I recently remembered a 'legend' about a hermit who lived under a bridge from when I was in Chile. I googled it, and asked about it from my Chilean friends. There is not much that exists on the Internet about this story and what does makes it seem like a tale from folklore. If you google "The Hermit of Llay Llay" you will see the word 'mito' in Spanish which means myth.
The story goes like this: Around the year 1969, a Chilean doctor was called to a town called Llay Llay. He decided to take his family with him. Imagine the drive with winding roads in high mountain altitudes that put the Rockies to shame (Andes Mountains), crossing tall bridges at breathtaking heights. Better yet, here is a translated version of this myth:
-In Montenegro lived near a doctor with his family. He was well known for his kindness and charity towards others. One day, for work, had to travel to the village of Llay-Llay. As their stay would be long, decided to bring his family, no one suspect that something fatal would happen that night. While traveling on the road, the unexpected happened, a car crossed and it is, the driver was in a state of drunkenness. In this brutal accident killed his wife and two children, while he desperately tried to help, but unfortunately could not do anything. Disconsolate wondered how a thousand times and was unable to save his family. Time passed and one night the doctor came out to walk, after a while came up the road. Unwittingly spent the night under a bridge, and passed the years when he lived there, while every day that passed all the truckers out there left him food. One day they found him dead, the death of this beloved character shocked the people of Montenegro and Llay-Llay, as well as truck drivers every day shared their food with him and today he is remembered fondly.-
Basically, his family was killed on a mountain road and he was so grief-striken that he never left the place where it occurred. He chose to live under a bridge in the mountains, alone forever, and was known as "El Ermitano" or, The Hermit.
This story supposedly happened in the 60's. I heard about it as I passed by the bridge where he lived and that he would only respond to truck drivers. The camioneros (truck drivers) knew about him and would bring him food as they passed. We are talking 'the middle of nowhere' at least when I was there in 1993. It was said he never spoke to any of them. He would only take the food that they gave him.
The interesting thing is that this story is not a legend or a myth. I mention this because
I saw him. I witnessed him approach a truck, wearing an overcoat and ragged clothes. His hair had grown out so long that he looked like a wild Mountain-Man Rastafarian with brilliant gray dreadlocks. He was
real and he died in 1997. He had frozen to death. I don't know if the story behind The Hermit is real. But I do know that he was a real person who did live under a bridge in the mountains alone, and accepted charity from truck drivers for over 30 years. Lastly, I don't need to hear about tragic stories of accidents to make me feel a certain way...like a movie that pulls at your heartstrings. Stories are sometimes luxuriously frivolous. Life your life and pay attention to your own story...then make it happen.
Our Little Family, minus Darla and Ginny.
Again, with tounge.
Grandpa Arty.
Mary Jane, Marty and what a smile little lady!
Stella and Creepy Uncle Pat.
Stella, Pat, Dad, Mom, John, Marty, Rose Mary, Aimee, Matt, Mary Jane, and Drea. Kathleen was too shy.
Lil' Ham!
I like eating food with my Daddy. He's weird.
Stella and Daddy.
