Oh, the farms

We have a problem with mornings. "You always have had," I can hear my mom saying.

It is cold and overcast in the morning and we are so slow to get moving. Once up and walking around the cold, crisp air is invigorating. This morning (mid to late morning to be more correct) we got out of our fairly bland accommodation in Neltume and walked to the Huilo-Huilo (pronounced 'gwe-low gwe-low') cascades.

Although the waterfall is a trickle now, it was 100% worth the $3,000 (this is pesos, not dollars - they use the same symbol; exchange rate is $40 : R1) each to walk in the amazing forest and to see the waterfall and pools. Our minds boggled at how incredible this must be to see in spring when the river runs strong with meltwater.

The colour of the pools - the photos we took do not nearly do it justice. Crystal clear too. You can see every feature of the rocks in the pools.

The forest we walked though was amazing. Huge trees that towered over us. Green and lush and magnificent. The wooden staircase that descended from high to the river... fue maravilloso.

A quick walk back to our car and we began a lovely drive to Futrono, a small town on the northern shore of Lago Ranco, one of the seven lakes.

We mostly took back roads and feasted our eyes non-stop on the farms out here. Large fields, cattle, sometimes sheep but mostly large fields dotted with large trees, tree-lined avenues leading to farm houses, magnificently soft autumn-y colours, straight tree-lined field borders, wooden fence posts, more and more trees... it really is a wonder to see. Farms cover this whole region. And where there are not fields there is indigenous forest and patches of pine plantation. Patches.

We also enjoyed crossing the wooden bridges for sights of shallow rivers bubbling over pebbles and rocks. This area is a wonder.

Our route took us back through Panguipulli, where we stayed the night before last. We know the supermercado there so we hit it for recarga - recharge data for our local phone. The sweet lady kindly loaded it for me.

The place we're staying tonight is one of the best of my life! I found it yesterday on AirBnB. I liked the photo. It is a lovely wooden cabin on a farm just outside of Futrono. Patricia, our hostess, met us at the gate with a warm smile. This is a working farm with cattle, chickens, geese and bees (the bees and honey seem to be her dad's pet project). We met her sister and mom too in the lovely big house just up from our cabaña.

We have a lounge with a wonderful wood-fired heater (kaggel in Afrikaans). Bliss! The small kitchen is just perfect - simple and plenty of everything. Patricia gave us a basket with apples from the farm and a half-dozen fresh farm eggs. I whipped up an onion - baby marrow - apple quiche for dinner. Yum! She also gave us two pumpernickle bread muffins, which we'll  eat with breakfast. I'm looking forward to a walk around in the morning. The vegetation is dense and a little stream runs right next to our cabaña.

Tomorrow (Monday) we're heading for Puerto Montt and Puerto Varas. I am so looking forward to see my friend Mane. It has been too many years since we last saw each other. We met at Patagonia Expedition Race in 2005 (Mane is a photographer) and again in 2006 and it must have been 2007 or 2008 that he was with me at the Himalayan Stage Race in India. I was running and writing; he was photographing. He has been back to India at least once or twice to photograph the event.

We have so many questions for Mane about Chile and these farms and southern towns. He also knows the south incredibly well so he'll guide us as to travel options and routes and must-see locations.

I have been to Puerto Varas before - in 2006 when my friends Heather and Michael Graz did the Patagonia Expedition Race. They were living and working here and after the race I spent a few days with them. I remember the wonderful sight of the volcano on the other side of the lake... we've  been surrounded by them so far but with the thick, low cloud we haven't  seen them!

I've got such great photos from today but my phone went totally wonky and I'm hesitant to connect it to the camera incase my phone has a virus that it will pass on... I'll get it checked when I'm  back on wifi and then I'll update this post with images.

A few photos - bit of a wonky order (writing and uploading from an app on the phone). Huilo-Huilo falls, a river on the way (Monday), a viewpoint at Lagos Panguipulli, a farm fence post, our cabaña near Futrono. And a map showing our route to Futrono.

