Chile

We finally decided to leave for Chile. This time we rented a Volkswagon Gol. Not Golf, but Gol. It basically looks like a newer version of the Volkswagon Golf. Do they still make those in the U.S.? We had to downsize to two bags to fit into such a small vehicle. Most of you probably didn’t think that would be possible, but we did it.

Chileans are all about paperwork and they are very thorough. They double checked all of our documents, our luggage and our vehicle before allowing us to enter and leave the country. For a quick moment I felt like I was an incognito double agent attempting to steal vital information from Argentina and take the information over the border. My day dream quickly ended when I thought about the possibility of a cavity search…

We found Chili to be beautiful. We saw many waterfalls, an abundance of trees and lush greenery everywhere with a few volcano's (look hard at the pic top left) I didn’t realize how much of Chile's land is used for agriculture. We also found Chile to be very clean. We drove for a significant distance before seeing any trash on the side of the road and we actually viewed, what appeared to be, an entire classroom of children picking up trash on the side of the road. They had on latex gloves and were also wearing surgical masks. It was a little over kill with the masks, but hey, what a great idea to get the kids involved in cleaning up the environment!

The first town on our list to see in Chile was the small town of Frutillar. After arriving at the town we decided that it must only be open during the summer because the town appeared closed. The information office was closed, the hotels we stopped at were closed and even the restaurants appeared to be empty. We decided to continue on and not spend anymore tine in this cute, but deserted town and head to the second town on our list. We drove a shprt distance to Puerto Octay, where Ryan and Laurie Ness stayed at the hostel Zapata Amarillo (Yellow Shoe). Ryan and Laurie wrote about this hostel in their blog and they recommended it highly. If a friend recommends a place, you have to check it out. We arrived at the Swiss family run hostel and found the setting to be beautiful and the owners to be very nice. Also, to our benefit, we were the only guests at that time so we had the place to ourselves, except of course for the owners and their two children who live in the house. The best thing about the hostel is that it is very environmentally conscious. Ten years ago they started construction on the main house, which has a grass roof. The owner, Nadia, stated that they received a lot of peculiar looks and questions when they first built the roof. The most exciting thing for me, was the fact that they recently completed an additional building which was built with straw insulation. According to Nadia this was the first time a straw house has been built in the region. I like this idea, due to the fact that if we ever build again I would like to do something like this in the U.S. Within the last few years in Bend, OR there have been a few of these homes being built. Nadia stated that due to the weather in the region, it was an experimental house for the next 3 years. As long as there is no mold or mice, they will build more…I think you could say that they live a carbon negative lifestyle.

We received great recommendations from Nadia about where to go after leaving Puerto Octay, she helped us plan the rest of our trip in Chile. We left Puerto Octay headed for Valdivia. I think it’s a struggling town trying to find an identity and at the same time deal with its growing population. We went to the local Brewery The beer was awesome and it was true Bavarian beer. However, it was not served in Bavarian style. Most importantly, there were no breasts on the verge of popping out from the confines of their blouse, nor liter sized glasses. Payton loved the brewery the most, they had a playhouse at the side of the building and she played there for over an hour. The food was good and HUGE!!!. We took a picture to prove it. The sandwich was 7 USD and I think this was the cheapest food we had in Chile. Chile is NOT inexpensive compared to Argentina. Why? I do not really know. From there we drove to a spanish fortress

Later that day we drove to a great secluded and quiet beach town called Mehuin. Initially upon entering this cove we were a little
leery of the hotel we may be staying in. However, the Swiss/German/Chilean owner, world-renowned Skat player (bridge), had a wonderful hotel/restaurant. This was the only hotel in town. We walked on the beach and picked up sea shells till dusk and started looking for more first thing the next morning.

We left Mehuin for Pucon. The drive was uneventful except for the many tolls we had to pay on the way. We entered Pucon hopeful and excited. We drove to a few 3 & 4 star hotels and quickly decided that Argentina has better quality hotels for the price and their condition. We ended up staying at the Villarica Park Lake Hotel. A five star hotel right on the Lake. The General Manager, Mr. Fleming (forgot his first name) is an Australian who has been in Chile for 9 years. Very nice and friendly gentlemen who made our stay very enjoyable. This hotel is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BY US. It truly has five star amenities at 3-4 star prices, by US standards at $190USD/night. Very expensive for us, but worth every penny, especially to our surprise when they had an American buffet breakfast. I think Jen and I gained a few pounds. Payton loved having bacon everyday. Pic to the right is at the indoor pool, they made us wear these shower caps for sanitary reasons. I climbed Volcano Villarica and once again, not big on the tours, but I didn’t have crampons nor an axe and I was told that a guide was necessary. So I payed the money and sucked it up and went with a guide. My group reached the base of the Volcano, which is also a ski resort during the winter, and we were quickly informed that we could save an hour of the hike if we take the ski lift up for an additional 10USD. Not surprised here. A few of us (including three other Americans) decided to save the 10 USD and walk. It wasn’t an additional hour, it was 30-40 minutes. I think the 21 year old Americans were surprised when I started talking about our trip and experiences. Needless to say, they pooped out and I left them and continued on for the top of the ski lift. I was 20-30 minutes ahead of them, the guide at the top of the lift stated I could continue ahead on my own and catch up to the other group 20 minutes ahead of me if I wanted. HELL YEAH! I reached them in 10 minutes and started the slow turtlish pace up the mountain. After 20 minutes of climbing with the group I decided to check my pulse. 85 bpm. Do you think this is sub aerobic…Another reason not to be with a group. Worst of all, my IPOD battery was dead (even though I charged it the day before) and the camera was acting up.

A couple hundred yards from the top a few of the girls were having difficulty, the guide said I could go ahead by myself. Thank god! I reached the top in no time at all. The winds were BLOWING! The winds were well over 100mph. I ran for cover before being blown into the opening of the volcano. Luckily, the weight I have gained during this trip finally paid off. It's like my body knew to get fat, so the wind wouldn’t blow me away. –side bar- You think I’m joking. A Brazilian who was 6'5” and probably weighed 220 was told he could not climb to the summit by his guide due to the danger with the strong wind gusts. The group I had started the climb with showed up approximately 20 minutes later, I met up with them and we had to join arms and like a train we went down the mountain. The best part of the trip was the glissading down the mountain and running on the skree. A drink after the climb...

We stayed and played in Pucon for a few days. We found a few restuarnats and Art stores that were beautiful.

After spending a week in Chile and spending American equivalent dollars, we were happy to get back to Argentina. We stayed one night in St. Martin de los Andes, Argentina. It’s a really pretty town, quiet, with many things to do in the periphery. However, it rained the whole time we were there and it was supposed to rain for the next week. Therefore, we stayed the night and left the next morning for Neuquen. Our only reason for staying in Neuquen was to break up the long drive to San Rafael which was a 10 hour drive from San Martin. Way too long for us in a car.

I almost forgot our amazing hot springs outside Pucon. This place was amazing! There were 17 different pools with varying temps. We had a great time. Payton enjoyed the cooler pools. She didn't want to leave. After 3 hrs we decided that was enough. I think Payton is enjoying the finer things in life...