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  • South America
    Day 59

    Puerto Natales

    February 27, 2023 in Chile ⋅ 🌬 15 °C

    We spent a total of 5 nights here including pre planning and preparing for the O trek, pints with Dan from the ferry, another lengthy notary visit to sort paperwork to allow us to sell Shibi outside of Chile and post Torres Del Paine recovery and socializing with all our new O trek friends.

    Highlights included the opportunity to see Christine my cousin from Germany, a coincidence being in the same tiny town at the same time, spotting some flamingoes from our wild camping spot and seeing a group of condors on route to Torres Del Paine!

    Recommendations:
    Lili patagonicos hostel- good breakfast included
    Bagueles Brewhouse
    Base Camp for Pizza
    Hamburgueseria La Forastera
    Nomad coffeeshop
    Holaste! Coffeeshop
    Frutos Secos for dried mango and trail mix    Read more

  • South America
    Day 57

    Ferry through the Patagonian Fjords

    February 25, 2023 in Chile ⋅ 🌬 10 °C

    From Caleta Tortel, we drove our last stretch of the carretera austral to Puerto Yungay, a tiny port with a waiting room and small kiosco. Here you can make a shorter 45 minute ferry trip to connect you to the end of the 1247km carretera austral road where the last town Villa O Higgins is situated or a 41 hour ferry to Puerto Natales which runs only once per week. The Puerto Natales ferry 'Crux Australis' is a relatively new route only starting in 2016 with subsidies from the government in order to connect the Aysén and Magallanes regions, fulfilling a wish of the inhabitants of both regions to be able to connect through Chilean territory and without the need to detour through Argentina.

    While we waited to board the 'Crux Australis', we cooked up some leftover lentil curry with some orange stemmed vegetables from Lily's garden and shared an empanada from the kiosco. This is an important detail as the first night aboard we both got a bout of horrific food poisoning. On the boat we had tried so hard to get tickets for, I felt so sick I was praying to be anywhere else but on it. Luckily our camper was conveniently parked close to the deck toilet ... Whether it was the empanada or the weird orange stemmed vegetable we will never know!

    Never the less the next day we started to feel a little better and enjoyed having no internet connection to read and watch some films. We also met Dan from England, one of the only other tourists on the boat. The ferry route passes through a labyrinth of fjords on the west side of the Patagonian Ice Fields although the mist, rain and wind only allowed us glimpses. We did get a good view of Villa Puerto Edén from the upper deck when the ferry stopped to drop off supplies, a tiny village on wellington island, considered one of Chile's most isolated inhabited places. We read some people previously on board were lucky enough to see orcas or humpback whales during their crossing but the only animal we saw was a lone seal. Most of the journey we spent thinking of our next meal with portions on board quite small and served up like prison food. Overall, the ferry took 50 hours due to some strong winds and choppy waters on the second night. Never the less we enjoyed the experience and the opportunity to fully complete our trip through chile.

    Recommendations:
    Bring snacks
    Book long in advance
    Fry your breakfast sandwich in the camper

    25/02- 27/02    Read more

  • South America
    Day 55

    End of the Carretera Austral

    February 23, 2023 in Chile ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    After leaving Patagonia National Park, we continued along our last leg of the Carretera Austral where we came across a hidden gem 'Refugio Rio Nadis' a beautiful campsite on a working farm nestled in the mountains just a 10km detour off road across a long suspension bridge. As we arrived, all the local farmers were out in the yard celebrating with an asado and lots of beer after a day of coming together to brand the farm's cattle. We watched on as they played taba, a game where a talus bone of a cow weighted with copper is thrown to the air. Upon falling, they make bets and guess if it will fall upward (suerte) or backward (culo). The famers wife Lily from Germany brought us down to their rustic refugio which had a lovely fogón wood stove, a bucket shower and beautiful tree house.

    We would of loved to stay longer here and hike some of the nearby trails, horse ride or do some volunteering on the farm but with the deadline of the ferry we only had one night. Here we met a couple from Santiago who had recently been to Ireland and loved it as well as french siblings Alex and Céline. The following day, before leaving we bought some fresh veg from Lily's garden. We then drove on to Caleta Tortel with the french in tow. Alex who has spent the past five years living in tortel, filled us in on all the interesting history of the town on route.

    Caleta Tortel is a tiny town, isolated at the bottom of the Gulf of Sorrows (Golfo de Peñas), nestled between ice fields from north to south, at the mouth of the beautiful Rio Baker. The town was founded in 1955 to exploit the wood of the Guayteca cypress, abundant in the area.

