In search of America...

Reaching the Mainland from Chiloe on January 17th, we were aware that we were going back to more populated areas and «civilisation»…but we had not realised how populated it would be!! The little port of Angelmo, and its fish market, offers us a relatively sheltered place to have lunch, away from the big city of Puerto Montt.

As in many ports in the area, the sea lions cohabit with the fishermen and, here, defend their territory against the wild dogs to obtain fish remains!

After some shopping and a shower, we continue our road towards the Lago Llanquihue. Chileans are now on holidays and the lake is very touristic, but we will still manage to find a quiet spot to spend the night.

The next day, we head to Petrohue and the Lago Todos Los Santos, reputed to be one of the most beautiful lakes in the area. Overlooking the lake, the Osorno Volcano and its perfect conic shape.

The amount of persons visiting the area is impressive, and dozens of autobuses drive to the famous Salto de Petrohue, a nice waterfall unfortunately a little bit wasted by the facilities built for mass tourism.

Further north along the Lago Llanquihue, the playa Maiten offers us a nice break from the crowd and the kids have the beach nearly to themselves!

After one more day on the lake in Puerto Octay, we drive west to the Pacific to visit some small villages home to the Huilliche community. In the tiny Bahia Mansa, and further north in Pucotrihue, the landscapes are well preserved and exploiting sea resources seems to be the principal sector of activity.

Enjoying the beach and going for a kayak tour on the Rio Llesquehue…

But, here also, when the weekend comes…the place fills up with people and we retreat to our motorhome to escape from the crowd!                        

Driving further north, we reach Panguipulli then Pucon, where we want to get closer to the Villarica Volcano, and visit the national park. Unfortunately, we learn at our arrival that all national parks are closed, because of huge forest fires going on further north…

We decide to wait for a few days in the area, in case the parks could reopen soon. A small camping with a swimming pool, climbing wall and an easy access to water makes an enjoyable stop for the kids, and a practical place to start cleaning up the motorhome!

After three days at the campground, the fires are only getting worse and we understand that there is little chance for the parks to reopen before long. We take the road towards the north and soon encounter the first plumes of smoke. After some time, we enter a huge cloud of smoke that follows us for hundreds of kilometers.

We drive rapidly through the smoke, stopping only once the cloud clears up near Rancagua. We have some repairs to make on the motorhome and wait at the balneario Las Vertientes for the shop to open. A huge swimming pool lost in the eucalyptus, and many Santiaguinos (inhabitants of Santiago) enjoying the place for the weekend!

January 30: the repair shop has been efficient and we can drive through Santiago and straight to Pichicuy, a small seaside village 2 hours north of the capital. Here we find a huge beach nearly all to ourselves, a beautiful sunset and a cute fish market on the next morning. We won’t regret not stopping in the big city!

The landscape has changed drastically since we have passed Santiago and the eucalyptus forest has given way to a very sparse, cactus-dominated vegetation.

After a few more adventures on the sandy roads along the coast, we finally arrive in La Serena on February 1. We will meet a potential buyer on the 3^rd and won’t have too much of 2 days to finish cleaning up the motorhome!