Nov 26 2018 - A Very Brief Trip to Argentina

The goal today was to hike in the Huerquehue National Park. Our guide suggested changing to the Villarrica National Park, as he likes it better and there won't be crowded, as it is not known by the tourists. We agreed. Especially when he said we said the volcano that dominates the park is shared with Argentina. He even got the business official at the border to let us to walk over to Argentina. We only went as far as the border. But hey, now I can say I have been to 4 South American countries, even if one was only for less than 15 minutes.

We drove through Pucon, the nearest city. Like Puerto Varas, this area is influenced by the German, Swiss and French that settled here.

On the city hall, there was a traffic light posted. It was green, which means no issues with the volcano. If it turns yellow, an eruption is coming, get ready. If red, too late. They even have green lines down the roads that are the evacuation routes.

We stopped to look at a cute church in the small town of Curarruehue. It was a beautiful church mostly made of raw wood. Outside, we saw some ibis hiding in a tree. They are related to the African Ibis.

The nickname for the volcano is "place of tears", because of the water running down from the rocks along the side of the road.

There was lots of floral, and even a little fauna on the hike. They had a plant that looked like bamboo, but not. It was more flexible and hollow. It does have the same life span as bamboo (20 years).

My favorite tree was the Monkey Puzzle. Some will grow for 2000 years. They start out looking like a strange ove tree. Then, as the grow, their limbs start curving and look like monkey tails (thus the monkey in the name), and the bark gets hard,  and then eventually gets raised shapes on it (thus, the puzzle).

It is a pine tree, with a male and female version. In order to get seeds, they must be fertilized. The pine seeds are eaten sauteed, ground into flour, and more.

When the bark gets older, it is resistant to fires. All the other t rees will be gone, but not the money puzzle trees.

We tasted Fox berry fruit. It tasted sweet. The berry is a Llittle smaller than a blueberry, and a purple-maroon color.

There are two comments that our guide said frequently, but you just can't believe. 1) it's only 5 minutes away, and 2) it's flat from here. I'm not sure his definition of flat but it's not the same as mine. And 5 minutes, well, 20 minutes later...

This is our last day in Chile before we head north. I have enjoyed the trip. The people are nice, I've felt safe everywhere I go, and there are many interesting things to see. Just don't count on people speaking english (at least in the small towns) and don't count on the internet. Minor things in the scheme of things.

Nov 25 2018 - Relaxing in Geothermal Springs

Yesterday was a travel day. Everybody went to santiago, then we shot up to go different directions. Some back home, others to cities in Chile. We got on another plane to Tecumo, where we drove to a remote "boutique" hotel outside Pucon (very remote, rough ride up the driveway, higher end products inside.

We had a great driver on the ride from the airport. He told us a lot about the history of the area.

I didn't realize Chile has the 2nd most number of volcanoes (>2000). Only Indonesia has more.

We passed a grove of hazelnut trees by the side of the road. He told us they are for export to Italy. Italy was looking for somewhere outside of Italy to produce. They noticed Chile produced olive oil, wine, etc. Figuring the environment its similar, they asked Chile if they would produce hazelnuts for them.

Today we went to Terma Geometricas hot springs. It is 17 hot springs along a path with an Asian design, with a waterfall at the typ of the path. The baths are shaped to to the existing environment. The bottoms are tile, and they used the tile to make a few seats along the sides. The three cold baths were a chilly 6°. The temperatures for the hot baths were 97°-111°, adjusted by mixing the hot and cold springs. We went to a few of the less hot baths. I also went in the cold bath a couple of times, but rushed out pretty quickly. It was so cold. The worst was the slate floor - I wish I had had flip flops. Maybe I could have made it to the waterfall in the back of the pool. Instead I just went in up to my shoulders.

Along the sides were changing cabanas and lockers that you are given a lock and key to use. I, of course, dropped my key between the platform slats and had to get someone to fish it out using a long pole with a hook on the end - I guess I wasn't the first. The minerals in the springs are said to be therapeutic, like at the geysers. Again, I felt less aches afterwards. Need to find one of these at home.

Nov 22 2018 - Puerto Varas, We're Here

Fact: Chile is the 2nd largest producer of salt, after Norway. I'm not surprised since every place we've been other than (last city) has mentioned salt, I am not surprised.

