Farming for seaweed

We wanted to head down to Chiloe, an island in the South of Chile, but because of the distance we stopped for a night in Valdivia; a University town. Other than the university, Valdivia is a pretty quiet town, but it does boast one attraction; the fish market. Unlike any other fish market I have seen before, the customers come in all shapes and sizes and species. Cormorants sit waiting for leftovers whilst seagulls fight over head, and in the river just behind the market stalls, huge sea lions loll around waiting to be fed. The fishermen fillet the fish and chop off the heads and throw them over their heads into the water behind them where they are eaten by whoever reaches them fastest. It makes quite a scene. The wharf at Valdivia A sealion arrives for lunch Our hostel was ran by an overly friendly Californian woman who had a goose in a paddling pool in the garden. We downloaded a film to watch that night and in the morning at breakfast she declared that "the internet was down because SOMEONE had downloaded a film last night." We opted to stay quiet because we think she may have been a little mad (no-one if that friendly whilst sane!), and may have killed us and fed us to her beloved goose. Niebla We took a local bumpy bus out to the town of Niebla on the coast. This is a two-bit town, and we saw both bits. We headed to the beach and saw the strangest thing... a group of people sweeping up the seaweed from the sand. Either they were competing in a Beautiful Beach competition or there was someting more to it. Then we spotted some oxen that were pulling a cart full of seaweed off the beach. So, they were seaweed farmers! We later found large clumps of seaweed being sold in shops. Not the seaweed that the Chinese cook with, but huge brown tubes. According to the internet: The basic preparation methods involve soaking over night and/or boiling for 20 minutes or so in water with a bit of vinegar or lemon juice, then scraping the fronds (which may have a soft coating), cutting into bite sized pieces and sautéing or simmering with other ingredients: beans, potatoes and onions, etc. Salads are even simpler: cut prepared cochayuyo into bite sized pieces, add minced onion and cilantro (and other vegetables to taste) and dress with oil and lemon juice. We clambered over the rocks on the beach and sat eating a picnic lunch with a beautiful view. Back in the hub of town we accidentally befriended a goat that we could not get rid off. It bleeted after us as we walked through town, until a man spotted our predicament and held it back until we could make an escape. We headed to the fort and wandered around the overgrown battlements. Valdivia had remained a Spanish stronghold even after Chilean independence, and it was the fort at Niebla and others upstream in the river that kept the Chileans out, until the Chilean Navy made a surprise land assault in 1820. After a delicious lunch of Cerviche (fresh raw fish marinated in lemon) we headed back to the hostel, bid farewell to the mad American and and her goose, and got our next bus to Chiloe; the island the Chileans are most proud of.