Testing the archive

Spot the different modes of transport

We finally managed to get out of Puerto Montt (and it was still raining) after a slight delay of 12 hours of the boat. There were various stories doing the rounds as to what caused the delay including storms and that it had got stuck on a sandbank down south. I'm dubious as the veracity of the latter, and was not really filled with joy at the idea of the former. But it is almost impossible at this time of year to get south in Chile in any other way than flying, and that seemed like the easy way out - more on that in a second though! And, to be frank, I was beginning to dislike Puerto Montt with such a passion that I would have crawled out of there at this point.

In any event, the boat trip wasn't so bad. It felt a bit like a school trip - about 30 passengers. Mashed potato and stale bread and orange squash was lunch with the most enormous portions of meat. Made friends with some lovely French blokes (well one is English but has lived in France most of his life) and bored them stupid with my appalling attempts to speak French. They were very gracious though, and shared with us their saucisson, cheese and wine as apperitif before the evening meal.

Most of the day was pretty smooth as we wound our way down past the island of Chiloe. There was a minor chunk of the journey where the land protecting the fjords from the blasts off the Pacific is no longer there, and it started to get a bit choppy at that point. Not before we'd seen a lovely sunset however. And then I slept through the rough bit. Good job.

Arrive in Puerto Chacabuco to mist. But surroundings amazing. A couple of hours meandering through the fjords with forested mountains/hills on either side - really quite stunning.

Made some decisions about our next move. We have decided not to go to the San Rafael Glacier. For one thing it costs a packet to do it in one day, and for another, we have managed to get ourselves a flight to Punta Arenas in the south which is where the Torres Del Paine is (the national park with all the mountains one sees on postcards of Chile) and not something to be rushed I understand. We may also get a chance to go see the Perito Moreno glacier at some point. ANyway, faced with a three day bus journey (and I think you will appreciate by now that I am not exaggerating) or a 1.5 hour plane journey, the choice was not a difficult one to make.

So, to pass the time until the flight, we went to a small town called Coyaihaque in the mountains which was a good idea as the weather brightened up away from the coast. Did a great bike ride through the hills. Good to exercise after being on the boat for 30 hours. Absolutely stunning scenery - green rolling hills backed by snowy mountains. And lots of lovely sunshine!! HURRAH!!! Had lunch in a fire station - great local restaurant with portions that defeated me, surrounded by lots of very happy, chatty Chilenos. And are now going out for a few beers...This brings us nearly the end of our third week away.

what to do when it's raining

it's still raining, and we're still in puerto montt. the boat to puerto chacabucco has been delayed due to bad weather conditions. boarding time is currently 4am tomorrow morning. we are trying to decide whether or not to spend a huge amount of money to go see the san rafael glacier once we get there. i am thinking we do, but it's a bit risky at the moment because we haven't yet received final confirmation of whether the boat will be leaving puerto montt in time for us to pick up the san rafael boat on saturday morning. ho hum.

we ate curanto last night. it was fine though a bit overwhelming. basically the biggest bowl of meat and fish, shellfish and potatoes you could ever hope to have put in front of you - or not, depending on your inclinations in the food area. as far as i can work out, it's sort of smoked - at least that's what it tasted like. and then served with the sauce which the meat, fish etc produces on cooking. robust and hearty - good when it's raining. but i could only eat scrambled eggs (huevos revueltas) this morning, nice and simple!

No volcanoes please, we're British or 'How are you coping without teabags?

A bloke Marv met rafting actually asked him the above question. Kind of a strange one for a couple of reasons. First, tea is popular in Chile, taken traditionally in the afternoon. It's called onces, literally elevenes. So what he must have been asking was 'how are you coping without Tetleys?' But, really, given a choice between a teabag and a trip to Chile, the choice is a pretty easy one.

We continue to have a fantastic time but the weather is such that seeing a volcano ain't going to happen until we get to New Zealand I think. We tried to walk up one a couple of days ago but it was too cloudy. So we went off by ourselves and had a great day instead. We went for a fantastically muddy stomp through a forest, then went to a thermal spa in the middle of aforementioned forest. There was no view but the forest was brilliantly spooky, with mist rising above the trees, and swimming in the thermally warmed waters afterwards was just perfect - with views over the forest, and not another soul in the place apart from me and Marv.

