puerto saavedra

Puerto Saavedra is about 80 kilometers west of Temuco on the pacific coast. There is a sizeable Mapuche population living there and this past weekend there was a festival celebrating the traditional wheat bread called catuto. They made the longest catuto in the world which ended up being over 300 meters of bread. For 40 cents you could buy a ticket (from a guy sitting at a desk in the middle of the street) and try the wholesome bread with a variety of sauces such as jam or garlic salsa. A Mapuche musical group played traditional songs including one where a boy did a dance to honor the nandu bird. There was a little fair in the plaza with handicrafts and food, and even a little exposition of farm animals.

Puerto Saavedra used to be a busier coastal town but got destroyed in the 1960 earthquake and tsunami. Many people moved inland and never returned. It has an eerie feeling now with the town being split into three distinct parts (I'm not sure why, maybe a result of the tsunami?) separated by mist-shrouded farmland. As we got pelted by rain and wind on the beach, I got the sense that the sun rarely shines here, that it is a lot like the Washington coast, Neah Bay in particular.