Driving South

We had a long drive today - in time and distance. Our plan is to quickly head South and then to meander back North towards Santiago, which is where we fly out from.

Our journey today took us out of Vina del Mar on a road that overlooked the Vina and Valparaiso - a perfect way to say goodbye. We took secondary roads,  winding past Quintay, a small fishing village. What we didn't  realise is that Quintay is home to the Santa Augusta golf course. We saw a sign and both thought we recognised the name... and it is so.

It was a steep drive down to the little dock, where we admired the clear water, a glimpse of a nearby wide beach and the cliffs that drop into the sea.

A second-gear drive got us out again and on a wonderful road bordered on both sides by pine plantations. It is a different type of pine to what we have and a different style of plantation - lovely too.

We stuck to the coastal road, passing through really pretty scenery. Going through Turquen, we saw the most incredible log cabins. I use the word 'log' loosely. Think modern, stylish, big glass panels. Certainly all eco constructed with great views and definitely expensive. So many of them that looked like pages in House&Home magazines.

Then followed holiday coastal towns through  Algarrobo and on - think Margate. Loads of apartment blocks that didn't  look occupied. The towns must rock in the summer when holidaymakers descend on the coast. All neat and tidy and fresh and well presented.

And then we arrived in the major town of San Antonio. We didn't go to the harbour but it certainly looks to have a much, much bigger harbour for shipping than Valparaiso. Big cranes were clearly visible and on the road out we passed dozens of trucks with containers on their trailers heading for San Antonio and trucks on the road with us heading to other parts - presumably with cargo loaded.

With time passing way too fast, we decided to head straight on Route 66 for the highway South - the Panamerican Highway.

Google maps had said that it would take 5hrs from Valparaiso to Chillan (around 500km), our pre-booked overnight stop. Even without our sightseeing it would have definitely taken more. We were on the road for a good 10hrs today.

Route 66 is a great drive through farms. There is massive agriculture all around. Huge, huge fruit farms. The size is mind boggling!  Strawberries, raspberries, grapes, plums, citrus and the like. We saw huge farms with big trees - we don't  know what they were. A bit like mango trees - but I think not. The expanse of the farms was totally incredible.

The trucks. So many both on our side of the road and oncoming. And then, once on the main highway, we had a steady flow of traffic in both directions.

Fortunately  Celliers has a lot of experience driving on the right from Canada, US and Europe so he took the traffic in his stride.

Tonight we're in Chillan and staying in a beautiful home, which we found on AirBnB (as with our other accommodations). Modern, stylish, large and comfortable it is a treat. Until now we've  been in small city apartments (modern and new to old) so it is nice to see the other side. We'll explore a bit of Chillan in the morning before we continue our journey South.

I didn't take many photos today - despite some great views. It has been overcast the whole day with light rain late afternoon. The temperature is cooler here and certain to get colder as we drive South. Our bags have been bulging with down jackets and sweaters, which we look forward to wearing.

Photos show:

Panoramic view from above Vina de Mar looking over Vina.

Houses viewed from the quaint fishing (and scuba diving base) harbour at Quintay.

Excellent quality road winding from Quintay to sweet holiday towns. Pine plantations on both sides for many kilometres.

An appreciation for Valparaiso

When we drove through a part of Valparaiso yesterday to get to our accommodation both Celliers and I were not feeling too excited about the place. Slum-like rickety buildings falling off hillsides, an abundance of electrical wires sprouting from poles and buildings and the appearance of everything needing a good coat of paint put us off.

Our hostess, Elsa, told us about a walking city tour, which we jumped at doing. We are so glad we did because now we have a far greater appreciation of Valparaiso.

I have done a free city walking tour before - in Buenos Aires. I loved it. This was to be just as fabulous.

We caught a bus from Vina del Mar to the city centre of Valparaiso. These bus drivers are demons!  They drive really fast, whizzing through traffic. We met our tour guide at a square, with a statue of Neptune - a must-have for any port city or town.

