around the city and enjoyed its botanical garden, riverfront market where seals and sea lions awaited fish scraps, and the Kuntsmann brewery. That´s right, the home of my favorite Chilean beer happened to be our final stop. What a way to end. And I only missed a few days of school! And a trip to Valdivia couldn´t be complete without a horrendous battle reenactment at one of the many forts in the area. The juvenile boys had a blast screaming and kicking one another. So although the historical elements were hard to grasp, it was still enjoyable.