Kyle Hepp

January 16, 2012

When we were in the South of Chile to shoot Vale and Stanley’s destination wedding (which AHHH, I haven’t even blogged yet even though they’ve had their photos for like…a million years now) we took some time to explore the area a little bit. We rented a car and buzzed around Lago Llanquihue, in search of volcanoes. Actually, that’s a lie. It’s the South. You can’t throw a stone without hitting a volcano. We didn’t really have to search, we saw three on the drive from the airport to the hotel in Frutillar.

One of the days that we drove around exploring, we passed through the tiny little town of Puerto Octay. It’s so picturesque and just has that South of Chile feel to it. The colors and textures of all the houses really reminded me of Chiloe — though maybe not quite so beaten down by the wind and rain.

So on our way to the volcano we stopped at a little lookout by the lake. It had a sign telling us that we were getting near Puerto Octay. Not only that, but they have had a Rotary Club since 1956. Does anybody even know what a rotary club is? Or why they would be in a town with a population of 3,494 people?

Seba stopped at a conveniently located tourist information booth. He spend a solid 30 minutes chatting with the woman manning it. People in the South are chatty. So Ashley, Leo and I got out and stretched our legs. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to snap a few shots.

Pretty sure this church probably made out of tinfoil. Whenever I see that material in siding it always looks fragile to me for some reason.

The Chilean flag always makes me feel patriotic. Wait, except I’m not a patriot of Chile.

The town seemed fairly deserted. There weren’t many people walking around on the streets, even during the middle of a beautiful summer day.

I loved the colors. The blue sky, the bright roofs. The South of Chile always reenergizes me.

But after a quick stop for gas it was time for us to leave Puerto Octay behind and move on!