We gave rides to about 20 hitchhikers- popular with Chilean university students – so fun! And a great way to practice our Spanish. Eco friendly too!

We hiked 8 miles to the Chaitén volcano. Whew!

We really enjoyed our stay in Chaiten and here are a few photos of our hike to the glacier in day one.

….we have just landed in Chaiten and taken a step away from civilization!

No WiFi. Fresh fish. Drink water from glaciers. Amazing Chaiten – the Carretera Austral- road to the area – paved & gravel was completed in 1984. Before that it was a 5 day boat trip to Puerto Montt – large town. A devastating volcano buried Chaitén in 2008 & government told residents to abandon the town. …of course they did not…but many had to abandon their homes for months. No wAter. No electricity for 2 years. It is still very sleepy and earning a living is very difficult.

Benefits of loose travel plans is to make changes. We decided that exploring the hinterlands of Chile’s verde Patagonia could Not be missed. Tricky ferry reservations, scarce lodging in tiny towns and renting a car & navigating mountain roads made this an adventure with huge rewards.

Greg has not driven a car in 8 weeks & he successfully navigated his way to the first ferry on the island of Chiloé. Beautiful

Our Airbnb hosts welcomed us with flashlights as we navigated narrow country lanes – charming! Then prepared a warm delicious breakfast for us at 5:00 so we could make our ferry

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We hopped on a bus & took a ride across the Andes from Valdivia to Pucon. Pucon is in the shadow of a beautiful volcano and stunning lake which is best enjoyed in peace at 8:00 in the morning – instead of shared with thousands of others at 3:00.

A bus ride to the National park offers amazing & rigorous hiking. Beautiful vistas & old timber forests.

We flew from Santiago to Valdivia in central coastal Chile. Quiet, marine & agricultural based community. We had an amazing Airbnb overlooking the river. Enjoyed walks along the river including the fish mongers & hungry sea lions

Then we took a boat tour to Punucapa nature preserve where we saw hundreds of black necked swans. We stopped in the preserve & a food festival was enjoyed with craft beers & empanadas. We also sampled roasted pork & lamb. A very Chilean experience- not any other gringos.

We then headed to the shore for more beautiful beaches

Santiago was not in our plans due to the protests in Santiago. Checking the news – the unrest seemed to subside and off we went…

We arrived Friday night & rendezvoused with the Smart family from Maine whom we met in .Cuenca. So fun to share travel stories & catch up!

We then proceeded to have a lazy two days in Santiago. We took the metro to Plaza de Armas Downtown- sAw the beautiful architecture& wound our way through the gauntlet of street vendors. Took the metro back & noticed one closed metro stop / probably a protest location Then we explored the area around our hotel- Chile’s tallest building anchors a chic shopping g mall. And we found a great rooftop bar with sweet city & Mountain View’s. We continue used to hike Santiago metropolitan trails and sample a sidewalk cafe in a trendy neighborhood. Santiago provided a welcome quiet retreat.