Flew into Puerto month and drove to Puerto Varas where we will be spending 2 nights.
The city was settled largely by Germans, and the influence is still seen today in architecture, education, etc. The airport, although small, is the 2nd busiest in Chile.
The city took a while to be found because it was thick woods. Once they cleared the trees, they found the Llanquihue ("deep place") Lake, which has been a great source of revenue. They still don't know depth of lake. The last measure was 500 feet, but know there are areas deeper. It is the largest lake fully within in Chile (another, but larger lake, is shared with Argentina).
There are two volcanoes overlooking the area: Osorno volcano (cone top) and Kobuko volcano (flat top).  The Kobuko last erupted over 175 years ago.  However, Osorno erupted only 3 year ago.  Much of the ashes from the Chilean volcano blew into Argentina, due to wind and proximity. This lead to quite brouhaha about who would pay to clean up the Argentina side. Argentina said it wss Chile's volcano. Chile said it fell on Argentina's land. Both ARE correct.  
As we drove toward the volcano, we went through a rain forest with lots of tall trees. The clouds were nice enough to move aside from the top for our pictures.
Then we went on a short boat ride around a lake. The view was spectacular - I can see why this is the summer homes for the rich (although t their homes are largely hidden from the lake).
Last, we stopped by Saltos del Petrohue, a walk with several waterfalls. None of them were as high as Niagara Falls, but the power and the "in and out" as they  moved among the boulders was awesome.



Pictures:
• Swiss looking buildings downtown, A frame houses
• volcano, Tip of volcano with cracks
• Snowman?
• Fox

Nov 21 2018 - Penguins, Penguins, and More Penguins

Went on about to see Magdalena and Marta Islands. Magdalena is filled with thousands of penguins. Marta has sea lions and sea wolves.
I stood outside on the back of the boat the whole time we were on it. I like the outside better than the cramped, hot, inside. You had to hold on tight, so as not to fall due to the waves. We were in the Straights of Magellan and it was a clear day, so I expected waves more like Lake Erie. But we are so far south that we are below all the continents except Antartica. This means the wind can blow all around the world and only be stopped by South America. The Straights are interior, so get some benefit. I can only imagine being on a ship in the ocean here.
I went to the toilet, as they call it during the boat ride. That's a trip. Imagine a tight space... let's just say you take your life in your hands.
We finally arrived at Maddalena Island. There were thousands of penguins. We had a path to walk on, but every one in a while the penguins ignored the signs and crossed in front of us or walked down our path. We had been warned up front, that it's their island, so the penguins always have the right of way.
Watching the penguins was fascinating (wonder if they say the same about us?). Meant were sitting on eggs in their little hole in the ground (thus the reason for their alternate name, burrow penguin). Some would collect grass from nearby and take it into their home for the nests.
At one point I heard a horrible noise - it sounded like a sea lion, but there weren't supposed to be any on this island. I look around and it's one of the penguins. Next thing I know, another responds back. I guess it was a mating call - you can't miss the attention of the suitor, that's for sure.
But all was not perfect on the penguin's islands. Every story needs a villain, and they have one too. The Chilean Skua. A brown bird that will steal from its neighbors (their name derives from "salteadora", which means "highwayman"). Specifically, given a chance, they will steal and eat the eggs of the penguins. This helps with overpopulation, but poor penguins! was
There was also ?? Birds. They were fun to earn fly. I came across a couple odd birds which appeared to be fighting. Nope. It was a mating ritual (kissing? Life fighting? Not sure).
After an hour, we headed off to Marta island and the sea lions. It was too small of an island to get off without disturbing the wildlife, so we watched from the boat. The island reminded me of a really thick quarter slightly tilted, sitting on top of the water. At the water there was a cliff. There were hundreds (maybe thousands?) of sea lions lying on the ledge at the bottom of the cliff. A few were playing in the water, but most of them were enjoying an afternoon nap - it looked like a Roman orgy.
At the top of the cliff was what looked like hundreds of penguins. Nope. After spending several minutes trying to figure out with others how they got up there, w were informed they were cormoran birds, that look a lot like penguins from a distance.
After returning to the mainland, we went for a large afternoon walk with our guide. The city was founded by Hernando Magellan, so their is a statue in one of the squares that does Magellan on the top. On opposite sides are statues of the two original native tribes. If you kiss the foot of one of the natives, it is said you will return to Chile. On ovne of the other sides is a mermaid holding two shields - one of Chile and the other of Spain.
We also stopped by a church. The inside was simple, yet beautiful. Sometimes simple really is best. We also passed buildings that had business on them. They looked like real streets & people. It was a great way to beautify, and yet add some fun to the area
Everyone wanted lamb for dinner, so our guide took us to a restaurant that had lamb on a skewer cooking for probably hours. I shared a large with someone given how late it was, and boy was I glad. The portions were huge. But it was excellent!
Tomorrow morning we fly a couple hours north to Port Montt.