There were another three people on the tour with us: an Australian and a couple from India. Our guide, Alvaro, was friendly and informative and a pleasure to have showing us around. We toured the streets of Cerro Conception, went up an old funicular - a near-vertical cable car on rails that connects the lower city with homes on the hills (there are 14 of them) - and we ate empanadas at a local cafe.

There are officially 42 hills (cerros) surrounding the flat commercial and financial area of the city. Valparaiso grew organically, with no residential planning, as immigrants arrived and the population grew through the late 1800s and early 1900s. They spread onto the hills. The small roads make quite a web.

The cerros are stacked with houses and, in the nicer areas, with hostels, hotels, restaurants and places of interest too. Cerro Conception is a touristy area with nicer buildings, which are adorned with graffiti and murals.

Since the late 1990s these artworks have become a 'thing' of the area and are a major attraction. With good reason! They're stunning. You can go crazy looking at and taking photos of them.

Artists ask house owners if they can paint a picture on their walls. Permission is usually given because it is far more preferable to have a nice picture instead of a nasty graffiti tag (those ugly black 'signatures' that morons squiggle on everything) on one's wall. Apparently taggers will generally respect murals.

Many houses are painted in charming colours, turning the hills colourful. It's another tradition of this town and that of other port towns, like the La Boca neighbourhood in Buenos Aires.

We took in a lot of the history of the city,  marvelled at the walls and murals and enjoyed walking the winding streets and cobbled roads. We totally recommend doing the same if you visit here.

After the tour, which took about three hours, Celliers and I trekked up the hill to see one of the three cemeteries up there. Much like the cemetery in Buenos Aires, there are family mausoleums (typical Catholic setup). The earliest we found dates back to 1880. We went to Cemetery No. 2... No. 1 could be older?

The electricity wires above the streets are a crazy sight. I find them very ugly - being used to underground cables. The deal (one of them) with the above-ground cables is that this is a region hit by earthquakes. Safer to have them above ground, apparently.

The population is only around 280,000 - about double that of Potchefstroom. Looks like loads more because of the density and jumble. The greater Valparaiso area, including Vina del Mar where we are staying and other 'cities' a little North, tally just under a million.

And then we took another high-speed bus ride back to Vina del Mar, where we chilled on a bench overlooking the beach and explored the nearby mall (very flash and with lots of stores - especially clothing).

There are lots and lots of stray dogs all over the place. They're generally in good condition and are friendly. I asked our guide about them.

Many of these dogs - usually medium size to large (labrador, German Shepherd) - were pets at one time but were probably abandoned when their owner moved; say from a house to an apartment (or to a smaller apartment). The city pound doesn't have space to accommodate the vast number of them and so the dogs roam the streets.

People feed the dogs, even though it is illegal, and the dogs look healthy. Apparently the government outlawed the feeding of the strays - in an attempt to starve them to death... but the people have far more compassion. I've seen a number of pedestrians patting dogs on their heads. There are animal welfare organisations that try to help the dogs and as a result many of the strays are sterilised. The dogs spend their days wandering around and snoozing on benches, on grass and on sidewalks and they seem pretty street-crossing savy. I've  seen a dozen I'd gladly take home.

I guess this is the problem... There are just so many strays and people can't take them home to pokey small apartments. Instead they do what they can to care for them on the streets.

Tomorrow we start heading South. We got our hands on some maps today. We'll  be travelling down the coast for some sightseeing.

I've included two collages below from our day on Valparaiso. One of some murals and the other of buildings. I took loads of photos - just so much to see!

I'm very glad to be leaving Valparaiso knowing more about the place and having a far better appreciation for the city than what the first impression made.

Travelling in Chile

Our travels to Chile began with a re-routed flight. Instead of Joburg - Paris - Sao Paulo - Santiago we flew Jhb - Amsterdam (with the day here)  - Buenos Aires (quick 1hr transit) - Santiago. It was a great change to not only have the day in Amsterdam - my first visit - but also to arrive in Santiago at 9h30 instead of 01h00.

We had an excellent day in Amsterdam. What a fabulous city! We missed out on the Van Gogh museum (long, long queues) but did do a canal boat ride and lots of walking. We didn't see any tulips except some in a planter outside an office.

