Naguilan Valdivia

... say is "I would walk 500 miles with full backpacks and 40 kilos more." Before finding the hostel, 30 minutes into our backpacking marathon, a local came up to us with a suggestion of staying in his cabanas. They were a bit too expensive but he was happy to drop the price. Being untrusting city folk we said we'd think about it and check out the hostel first. He directed us to the hostel and waited outside while we popped in, saw what a bad state it was in and ...

... market. The highlight here was watching the sea lions, who´ve taken over the river, swimming up to the fish market for hand outs and lounging on the beaches and the jettys. These guys were huge! We´ll say goodbye to Chile as we enter Argentina tomorrow, though hopefully we´ll nip back over the border again once we´re in Patagonia.

... their wares. The merchants were incredibly friendly so I soon found myself laden with bags of fruit. We set out across the bridge to Isla Teja bound for the coast and the little town of Neblia. It was a long 20km cycle especially up all the hills with no gears, it started feeling like a spin class - one I haven't been to in a long time. Gareth on the other hand was just cruising along making the most of having gears and grinning back at me. The cycle was along a ...

... from almost Antarctica to the Tropics. The southern part of the country is so wet you'd almost think you're in Oregon or Washington, but without all the people. The northern part is so dry some parts have never recorded rainfall, but they've still got plenty of people, and have had long before the Spaniards or even the Incas. The cultures are well documented, since not even textiles rot in dry sand, not to mention the Nazca lines ...

Die Idee war eigentlich nur 1 Nacht in Valdivia zu bleiben....da es mir aber so gut gefallen hat bin ich 3 Nächte geblieben..... Valdivia ist eine recht große Hafenstadt voll mit Studenten und dementsprechend ist auch recht viel los...der Hauptgrund für meinen Besuch in Valivia war der Fischmarkt den sie hier haben....sehr lustig muss ich sagen....die Seelöwen kommen einfach mal ebend auf den Bürgersteg und ...

... what look like stationary trailer homes and I gather that this is where the various classes are held. It's cool seeing all the kids walking around and it's a bit nostalgic and I think back upon my days at college which I am assuming weren't a whole lot different then the days here. It's great seeing kids that age as they are idealistic and liberal and it's interesting to think how college is such a crux in one's life and how after college you have ...

After Chiloé, we stopped off for a night in the pretty river town of Valdivia where three rivers meet just inland from the coast. We got there late and after escaping the clutches of the talkative hospedaje owner (a hospedaje is like a bed and breakfast), we only had a few minutes of light to admire Valdivia's chief attractions: the sea lions. And they are so cool! I just couldn't get over how much they look like lions. The male ones could be stand-ins for the lion in the ...

... Chile. I was expecting a few people, but the place was absolutely packed, the bar was full, the restaurant full, families were pìssed, laughter all over, brilliant. So we sampled all the beers, Kate settling on the unfiltered lager while I moved into the bock(a favourite we both share). I tried to order the grande meat and cheese platter, but the waiter saved me, convincing me that the amount of food was way too much and a lot more expensive, lucky he did as we ...

... We found this small little pueblo called Niebla. For those of you who do not know, niebla means "fog" in Spanish. We left about 11:30 am from Valdivia and arrived about 45 minutes later after a scenic and bumpy ride in a local bus. As we approached Niebla, we drove by a small island that was half covered in fog. We got a few photos and realized that we were heading more and more into the fog. When the driver told us that we had ...

... s not too great on the practicalities. Just little things like bad lighting in the room, no clean tea towels, only one loo each for males/females. The worst thing is that the heating isn't great which means we are very cold. Still, we're only here for 1 night. We've got bus tickets to take us to Puerto Varas in the morning. One night there then we're heading North - should be warmer there!