    It's access road was only developed in 2001, before this inhabitants had to take a boat ride five hours down the Baker River to an outpost along the Carretera Austral where they then would have to hitchhike or horse ride another 80km until the nearest town of Cochrane. To enter the town, cars have to park at the small entrance at the top of the hill. There are no conventional streets, instead there are 8km of wooden walkways built with Ciprés de las Guaitecas. The wooden walkways and stilt houses give the town its distinctive look and unique culture.  The town also only got internet connection in 2019 and a new generator January 2023 which ended the daily scheduled powercuts.

    The climate is rainy and cold all year even in summer with an average annual temperature of 8°C. This was very true for our one night visit which we spent mainly looking for warmth in cafes and a quirky family run restaurant with no menu where we listened to some sing songs from others waiting for the ferry and accordian playing by the owner.

    Recommendations:
    Refugio Rio Nadis- worth the detour
    Caleta Tortel- nice to explore the stilted walkways
    Island of the dead- boat tour from caleta tortel (we didn't have time)

    23/02-25/02    Read more

  • South America
    Day 52

    Patagonia National Park

    February 20, 2023 in Chile ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Delighted after securing last minute ferry tickets for Puerto Yungay to Puerto Natales for the 25th February, we were a little richer with time so headed into Parque Nacional Patagonia to explore for a few days.

    The Patagonia National Park is one of Chile's newest parks, officially created in 2018. It is made up of the former Tamango and Jeinimeni reserves, and Valle Chacabuco, a sector that was donated to the State of Chile by Douglas Tompkins, and which was formerly one of the largest cattle ranches in the country. In the 1990s Tompkins (North face founder) and his wife, Kris McDivitt Tompkins (former CEO Patagonia) bought and conserved more than 2 million acres of wilderness in Chile and Argentina with the focus of park creation, wildlife recovery, ecological agriculture, and activism, with the goal of saving biodiversity.

    Driving into the park, we saw lots of herds of guanacos everywhere before arriving at the neatly presented visitor centre. This park has a very American feel with well built and maintained infrastructure which we enjoyed compared to other CONAF parks. We decided to stay for two nights in the west winds campsite to complete the 20km sendero lagunas altas trial. Here we met a nice Canadian family from salt spring island off Vancouver who were delighted to hear Joe had visited previously and knew of Joe's friend- small world! We enjoyed hearing the dad David's stories of meeting the Tompkins and visiting their lodge when it was still a private park.

    After westwinds, we headed on to Alto Valle campsite at the other end of the park for one night. Here we completed a small walk up to Mirador Douglas Tompkins where we got rewarded with a beautiful but windy look out onto lake Cochrane.

    On 23rd February, we headed back through the park to the carretera austral, stopping into the park museum on route where we learnt about the importance of National Parks, conservation of ecosystems and the history, flora and fauna in the area.

    Recommendations:
    Really enjoyed the park museum
    Nice signposted walking trails
    Best view at Mirador Douglas Tompkins
    Book: A Wild Idea: The True Story of Douglas Tompkins―The Greatest Conservationist You've Never Heard Of
    Do the multiday trek to lago jeinimeni (we didn't have time)

    20/02-23/02    Read more

  • South America
    Day 49

    Along the Carretera Austral

    February 17, 2023 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    After a well needed shower in camping Castillo and a stop for food supplies, we headed in the direction of Puerto Río Tranquillo along with the twins Noah and Jack with Sarah demoted onto the day bed in the back of the van. The road was quite rough in sections so we ended up wild camping at Puente Río Murta on route, a lovely clear river with a bank suitable for van and tent.

    The next morning we arrived to Puerto Río Tranquillo, strolled around the village and booked our kayak trip to explore the Capillas de Mármol (marble caves) later in the day. Over 6,200 years, the huge marble deposits on the edge of the General Carrerra Lake have been worn away by the water, creating caves, tunnels, and huge columns of pure marble. We enjoyed kayaking through the marble maze and seeing some beautiful rock formations up close including the famous 'marble cathedral' and the 'marble chapel'. The lake also has a lovely bright blue tint that comes from the glacial meltwater.