We were back at the airport in the evening for the 14hr flight to Buenos Aires.

On the flight from Joburg to Amsterdam I slept from before take off to 4h30 to go! I think the total flight was around 11hrs. On the next leg I made it through one movie and dinner and then slept all the way until 1h30 to go! Celliers normally doesn't  sleep but he too snoozed on both flights (albeit not quite as much as me).

We made our first six nights of accommodation bookings through AirBnB before leAvington home. We made our way to our first place taking a bus and the metro from Santiago airport into the city. We unknowingly picked a great location and were warmly welcomed by Alejandra to her apartment.

She doesnt live there - it is specifically for AirBnB. She works as a psychologist three days a week and runs this apartment, which she only setup a few months ago. It is absolutely charming. Small but neat and tidy and well equipped. It has two rooms and we were fortunate to have it all to ourselves.

After a cup of tea and a chat with her, we set off to explore the city. Wow! We love it. Old and interesting architecture and just so much to see. A highlight was walking to the top of Cerro San Cristobal in the massive park in the city. From there we really got a perspective of just how huge the city is. We thought that we'd  walked lots but with the perspective of how huge the city is... we'd covered just a tiny piece.

From our viewpoint, cloud cover obscured most of the surrounding mountains, but we did see some snow-covered peaks. It looks like the mountains loom huge over the city - but they are over 100km away. Big, big mountains.

We ate at a great spot in the student part of town and slept like the dead.

This morning (Tuesday) we headed back to the airport to collect our hire car. Fortunately Celliers is a whiz at driving on the 'wrong' side of the road - the right. From the airport we got directly on to the Route 68 towards Valparaiso.

Not far from the airport we shot through a long tunnel and arrived on the other side of the mountains in farmland - Chilean wine country. The hills and electric green grass and vineyards are great to look at; there's  not much in terms of towns. We did stop at a small town marked on the map, 'Casablanca'. We hit the supermarket and got some bread and cheese, which we ate on a park bench. Not much else to be said of this little town...

Our Footprint guide book doesn't have too much nice to say about Valparaiso. It is long past its heyday although there are interesting sights to enjoy and the contrast  between mansions and the slums on the dozens of cerros (hills) that line the coast.

We're staying in Vina del Mar, which seems very much like a Durban-type area. This is where people come for their seaside holidays.  Here, and the towns North up the coast. After driving through Valparaiso we drove North past Vina del Mar and through a bunch of these 'resort' towns. Massive apartment blocks vie for space and look out at the sea. Totally crazy! After a couple of these we turned around to head back to Vina del Mar to the place where we are staying.

Our hostess is Elsa. She can understand some English but doesn't speak it. I'm enjoying the opportunity to try my Spanish and I'm actually doing ok. Words I haven't  used in so long are making an appearance and my recent practice speaking and learning Afrikaans has definitely helped my confidence. Elsa is great with me and we're  understanding each other perfectly. She speaks slowly and uses more simple words that I can follow.

I did ask Elsa to teach us how to pronounce Valparaiso. The 'v' has a 'b' sound, as with all v-words in Spanish. It then sounds much like 'bal-para-eeso'. 

Tomorrow morning (Wednesday) we will catch a bus to Valparaiso for a free city walking tour. I've done similar in Buenos Aires. The tour is free - but you then tip the guide for their service. We're  looking forward to it. Just our quick drive through a part of Valparaiso told us it was a place we were not comfortable exploring on our own. The tour may be in a better part of the city??? We'll see tomorrow.

We have Wednesday night here too and then a big drive (about 500km) on Thursday to start heading South and our Thursday night accommodation.

* First blog post on the Blogger app - on my phone. It won't let me post photos inline... 

Photos show: tulips in Amsterdam; view of the snow-capped Andes Mountains approaching Santiago; view of a part of Santiago from Cerro San Cristobal (there are snow-covered peaks in the clouds); selfie above the city; park plus statue in Casablance en route to Valparaiso; a beachfront apartment-covered town just North of Vina del Mar.