Cambios

'''PiñoesPiñones''': As already mentioned under [[#Recommended Season|Recommended Season]] and [[#Food Supply on the Trail|Food Supply on the Trail]] you can become a gatherer on sections 6 to 10 and collect a good part of your food yourself along the trail. You just need to get the timing right and carry a strong string to harvest the mature cones of the female Araucaria trees. According to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Araucaria_araucana Wikipedia] the name Araucana is derived from the native Araucanians who's main staple food were the nuts or seeds of the Araucaria tree. A group of Araucanians living in the Andes, the Pehuenches, owe their name to their diet based on harvesting of the Araucaria seeds. Pehuen means Araucaria and che means people in the native language Mapudungun.

The natives use a lasso to harvest the mature cones. As a hiker you probably will not carry a rather heavy lasso but you may bring a strong string with you. By trial and error we enventually eventually choose to connect long sticks in example branches, bamboo grass and/or our hiking poles to lift a sling over a single cone and then break the cone off by pulling against the growth direction. Once you have the cone down you can open the cone with a wedge and a stone as shown on the picture above. The seeds then need to be separated and boiled for about 30 minutes with the husk. Once boiled the husk can be easily removed. Just squeeze the husk and the eatable seed will slip out easily. You can eat the seed like this or fry it later.

'''Harina Tostada''' (Chile) or '''ñaco''' (Argentina) is toasted ground wheat and the staple food of the herdsmen. It comes as a brownish powder and tasts tastes like corn flakes but it needs to be mixed first with a liquid to eat. The most comon common form is mixing with water but also beer, wine or juice can be used. Also sugar may be added if mixed with water. Depending on the mixing ratio it will be a thick paste or a liquid and makes a the perfect snack during the way. Try yourself and find out how you like it most. You can buy it in all rural stores but also the big super markets sell it. It's the perfect trekking food because its nourishing and takes little space in the backpack. See the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gofio wikipedia article] for more information to this versatile staple food.

'''Tortilla de Rescoldo''' is a white bread that was backed in the hot ash of a fire. Most puestos don't have a proper oven to bake bread but use the accumulated ash of the fireplace instead. The dough is made as usual with wheat flour, salt and (dry) yeast. After the dough was prepared and given the typical rest the dough is gently put in a pit in the hot ash and then also covered with hot ash. After about 10 to 15 min the bread is turned and covered with hot ash again to bake it evenly on both sides. To not burn the bread the hot ash must be free of glowing charcoal. It requires quite some experience to get the temperature and the timing right. Also the fireplace must be in use for days or weeks to accumulate sufficent sufficient ash. A typical campfire will not work because the fire itself is to hot and amount of ash is insufficient.

'''Chivo or Cordero al Palo''': Puesteros occasinally occasionally butcher a male goat or sheep when they meet with other herdsmen or when they receive a visit to share an abounded and delicious meat feast. Female animals are normally preserved to maintain the flock (an rare example of male discrimination). The skinned and cleaned annimal animal is cut into pieces and stack on a wooden pole ("palo" in Spanish). The pole is then placed next to the fire and regularly turned until the meat is ready to eat. It's cruical that the meat is well cooked to kill all potential parasites. You need to be lucky to arrive just in time for such a feast. Alternatively you may ask the puestors puesteros along the route if they have some meet meeting left or if they are willing to sell one annimal animal and butcher and prepare it with you. The smallest quantity for sale is typically half an annimal animal ("medio canal"). Once the meet is well cooked over the fire you can carry the left overs and consume it during the next two or three days.

'''Yerba Mata''' is a energizing coffeincaffein-rich hot trinkdrink. You fill about half a cup with the tee-like "yerba", pour hot water over it and trink drink it with a special straw that acts at the same as an filter. This staw straw is called "bombilla". You can pour again and again water over it to keep trinkingdrinking. Sharing mate with other people is a common ritual in these region. You will certainly be offered this rather bitter drink when you meet and chat with the locals. See also the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mate_%28beverage%29 wikipedia article to Mate] for more information.

'''Mote''' are wheat grains, that were boiled and removed from its husk and then tried dried again for long term storage. Mote is probably not a optimal trekking food because it needs to be soaked in water for several hours before boiling. But settlers and herdsmen often carry mote and use it as an incrediant ingredient for stews and other meals.