    Back in town, we caught the tail end of a rodeo with the twins before saying our goodbyes and setting up camp at the waterfront. The following morning we enjoyed some fresh trout the twins had caught and gifted us the day before. We then set off for a day of scenic driving along the carretera austral. With the sun out and shining, we stopped at Bertrand lake for lunch and washed our clothes with water from the lake. Further along we stopped at Coihue cafe along the Rio baker to enjoy homemade ice cream and cake while admiring the scenery and crystal turquoise water of the river. A nice 15 minute walk from the road brought us up to the Confluencia Río Baker/ Neff. Here we could see the turquoise waters of the Baker River meeting the waters of the Neff River, a grayish color due to minerals from melting glaciers, which transforms the "new" Baker River into a greenish color that accompanies the Carretera Austral further south. We finished the day wild camping on a very windy Lago esmeralda just outside Cochrane.

    The next day, we headed back into Cochrane in the hope the tourist office might be able to get us some last minute tickets for the weekly ferry from Puerto yungay to Puerto natales. This would help us avoid crossing the border into Argentina and driving another 1000km to get us down to Torres Del Paine for the O trek on 3rd of March. Having first learnt of this ferry back in January, despite frequently checking the website and also calling the office we weren't able to find any availability. Unfortunately, no one in the tourist office was able to help. For a final try, I messaged an old Whatsapp number from ioverlander. A lady got back to say she no longer worked with the ferry company but gave two other numbers to try. We tried both and waited patiently for any replies and for the roadworks out of Cochrane to reopen the road at 4pm. At 3.30pm one of the numbers got back to say the ferry was still fully booked. With all hope lost, we started the drive out of town and internet when just before 4pm, the other number Cesar got back to us to say he had secured two tickets for us.. a close call with luck on our side!

    Recommendations:
    Sandwiches at La Cocina de Sole Food truck on Villa Cerro Castillo
    Kayak to the marble caves, shop around town for best prices
    Burgers at Ruedas y ríos, Puerto Río Tranquillo
    Coffee and cakes at Cafeteria Calafate Nativo, Puerto Río Tranquillo
    Coique Cafe, Río Baker
    Confluencia Río Baker/ Neff

    17/02-20/02    Read more

  • South America
    Day 45

    The Cerro Castillo Circuit

    February 13, 2023 in Chile ⋅ 🌬 6 °C

    On the 12th of February, we were happy to wake up to sun and enjoyed the views along some paved roads for a change on route to Villa Cerro Castillo.

    In the village, we checked in for one night into Camping Castillo to prepare for our first multiday hike, a 57km trail called 'the Cerro Castillo circuit'. Having a quick look at the forecast, we expected a wet start but the weather expected to improve over the week. On a tight schedule to make our booked O trek start date, we had no time to waste waiting another day for the weather to improve so we set off in the rain the following day on the bus to Coyhaique. On the bus, we met a swiss couple who had attempted to complete the full trek a few days prior but had to abandon before the second pass due to bad weather and hadn't seen any views in the cloud... We hoped we would be luckier!

    By the time we arrived at our stop 'Las Horquetas' - the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, the rain was belting down..! Being the only ones getting off the packed bus, everyone looked on sympathetically including the bus driver who climbed on top the bus to collect our already drenched bags. Within the few minutes walk to the rangers hut, our gloves were already soaked through. The rangers offered to quickly warm them on the stove as we signed the register, the only ones checking in on this miserably day. With no other choice, we set off on our trek.

    Halfway into the first day, we came across Marcus from Norway and his dutch friend retracing their steps for their missing fishing rod. They had entered the park the night before to escape paying the entrance fee but due to the cold and wet had decided to hike out. More ill prepared than us sporting no waterproofs, a hoody and leather jacket and with their soaked through sleeping bags hanging off the side of their bags, we didn't expect to see them again.

    By the time we arrived to our first campsite, the rain stopped and the sun started to shine through the cloud to warm us up. We were cheerily welcomed by Chester, a nice Chilean man who offered us some of his homemade beef jerky. To our surprise, there were a few people at camp who had had hiked in the previous day and were waiting for the following day to complete the first pass. Even further to our surprise, Marcus and his friend with their soaked bags appeared after finding their fishing rod!

    However, within the first hour after putting up our tent, a ranger appeared to tell us a Patagonian storm was approaching and the park was closing meaning we would not be allowed to move from camp for the next three days including retreating back to the road. With a disheartened atmosphere in camp, everyone busied themselves for the evening building up defense walls around their tents to defend against the incoming weather.

    After a very peaceful night without a puff of wind, we were sceptical of the rangers advice however after discussing with Chester, we decided to hike out as we didn't have enough food, time or patience to be stuck at camp for the next 3 days and did not want to continue to the pass against ranger advice.

