Ovalle, a rural centre with one blonde tourist, in Chile

So last Monday (the 7th) I finally left Valparaiso and got a few miles covered. I went to Ovalle. Ovalle is a rural centre known to have the biggest and most important Fruit and Vegetable market in it's region. It's also close to Fray Jorge National Park, but it's not really a tourist town. And the main farm animal in the region is Goats, so Goats cheese is on offer on every corner.
   Without a booking, (I usually don't have a booking), I turned up at the only backpackers hostel in town, it's new, unknown, and still being built, and I felt more like I was a guest in a home stay with Jaime, Magdelena, and their two kids. (homestays are great).
   I wanted to visit the National Park, but I needed a tour and one person does not make a tour group, so, on Tuesday, Jaime took me on the tour of it and the Valle del Encanto (Valley of Charm). Fray Jorge NP is UNESCO World Heritage Listed, as it has 400 hectares of truly unique vegetation; the Northernmost Valdivian Cloud Forest in the midst of dry cactus dotted hills.
   Then we visited the Valle del Encanto for its petroglyphs, pictographs and ancient mortars.... but I was more interested in the big challenging rocks!
   On Wednesday I visited the fruit and Veg market. It wasn't very exciting though. I followed it with lunch overlooking the town plaza, and one Pisco Sour. Pisco being the national drink (contested by Peru), which I  still haven't decided if I like or not (more needed obviously!).
   Then Thursday, I left town and went to La Serena.
   But, I did want to say, just how much Ovalle wasn't a tourist town, and how much I really liked it! Ok, it was a little tiring being the only blonde in town (well I didn't see any others)... I was constantly called out to, but it was also nice to think I was seeing a 'real' Chilean town.
    And, On the Monday busing from Valparaiso to Santiago, I saw a very big pilgrimage, hundreds of people, maybe thousands, walking beside the highway. Apparently Mary had a birthday on Tuesday... no, I don't know this, but somebody told me and I'll go along with it.

Notes:
 Accommodation: James Crazy House Hostel; $8. My Rating: ****; At this price you can't expect much, and it was actually really good value. I loved the friendly hosts.
Bus: Valparaiso to Santiago, Santiago to Ovalle: $20.
Tour with Jaime (private): $50.
about 2kg of mixed Nectarines, Apricots, plums, strawberries from the market $2.
Big Custard Apple: $1.
Goats Cheese: from $1.50 per kg.

Herding goats with a Mule.

The kind of vegetation most of Fray Jorge National Park has.

The Vegetation Fray Jorge NP is famous for.

I saw a wild LLama! Here he is.

Jaime and is car (my tour guide and vehicle for the day)... we didn't go above 60km per hour all day, and we walked the steep hills in Fray Jorge NP that others drove up. Still, I got to see more that way!

The Cacti are quite cool.

Me, on a distance big rock, in the Valley de Encanto (Valley of Charm). I left my guide and camera on another distant rock.

The Ovalle Fruit and Vegetable market, it was so much 'cleaner' and more organised than what I expected. A credit to them really, but no much chop as a tourist.

Behind the Fruit and Veg, you find other goods for sale. There really are a lot of Cowboys in Chile, lots of people that ride horses. And this is a stall dedicated to that need.