Licarayen Puerto Varas

... man in our little quartet, the lone rooster in this small flock of hens (I don’t know why I use so many barnyard references). He has become like our little brother. We tease him; beat him up, still keeping a protective watch over him. We gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek knowing that in a few weeks we will see him again.

We buy our ticket for Chiloe and ask the cashier if there was lodging near by. Within 2 blocks there were 2 hotels and a ...

... t go north up the hillsides, because you will for sure encounter problems. There are a few blocks to the west, but really only stay between these two streets. And at night there are 2 bars that are nice. Wait, only one bar. But you will not find any dancing.¨ Interesting. What about catching a bus to a city nearby? Oh yes! You must go to Puerto Varas, about a 20 minute bus ride away. So off I went back to the bus station and ...

... not having a car limited our options, so we basically did everything we could do on foot. The day started with a 5 hour hike to Salto Grande, the biggest of the waterfalls in Torres Del Paine. It was definitely less painful than any part of the Inca Trail but the wind was crazy, at times we had to hold on to each other and nearby trees to stop ourselves from being blown away. But it was well worth the effort, the waterfall was ...

... infusion prepared by steeping dried leaves of yerba mata in hot water. It is the national drink of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay and believe me they were serious about their Mate! Of course, the Uruguayans promised me that their mate was better than that of Argentina or Paraguay. It is a social practice where everyone drinks out of the same cup. (yes mom - germs!!) It is commonly passed around in social ...

... John whom we´d got talking too. He had way too much to drink and disappeared halfway through the night leaving his jacket, hat and gloves in the bar. When he didn´t show up for breakfast or lunch the next day we started to think he´d gone overboard! But we found him out on the deck just before we landed in Peurto Natales. He said he woke up in a random bed in the staff quarters covered in some sort of oil and his own vomit, he then made ...

... had lunch quickly and returned down. One of the girls caught a glimpse of a mouse on top and she leaped a foot high in the air before sliding on the snow to a safe area. We were all in uncontrollable fits of laughter at that stage. That night we treated ourselves to a big steak and a well deserved beer. After 3 days in Puerto Natales we decided to jump on a 4 day boat trip to Puerto Montt which is where I am now. The other option was ...

... Enough to give you nausea. The next day we drove onto Temuco airport to pick up Sarah and Blaithin all with dodgy enough hangovers. They were both pretty tired after there long haul flight from Dublin but it didnt stop the smiles as baby Bla spotted Dan waiting for her at the departure gate. It was great to see both of them. We drove about an hour from Temuco back to Pucon then where we shipped up for a week in the Monte Verde Cabanas.

Our next stop was Puerto Montt located in the tenth district of Chile, the lake district is very beautiful with many volcanoes and beautiful deep water lakes. This city is a virtual metropolis with almost 175,000 inhabitants and many thriving industries including the railroad, forestry, fishing and service companies. The area was founded in 1853 by German immigrants led by Vincente Perez Rosales. We opted for more of a bus ride today ...

... airport does not allow flights to go in and out of the area as they want to keep their business, so we were to drive south for two and a half hours to fly north to Puerto Montt. It is so strange how things work in South America. Another interesting thing we found out was that the Hotel Explora, the premiere hotel in Torres Del Paine must close in 12 years as they only paid for a 30 year lease. So there you go, the most well known hotel in the ...

... bus de la empresa Vía Bariloche haría su recorrido por la región de entre lagos y cruzando por Angostura una pequeña villa muy cerca de San Martín de los Andes y a 79 kilómetros de Bariloche, otro destino preferido para los argentinos. El escenario era tan deslumbrante que no me permitía descansar pues me cada detalle del paisaje me sorprendía aun mas. A 1314 metros a nivel del mar esta la caseta de la aduana Argentina, en medio de mucha vegetación en medio de la montaña ...