    During the morning, the weather annoyingly continued to improve as we walked the 15km out. Just as we neared the rangers hut, half a km out, we were amazed to be greeted by at least 15-20 people walking in our direction to find out they had just re-opened the park...!! Tired and in a predicament, Joe mentally had checked out of the walk but my fear of missing out wanted to turn back. Here we met Noah and Jack, twins from Washington that were doppelgangers for Patrick! They provided the American positivity and spirit we needed offering us extra food and gas if we needed, giving us no reason not to turn back! For the third time, we followed the route to the first camp, this time walking it in the fastest time, deep in conversations with the twins, Antonio from Paris and Elena from New York who turned into the best hiking group for the rest of the trek!

    The next few days we had glorious weather and got stunning views from the top of El Peñon pass, Laguna glacier peñon, Laguna Cerro Castillo, Cerro Castillo pass and Laguna duff. Elena thought us the hiking game knives, forks and spoons and we enjoyed getting lots of Paris recommendations from Antonio and hearing all about the back country in Washington from the twins. Overall, our first multiday hike was a success, finishing the trek in villa Cerro castillo with 87km completed over 4 nights and 5 days.

    Recommendations:
    Quieter than Torres Del Paine
    Look for a good weather window for the passes
    Always cook dinner at a scenic viewpoint- Elena's advice

    12/02-17/02    Read more

  • South America
    Day 38

    Beginning of the Carretera Austral

    February 6, 2023 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    We had a well needed van service and admin day stocking up on everything we needed for the next leg of our trip in Puerto montt before starting our roadtrip on chile's ruta 7 known as the Carretera Austral. The remote highway runs south for about 1,240 kilometers providing access to rural and sparsely populated patagonia. After the first hour of driving on the route, we had our first ferry, a 30 minute journey from Caleta La Arena to
    Caleta Puelche. We then continued along the Ruta 7 to Hornopirén to catch our 2am night ferry. This was the first Copec we stopped at that had to a very long queue for fuel, a sign of how remote our journey was ahead. We also spent some time here exploring the local craft market.

    From Hornopirén we sailed for 3 1/2 hours through the Comao fjord to Leptepu, a supposely scenic journey although it was nighttime so we slept the whole way in the van. Then after docking at Leptepu, we drove 10 kilometers on a gravel road to Fiordo Largo, where we started the second ferry crossing the Reñihue fjord to Caleta Gonzalo arriving at 7am on 8th February.

    After a snooze alongside the road, we decided to make the most of the good weather and completed a short walk along sendero los alerces in Pumalín Park. This path leads through a forest of giant Alerces, some almost 3000 years old. These tall, ancient trees are one of the largest and longest-living species on Earth.

    From here we continued along the road to Volcan Chaitén which is also in Pumalín Park, picking up some Chilean hitch hikers on route. We then started a steep 3hr return track up to the caldera of Volcan Chaitén, which erupted in 2008. It was tough in the heat with little wind and relentless horseflies at the top but worth it for the views. That night we wild camped at the pier in Chaitén and caught a lovely sunset.

    The next day 09/02 we detoured from the carretera austral to head to Futaleufú. The Futaleufu River houses some of the best rafting in the world; best known for the technicality and quantity of its rapids, the incredible turquoise colour and clarity of the water and the stunning mountain scenery! Usually the road to get here is known to be quite pretty although we had mainly an overcast journey on the gravel road. Luckily the sun came out just as we arrived and we found the perfect camp spot along the river just outside the town.
    With beautiful sunny weather, we booked a white water rafting trip with Patagonia elements the following morning. Initially I was quite anxious but it turned into an addictive adrenaline rush surviving the rapids without capsizing. Bri our American guide told Joe he peaked with his first rafting trip experiencing some of the best rapids in the world with the Futaleufú river at the perfect water level! Afterwards we drove back to Ruta 7 stopping for a quick rest in Villa Santa Lucia who happened to have a fiesta with market stalls and a quirky uniformed live band performing to celebrate 41 years of the village. Just as we were leaving, the rain returned and we picked up 2 more hitch hikers Nicolas from Argentina and Philipe from Sweden who had been waiting a few hours for a lift and were just about to give up! We had another few hours of driving through mist and rain to finish at a cute little village Puyuhuapi where we said goodbye to our hitchhikers and found a wild camp spot just at the edge of town in front of a fjord harbour before heading out for a few drinks.

