Lakes District and Island of Chiloe

Hey Everyone!

When we last posted we had just finished tobogganing down the side of a volcano in Pucon, Chile.  When we wrote this, we were on a 26-hour bus ride to Patagonia!  (We had a few days delay in posting it due to internet connections).  The past two weeks we've visited the Lakes District of Chile and Argentina, as well as the Island of Chiloe on the Pacific Ocean. We have been super busy and we have lots to tell you about….

The Chilean Lakes District (cont'd)

We celebrated the New Year in Pucon with some people at our hostel and a Belgian couple we met back in Valparaiso.  Our night started with a big barbeque at our hostel (salads, kebabs, sausages, salmon, beef, beer and wine!), followed by fireworks on the beach at midnight!  After the impressive fireworks display, it was out on the town for some dancing to complete a great night!  The next day we slept in (in our awesome yurt) and relaxed in the sun at the beach.

Our yurt at our hostel in Pucon, Chile

On Jan 2nd we headed to the nearby Parque Nacional Huerquehue for some trekking and to put our new camping gear to the test.  We did two day hikes and camped one night at a great lakeside campground.  The first hike was around three beautiful lakes and included a refreshing swim and a picnic lunch.  For the second hike, we climbed up one of the park’s mountains for some breathtaking views of the surrounding volcanoes and lakes!  The park was one of the most beautiful places in Chile!

View of volcano and lake in Huerquehue National Park

Going for a swim at our picnic lunch spot

At the summit of San Sebastian mountain in Huerquehue NP

At the summit of San Sebastian mountain in Huerquehue NP

We headed back to Pucon for the night before taking a bus the next morning further south to Puerto Varas – another town set amid volcanoes and lakes.  In Puerto Varas, we rented a car for a day and explored the surrounding area with our Belgian friends.

Road Trip!

Our little road trip included driving up for a closer look at the ‘local’ volcano, checking out waterfalls and river rapids, and seeing a fantastic beach.  The only downfall was the ‘petros’ (similar to horse flies), which are in the area for a month to breed and made staying at the beach impossible.   That night, we camped at a gorgeous lakeside and volcano-side campsite and watched a fantastic sunset!

At the Petrohue waterfalls and lookout

At the waterfall of Las Cascadas

Our campground at sunset

The Island of Chiloe

The next morning we returned to Puerto Varas to drop off the rental car and take a bus to Chiloe – a network of islands in Southern Chile known for its isolated and pristine parks, quaint towns, fresh seafood, and unfortunately, its rainy climate.  It reminded us of east-coast Canada.  In Chiloe, we did an overnight hike to a remote section of the Chiloe National Park, near the “village” (population 100) of Chepu.  On the way, we walked out on a sand bar at low tide to a small island where a colony of Magellanic penguins live!  It was so cool to just sit and watch them play on the beach a mere 50m from us!

On the trail near Chepu, on the island of Chiloe

The Pacific coastline of northwestern Chiloe

A cove and the sand bar behind it leading to the penguins

A pair of Magellanic penguins on the beach!

The trek to the National Park was beautiful, with long stretches of untouched, empty beaches, and old growth forests ending in jagged cliffs.  After 15 km, we finally reached our campsite in the National Park in one of the most remote places we have ever been.  There was an abandoned refuge, which had a bit of a spooky, horror-film feel to it and a few barely distinguishable, overgrown trails.  Enjoying the tranquility and privacy of the place, we cooked up a delicious dinner and then went down to the beach.  That was when we noticed a line of people coming around the corner onto the beach. We couldn’t believe our eyes!  40 boy scouts from Santiago showed up on their annual camping trip!  The scouts go somewhere different every year and it just so happened they chose this campsite in Chiloe this year and to do their trip on the same night we were there!  Goodbye eerie solitude; hello campfire sing-a-longs!  Once the shock wore off, we had a good laugh!

The last beach before reaching the National Park

Invasion of 40 boy scouts

The next day we walked the 15 km back to Chepu in some super strong winds and light rain.  We spent two more days in the crazy weather of Chiloe (it’s about a 10 min rotation of sun and rain), exploring more of the towns and small islands, and trying the local cuisine.

The stilted houses in the city of Castro in central Chiloe

The Argentine Lakes District

From Chiloe, we took a bus and ferry back to Puerto Varas for a night before heading across the border to Bariloche, Argentina.  Bariloche is in the heart of Argentina’s lakes district and we spent 2.5 days exploring the area.  We rented a car and took off on the “ruta del siete lagos” (route of 7 lakes).  It seemed like everywhere we looked there was another gorgeous lake surrounded by mountains and forest!  We camped for one night along the way and stopped for a quick visit (and the best ice cream ever!!) in San Martin de Los Andes before returning to Bariloche for the night.

On the 'Ruta del 7 Lagos'

On the 'Ruta del 7 Lagos'

The best ice cream ever!!! (only half the flavours are shown here)

We shared a big bowl of dark chocolate with figs and nuts, dulce de leche (milk caramel), and raspberry cream.

On our last day in Bariloche, we rented bikes and rode a 25 km loop with more great views!  We capped off our trip with some deeelicious chocolate, which the town is also famous for.  The exercise and box of chocolates both proved invaluable, as at 5pm our 26-hour bus ride to El Chalten in Patagonia was underway.

Biking around Bariloche

We will spend just under 3 weeks in Patagonia doing more trekking and camping before heading to Buenos Aires for February 3 to meet up with Shaina’s parents!

Hopefully everyone and everything is good at home!

Lots of love, Marsh & Shaina

xoxo

P.S.: We booked our flight back to Toronto for March 9th so we will be seeing you before you know it!

P.P.S.: Congrats to Rich and Amanda on their engagement!