C H I L E   2 0 0 6

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TRAVELING SOUTH

After exploring other parts of Chile (including Isla de Pasqua, areas north of Santiago and fishing in the fjords), we began our trek through the southern regions of Chile.  We began by renting a car in Santiago on March 4 and driving about an hour south to Rancangua.  Primarily an agricultural center, Rancangua is famous for hosting an annual rodeo.  Unfortunately, it fell later in the month.  However, we relaxed at a lovely hotel, Il Giardino.  We also toured the Anakena Winery (yes, named after Easter Island).  We tasted some delicious wines that we bought to share during our final week of fishing at Martin Pescador.

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Upon leaving Rancagua, we routed through Santa Cruz.  It’s a beautiful town surrounded many vineyards.  It was a relaxing way to wind through the Chilean countryside.  We spent the night in the community of Talca.

Our next two nights March 7 and 8) were spent in the resort, Salto del Laja.  Our hotel overlooked the beautiful salto (waterfall).  Simply amazing!  We also ventured to the town of Los Angeles to do some shopping and touring.  We had a very memorable lunch there at the equivalent of a Chilean truck stop.  We enjoyed Casuela (a wonderful soup made with vegetables and beef (it also is made with chicken)), Chilean salad (tomatoes & onions), bread and a beer for 1,250CLP each (~$2.25).  What a deal!  It was really fun to be eating with the locals, including a bunch of military and police officers.

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We continued southward and spent the next two nights enjoying Temuco.  Temuco is a relatively new city so we spent the majority of our time exploring the park surrounding Vulcan Llaima (Parque Conguillio).  It’s an incredible site – some 3,124 meters high.  It’s among Chile’s active volcanos.  There are numerous Araucaria trees commonly referred to as “Los Paraguas” (The Umbrellas).

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We then headed inland to Pucon, a resort city in the shadow of Vulcan Villarica.  The volcano is still active and it was interesting to see the “eruption” alert lights at the fire station.  We decided that living in that proximity is a bit too close for our comfort level.  Nevertheless we thoroughly enjoyed our time there.  We toured the national park near Vulcan Villarica.  It was a true driving challenge on what we would call a rock road (the stuff making up the road bed was much too big to be gravel!)  The road into the park is little more than a jeep track so we had to go very slowly in our Toyota.  We also explored Parque Nacional Huerquehue.  In addition, we did lots of window shopping (and buying) in each of Pucon and Villarica.

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As we continued south, we headed next to Valdivia – known for its crab and chocolate.  Both were big hits with us!  The city is a college town and it was bustling with activity.   Early one morning we visited the fish market along the waterway leading to the sea.  It was full of wonderful goodies.  We also toured Castello del Niebla, an old fort, located across the river from the town.  In addition to touring we had delicious seafood meals and we did buy some of the famous Interlocken chocolates for a friend.

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We finished our journey by returning to Puerto Varas.  It was hard to believe that it had been six weeks since we arrived there on the initial leg of our journey.  This time we didn’t do any touring outside the city.  Instead, we did shopping in town – both for some Orvis fishing gear as well as some Alpaca woolen goods to take home.  Apart from that, we relaxed and rested in anticipation of our final week of fishing at Martin Pescador Lodge (see, Martin Pescador).

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