    The following morning, we woke up to another wet day to continue along the gravel roads stopping at Parque Nacional Quelat to complete the hike Sendero Ventisquero Colgante which treated us to views of a hanging glacier. We finished up the day at Camping borderio in Villa Mañihuales which had a lovely little Refugio to shelter from the rain along with a little woodfired chilean stove. Here we meet some chileans completing the Carretera Austral by bicycle. One gave us some foraged El calafete berry's, famous in Patagonia and showed us his book on foraging.

    Recommendations:
    Futaleufú whitewater rafting- Patagonia elements
    Hanging glacier in Parque Nacional Quelat
    Volcan chaiten 1/2 day hike
    El Bosque Cocina&Bar, Puerto Montt
    Restorán Comuy-Huapi, Puyuhuapi

    06/01-12/01    Read more

  • South America
    Day 34

    Chiloe Island

    February 2, 2023 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    We arrived to Chiloe Island via Ruta 5 with a quick car ferry across the chacao channel.

    We initially explored a overcast and gloomy Ancud before driving west in search of a wild camping spot at Mar Brava. We got so lucky here, initially spotting lots of dolphins and a sealion which encouraged us to walk further down the beach where we were able to see a humpback whale from a rocky look out. We met Andrés, a local from Ancud who caught the footage on his drone and shared it with us on his instagram.

    The next morning we woke up to a beach full of wandering cows and horses. We drove on to puñihuil where we were able to jump on a small tour boat to see Humboldt and Magellanic penguins on the nearby rocky islets.

    We then headed along some back roads to Chepu where we stayed at la Maison bleu campsite owned by a lovely French Chilean family. Their little girls loved exploring inside the van. We also met their American workaway volunteers Willow and Mike.

    The next morning we set our alarm for 5:50am and met Miguel at chepu pier to rent a kayak for sunrise. The weather was perfect and we had the river to ourselves to explore the sunken forest. This eery scenery was caused by an earthquake in 1960 where vast tracks of forest became submerged and the rivers became inundated with salt water killing the trees.

    After a cup of tea, we headed on to Linao in search for a rodeo that Sarah found on a Chilean rodeo association website. At first the rodeo was nowhere to be found so we stopped at the local shop owned by a man from Santiago who spoke perfect english and sent us on the way!

    The rodeo turned out to be on a private farm and we enjoyed watching the competition as the only tourists there although we were very confused by the judicating and points system. Joe met one of the competitiors when he needed help with translation while buying empanadas who kindly explained the rules.

    Later on, the man's wife Mane came and introduced herself and her daughter Trinny and nephew Alfoso and invited us into the family farm to see the horses and river as well as later introducing us to her parents who owned the rodeo ring and farm. They were delighted to have some tourists visit to see their national sport and gave us a leaving gift of a rodeo book! Following Manes tips we went on to visit the local beach and arrived to Dalcahue tired, staying the night at Entre Rios campsite.

    We picked up our first hitchhikers, a local mom and her baby, on the way into town the next day. We were lucky to be in Dalcahue on a Sunday to explore the weekly tourist market and also got the chance to try curanto, a local cuisine as well as see their UNESCO world heritage church.

    We then drove on to Castro, the islands capital to look at traditional plafitos ( houses on stilts) and another UNESCO world heritage church. Heading back north, we finished up the evening with a charcuterie board and wine overlooking sunset at condor beach.

    Recommendations:
    Sunrise kayak to see the sunken forest in Chepu
    La Maison blue campsite
    Feria Artesanal Dalcahue
    Cocineria Dalcahue- try curanto at stall 7 Carlitas
    Lemon pie at kunge restobar in Castro
    Wild camp spots at Condor Beach and Mar Brava
    Cucao to Cole Cole beach trek 2 days (we didn't have time to do this)

    02/02 - 06/02    Read more

  • South America
    Day 29

    Caleta Condor

    January 28, 2023 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Leaving Pucón after a great few days, we headed in the direction of Bahia Mansa on the coast west of Osorno. On route we stopped for lunch at playa tres postes which had the clearest blue icy water- we didn't brave a swim.

    Once at Bahia Mansa, we soon learnt that we were once again off the beaten tourist track and no one had any English. With the help of Google translate we attempted to book a ferry for the following morning to Caleta Condor as well as accidentally ordering 12 seafood empanadas. We enjoyed some traditional music and songs at a huilliche festival in the port community centre! Later that evening we followed a steep gravel road to tril tril beach where we camped with a beautiful sunset.

