What if I told you all the myths of Chiloé are true…from a certain point of view? A certain point of view? That little phrase—and the echoing question—comes from the original Star Wars Trilogy. You may remember the classic scene from Return of the Jedi where a disillusioned Luke Skywalker accuses Obi-Wan Kenobi of deceiving…
Last Sunday afternoon during our weekly walk on Totoralillo Beach—a three-minute drive from our home—I found a piece of sea glass. Emerald green, like a Sprite or Perrier water bottle. Still more glittery than glistening. Not cutting-edge sharp, but not rounded smooth either. I’m reminded that, like writer-blogger Bernadette Noll, “I want to age like…
Back in the decade we lived in Chile’s Chiloé Islands, a hippie sort of bookshop lay tucked between our favorite restaurant, El Sacho, and the Castro Hostería where we’ve just spent the night. The place was called Light Years, and this morning as I wake up, I still feel light years out of my comfort…
As you scroll down a few paragraphs, you’ll see the cover for Destiny at Dolphin Bay revealed. This first book of mine, written during our last year in Chile’s Chiloé Islands, has had almost as many trial tapas as opening chapters. But today we’re unveiling the final cover. The design you find here combines many…
Reading through Dr. Bernardo Quintana’s mythology treatise, Chiloé Mitológico, I’m struck once again by the background motivation of fear in so many of the rites and rituals, tall tales and strictly-timed tasks. Fear of the spirits and the sickness they cause. Terror of darkness and death and the dead, as manifested in the story of…
The name of the Chiloé Islands’ legendary ghost ship, the Caleuche, literally means “shapeshifter.” It derives from the Huilliche words, caleutún, meaning “to change condition,” and che, “people.” Possibly chosen because of the ship’s many transformations, the name could also refer to the changes in its crew from dead to alive, from torment to bliss,…
It happened again last week—I read another Christian book that started out with SOOO much potential. Until it petered out in a light gloss of forgiveness and a pinch of repentance. Well, okay. We surely need to forgive and sometimes we ought to repent. But whatever happened to a life-changing crisis of character? Without a…
“What would you like to have from this house when I move?” my mother asked every time I visited her in Maine. For a decade, I hardly liked to answer. Even if she meant downsizing more than dying, it seemed sort of greedy and grabby to put dibs on her possessions. But eventually, I mentioned…
Can I share a secret? Hiding behind my mask, I’ve saved a bundle this year on face cream, lipstick, and even (gasp!) toothpaste. What I’ll look like when I finally emerge from the cocoon may alarm the neighbors. We so often leave unattended what nobody else can see, where no outsider will notice. You…
Today we’re putting out to sea. Not only are we “off to ‘sea’ the world, off to find our dreams”—as Alvin and the Chipmunks sang, anybody with me here?—we literally live in a sea world. Especially in Chile, our world revolves around the sea. That’s not the only reason, of course, that almost all my…
It’s a sad story attached to a round Danish cookie tin. Given to me more than 15 years ago, its silver-gray background pops with bouquets of pastel pink roses and multihued garlands. But I can only think of faded flowers and funeral wreaths when I look at it now. Why? Because this thoughtful gift came…
Are they really made of marble? That question comes up as our tour group makes its way to the renowned Marble Caverns. Yes and no, the guide explains. It depends whether or not the process is complete. Sometimes it’s an incomplete metamorphosis. After our long Day 3 drive, it’s past mid-afternoon when we finally reach…