Nov 20 2018 - Back to Punta Arenas

The wind was out of control last night. Not only did that make it freezing, but difficult to get to sleep. As beautiful as this place is, it has turned cold and rainy, so it is a perfect time to head back to Puerto Arenas.

But before we leave Torres Paines National Park, we have one more stop to make at a waterfall...in the rain. It was a short walk, and the falls were nice, but my guess is I would have enjoyed it more on a sunny day. 
Along the drive south bank to Puerto Arenas, we saw new animals: skunk (fluffier than ours, and what looks like a grey stripe down its back), hare, and various ducks: red shoveler, flying streamer, black-neck swan, regular swan, coot (not an old coot, just a coot), and more. Even a hairy armadillo - it was dead in the side of the road, but I'm counting it. We also came across more flamingos (I had no idea how many flamingos I would see here!).

For lunch we stopped in Puerto Natale for lunch. It was a vegetarian restaurant. I had a sandwich with apple, walnut, and gorgonzola cheese. It was delicious. I'l have to make from home. I'm thinking of trying it as a panini.

After, we walked to a store for some last minute souvenirs. We saw a really cool mural showing the history of man in the area (they really are excellent with there murals).

Buy the time we arrived back in Punta Arenas it was evening, so we ended the day with shared appetizers and a complimentary drink (typical in hotels here).


Bonus pictures:
Cool trash can in Puerto Natale
Mural

Nov 19 2018 - Torres Paine National Park

We spent the day in Torres Paine National Park.
Woke up this morning to a freezing room. Later we learned there are new heaters that are not fully hooked up or testedl. We tested - they are not working correctly.
When we arrived, my window faced east overlooking a gorgeous view of the Paine mountains.  The room was comfortable with the sun shining in. By the time I went to bed, the sun was down and the room was a little cold. By morning, I hated to get out of bed - the room was freezing. I had been very comfortable under my wool blankets, but getting up was horrible. But not as bad as tonight. The weather got cold and rainy in the afternoon, which meant no sun to warm the room before I went to bed. It was worse than this morning. Even the wonderful wool blankets was not enough.

We headed to Torres Paine National Park. There are mountains everywhere. I can't get enough of them.

The first thing we see are less than 10 guanaco (type of llama) along the side of the road. We were not happy when the tour guide did not stop. But he told we there's a better place up the way. When we question him about how many he claimed we would see more (I have to admit, most of him didn't believe him). But he was right, we saw a lot of guanaco over the next couple hours. By lunchtime, the guide would say," there's guanaco, do you want to stop?".... silence.

We also saw the normal cow, sheep, and horses (since we're staying at a working farm) as well as the patagonian grey fox, several upland geese (female is all black, male have some white), and an andean condor (their national bird).

It was sprinkling as we stopped for lunch. Wasn't too long before we decided the rain and cold was not a good combination and came back to the van. On the way to our next stop, we came across more guanaco, but they were all sitting down. According to our guide, when the  weather is bad, they sit down, facing away from the rain, to wait it out closer to the ground. I can understand trying to minimize the cold wind if I were outside and couldn't go in - but sitting on the ground? On the other hand, sitting on the ground and getting your pants wet, is much better than being knocked over by this crazy wind.

Over the course of the day we did several hikes, including a short hike to Paine waterfalls and a lonnnng  walk to see the Grey Glacier, Grey Lake, and the pieces of glaciers floating on Grey Lake. The worst part of the hike was the long, long walk across the stone beach through the middle of the lake. It was like walking on loose sand for 20-30 minutes, each way. The glaciers pieces were beautiful. Very blue. But honestly, if you want to see a lake of glacier fragments, Iceland's can't be beat. 

More tomorrow...