    The next morning, we got up at dawn and headed for the two hour boat to bring us further down the coast to Caleta condor, a remote white beach hidden in an indigenous reserve of the Huilliche community. On arrival, one of the local children Isadella was waiting for us to bring us to her family's campsite ' camping casadas' at the end of the beach complete with roaming horses, ducks, geese, sheep and cows. Our first day here we relaxed on the beach and went for a few drinks at the main restobar. The next day we hiked up to a lookout, a waterfall and wandered along the coast, followed by some more empanadas and homemade chips.

    While we originally planned to only stay 2 nights here, getting a ferry back was complicated again with our limited Spanish and with bookings only organised the night before depending on weather at the only hostel on the beach. As it turns out, our return boat ended up being cancelled which we later learnt was due to high winds. Amongst the confusion, we met a helpful Chilean dad and his family from Valdivia along with a group of 8 Chilean lads from Osorno who were delighted to practice their English and invited us to dinner and to camp with them.

    We successfully got a 7am boat back the following day although it wasn't as smooth as we hoped and a good few people were seasick including Joe. Once back to some network coverage we looked into booking our ferry from Hornopirén to Caleta Gonzalo (start of the Carretera Austral) and realised we were quite late booking leaving us with a limited choice other than a 2am ferry on 8th February.

    In a rush to continue heading south, we continued on to Puerto Varas that afternoon and enjoyed the view of volcano Osorno and lake Llanquihue as well as wandering around the picturesque town's markets.

    Recommendations:
    Minimum 2 nights at Caleta condor beach- also the option of a 2 day hike to it if you don't fancy a rough boat crossing
    Book hornopiren ferry over 3 weeks in advance to get a daytime option
    Puerto Varas: Similar vibes to Pucón. We would have liked to stay longer here but we were on a rushed schedule due to our ferry booking for the Carretera Austral.
    Compass del sur hostel in Puerto Varas- campers welcome and a really nice common area and kitchen
    Cecinas Llanquihue- Sarah's favourite chilean salami brand has a big shop here

    28/01-02/02    Read more

  • South America
    Day 24

    Pucón

    January 23, 2023 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    By the 23rd of Jan, we arrived into pucón for 5 nights to link back up with Sheila and Megan. We stayed at Camping Parque la Poza, a campsite in town close to Villarica lake and the girl's hostel Chili Kiwi. It was nice to be back in a town with internet connection after a week exploring national parks.

    Pucōn is a beautiful volcanic town which currently has a semi-active volcano, on alert since December 2022. The town is an adventure hub and is a popular spot for Chileans to go on holiday.

    After settling into our campsite, for our first night we joined Sheila and Megan at their hostel which had a lovely outdoor treehouse to enjoy a few drinks and watch the sunset over the lake.

    -Day 2: We had a slow start to the day and then hiked/hitched to a nearby waterfall Cascada el claro. It was a much steeper climb than we anticipated so we weren't too mentally prepared. Very kindly, we were offered a lift back to town by a Chilean couple from Santiago in their huge truck. Predictably, Joe was very happy with this. In the evening we had the vans first BBQ of steak and ribs with the campsite dogs coming to join.

    -Day 3: this was an advertuous day. We went hydrospeeding which was floating through rapids on a river while lying on top of a tiny foam board. We were all a little unsure what to expect but it turned out to be a great adrenaline rush. In the evening we had our second BBQ, this time joined by Ronan from Dublin and Gandalf the beagle.

    -Day 4: We went to the national park called Huerquehue and did the San Sebastian hike. This was steep and hands down the hardest hike yet. It was 1300m in elevation. It took the full day but gave us incredible views of the area. We were very pleased with ourselves and had a cup of Megan's Barry's tea when we were back down in the van. We ate out at Cassis restaurant and went to bed very tired.

    -Day 5: The last day of our reunion with Sheila and Megan. We rented out kayaks and had Rob from the hostel join us. Sheila and I took turns being in the middle to be the ladies of leisure not having the paddle. We had a few drinks at the hostel before saying our sad goodbyes.

    Recommendations:
    San Sebastian hike
    Hydrospeed
    Rent kayaks
    Cascada el claro
    Puras Pavadas for empanadas
    You can also climb a volcano but it's pricey and we couldn't get to the top as it's active
    Eltit- our favourite chilean supermarket

    23/01- 27/01
    *Footprint credit to Sheila Scott    Read more

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