Then we drove to the island of Chiloè, a half hour ferry ride from the mainland. It's a pretty desolate place but very, very beautiful. It's 112 miles along and between 19 and 43 miles wide, and actually part of an archipelago. It sort of marks the end of the Lake District and the start of the really watery bit of the country down to the major mountain area - Torres del Paine etc. One of the notable points about Chiloe are these wooden churches all over the island in the most out-of-the-way places. They´re very simple and rather stunning in an austere sort of a way. There's one tarmac road which runs through the island - the continuation of the PanAmericana which we've been driving on for the last few days - but that is about it. The island reminds me of that tv programme from years ago, 'Northern Exposure', where the unexpected could, and would happen and there was a slight air of eccentricity about it all. We saw loads of empty wooden buildings for sale and day dreamed about giving it all up and opening a hostel on the island. Ahem.

We stayed in the most brilliant wooden hotel on the water. (I think nearly all the buildings on Chiloe - including the churches - are wooden. The weather is quite damp most of the time which must present some hellish repair work at frequent intervals.) The hotel itself clambered up the hillside and our room, right at the top, felt like being in a boat. Our view was right over the fjord. Very magical. The seagulls were a bit annoying, but it was great to see the sea after all the inland mountainy stuff. And we had the most brilliant meal at a restaurant called Anos de Luz. Ceviched mussels in an onion and corriander salsa (so, cold) - thai fish soup (very hot - both spicy and temperature-wise) - locally caught fish brochettes - all served in separate bowls but presented on the same plate for two to share. The contrast between the mussels, the soup and the mild fish was excellent. Concept food Chilote style! After all the steak, you may have noticed that I'm really enjoying the fish. Also, fish seems to lend itself more to the addition of salsas and stronger flavoured accompaniements. With steak, I'm of the 'keep it simple' school and don't really go for rich sauces, as the meat itself is so fantastic. But the treatment of fish here is really imaginative. Oh, and we shared a FINE bottle of Chilean red, and an apple tarte tatin which was served, bizarrely, tho' quite nicely, with raspberry ripple ice cream.

Today we did a big stomp along the Pacific coast - the west coast of the island. Weather in extremis. On the way there we did good deeds and drove a few islanders to the shops and back which was entertaining. Then we drove to Puerto Montt - back across the water spotting seals on the way - where we are getting a ferry from tomorrow night to the south. Had we arrived a month later I think we would have tried to drive the Southern Highway as far down as possible, but the roads have started to get funkier and boat is the easiest option. From now southwards the roads start to disappear, and the country breaks up into islands.

Puerto Montt is not the nicest place in the world, but the food is supposed to be good so I'm happy. The local speciality is called curanto and is a fish and sausage soup. We're staying in possibly the dodgiest hostel of the trip so far but it's no big deal as we leave tomorrow. We are right by the ferry terminal, the fish market and the goods market. I am planning to buy lots of woollen stuff for small children I know which I'm sure they'll be delighted with. (Sorry, but the ponchos are very sweet).

And now I'm just rambling so adios.

xx

Oh, and I am having a lovely time, despite the photos on Marv's blog suggesting otherwise. What a grumpy looking person I am!

Hola Chicos!

I realise there is quite a lot of action missing from these pages...we've been busy doin' stuff rather than writing about it, which I knew would happen. Today is Sunday again tho' so a little bit more lowkey. Here's a quick run down of the last few days:

- Bus ride through the Andes to Santiago. Absolutely bonkers road. Good surface but twisty in the extreme. And mountains on either side with snow on 'em, including the Aconcagua - I think the highest mountain in the Andes?? The spectrum of temperature in this country is fantastic. (We're now in 'feels like we're in England' zone so I feel very comfortable - more on that later.) Winner of most dramatic setting for a passport checkpoint I've ever been to goes to the one between Santiago and Mendoza.
- Santiago: I really, really like Santiago. It feels much further away from home than Buenos Aires - I mean, it is literally further away from London, but it is also less European in tone. ANd so it lends itself less to comparisons which disorients the weary bus traveller even more. It's also smaller. And it's loud and exuberant. Lots of street entertainment till all hours. We stayed in the Vegas Hotel. NOt a casino in sight, but a national monument/throwback to the 70s with wooden walls, and funky furniture. ANd in an area of S. called Pris-Londres - cobbled streets, very quiet.
- Bar de la Union for dinner. Fantastic bar-restaurant right next to what we think is the stock exchange. Men only apparently - or at least when we were there. But I brazened it out in true Davis style, even if I am a Trickey now. Drank a fantastic bottle of Cabernet-Sauvignon and ate the option we go for when we're too tired to try to translate - yep, steak and potatoes.
- 'Did' Santiago the following day. This involved buying an 'Indiana' hat for Marv. I'm not joking, that was what it's called. Most brilliant hat-buying experience - they measure your cranium with a Heath-Robinson contraption, and then stretch your chosen hat to fit your measurements. It was so cool, I had a go, and how have a measurement of my head. It's a bit big and a bit wonky. Then to the Mercado Central (fish market) which was tops. Had a fantastic bit of sea bass. Then travel stress - which we finally sorted. Our plan (already underway) is to 4WD it to Puerto Montt (1000km) via Valpairoso and Pucon in the Lake District then a ferry to Puerto Chacabucco then bus it to Punto Arenas. Walk in teh Torres del Paine and get a catamaran to the San Rafael Glaciar. Then bus it back to Buenos Aires. Meet up with the lovely Michelle for more sushi action then fly to Auckland in time for Xmas. It tooke 2 hours to figure that lot out. It's somewhat complicated by the fact that we are just outside the season. This is both good and bad, mainly good in my opinion. Bad because it limits some of the by road options - Chilean roads below Puerto Montt are not really happening outside January-February so you have to cross into Argentina which has roads all the way down the country. CHile is just too thin and peters off into islands down south. But good in that we have been turning up in places and there is availability in our first choice of hostel, and trips are easy to get on. And roads are pretty empty. ANYWAY, we then went to Pablo Neruda's house, a great hotchpotch of a place, beautifully preserved. Then up the funicular to the Cerro San Cristobal for a view over the city. Then to a bar-restaurant called Etnico in the Bella Vista area of Santiago. As already mentioned I went completely overboard on the old sushi, but my, it was fine fish.
- Drive to Valpairoso the following day. Very cool town on the coast. Originally capital I think. Divided in two - upper and lower. Lower is a working port. Upper is the most fantastic tumble of houses on a hillside, all beautifully painted with great views over the harbour. Wandered then had a fresh manzana juice in the Brighton cafe. To get beneath the two bits fo the city you take the rickety ascensors - like mini funiculars - for 700 pesos. Oh, and we had lunch in the lower part of the town in a very funky restaurant called J. Cruz which I think is a bit of an institution. Like a museum with a muddle of objects, and much graffiti over ever surface that isn't covered with clocks, china and binoculars. THere was one meal on offer: the most enormous plate of chips piled with meat and eggs and onions. Don't try it at home kids. My arteries clogged just looking at it.
- Then drove a gorgeous little seaside town called Pichilemu through the central valley - wine-growing region as the sun set. Wandered along the (black volcanic sand) beach. Picked up a pizza and ate on our balcony. Weather cooled down considerably from Santiago. Most comfortable bed on the trip so far in the hotel chile espana.
- Mad driving day. Marv was heroic. Went to the Siete Tazas park - 7 cups. A naturally created waterfall made up of 7 pools with the water dropping from one to the other. Unfortunately arrived at teh same time as a bus load of kids but they wandered off and we had a picnic by ourselves next to the waterfall. The drive there and back to the Ruta 6 - the PanAmericana motorway - was a little trying. Gravelled all the way. And, of course, we got a puncture. Marv managed to change it after much sweating (pleasant), jamming the jack in the suspension (y´know, the Trickey bodge style - basically the jack under the proper bit of the suspension didn't get the car high enough so he put it further under, and propped the car up with stones...if you want more on the fiasco, got check out Marv's account.) Also managed to figure out the spanish for 'we have a puncture - can you fix our spare tyre please?' and a very sweet mechanic sorted us out for a quid. Quick Fit could take a few lessons in customer service.
- Arrived in the Lake District and the small town of Pucon at ten pm. Staying at a lovely, lovely hostel called ¡ecole! which has a great veggie restaurant - a relief on the old tummy. Hoping to climb Volcan Villaricca tomorrow but the weather may decide otherwise in which case we´ll go walking round the lakes. Then driving to either Chiloe or Puerto Montt in the south of the Lake District in preparation for our ferry ride.

PS Tx for all the nice congrats. I am happy about the dissertation. Mainly that it's over and I can read what I like.