Date : November 5th, 2000
From: America Latina 2001
Subject : Area X
Place : Atacama / Chile : deserts and xxxx near Bolivia borderline

Area X

We left Constitucion on Sunday after our lunch with all the family. Our separating was quite broken-hearted and we promised to Carlos and Maria to stop at their house again on our way back to Santiago.

There we were again on the Panamerican : it is a highway supposed to run across the continent from North to South. In Chile it rather looks like a highway with roadworks in progress on thousands of kilometres... We spent the night in Chillan : an ordinary town for passing people.

On Sunday afternoon we arrived in Caracautin, a compulsory route to reach the Llaina volcano. Until now landscapes in Chile reminded us of the landscapes in France in spring, but watching this volcano we had the satisfaction of seeing something different, something mighty, something beautiful. The route we had chosen was to lead us at the foot of the volcano, but after driving for an hour on a track blackened by volcanic ashes we found ourselves on a snowbound road at an altitude of 1800 meters, which forced us to make a U-turn to skirt round the road. From the Llaina volcano we switched to the Villarica volcano that rises above Pucon : it is a town stuck between this wonderful volcano and an boundless lake. The main road reminded us of our winter sports resorts with their hotels and restaurants built out of stone and wood. Pucon left us a very nice impression.

Chile is divided into Areas numbered from 1 to 12 (in roman numerals) and on Wednesday evening we arrived in Area X : in Puerto Montt that is the starting point for the ferry boats to the southern coast and to Punta Arenas. This town has no charm and stands about ten kilometres from a valley surrounded with beautiful cone-shaped volcanoes and lakes. At the far end of the valley stands Petrohue where we went to admire this splendid sight. An anecdote about Petrohue : it is a place indicated as a town on the map, but actually it consists only of one hotel built specifically for Queen Elizabeth's coming.

On the road to Petrohue there are the "Salto..." Falls : waterfalls in the middle of a rainforest. This place is so enchanting that we lingered more than an hour so as to discover footpaths that lead to turquoise-blue lagoons. In late evening we took the ferryboat to Chiloe Island, during this short trip we could see several seals playing on the channel. We called at Ancud which is the harbour town North West of the island. Ancud is a very nice town built on hills that plunges onto the oceans. We strolled there peacefully till we arrived in a restaurant that looks out onto the bay. We sipped a Cristal (the local beer) in front of the sunset.

The capital of Chiloe is Castro and the small town of Dalcahue is a few miles before it. Apparently there's not much to do over there and nothing to visit but it was there, at the restaurant "La Playa" that one can find the finest cooking in town. They welcome you in the best way, the setting is typical and the slice of salmon is really cheap. We resumed our walk and lingered at the National Park of Chiloe : dunes of sand, luxuriant forests, a restful atmosphere and almost no tourist at this time of the year. But at the bend of a path we met two hitch-hikers to whom we gave a lift : it's a young couple from Switzerland who travels around Latin America as well, on foot (by coach and train too). They left Mexico in February 2000, they went down Central America and now they were going to Chile. Their travel will end in Argentina and they will go home at the end of December 2000.

We finally reached Quellon - terminus of the Panamerican - which offered an open view on a wonderful bay with the Andes and snow-capped summits in the background. Unfortunately the inhabitants' bad reception and the excessive prices of its hospedajes forced us to resume our journey on that same day. Chiloe is a very pleasant town, sprinkled with colourful villages and with large green areas, it might have been worth for us to stop there a little longer but the North call was stronger. We crossed Constitucion northwards : three rainy days going through Valvidia and Conceprion. This area is also called "Rainy Land" and we understood why. On wednesday evening we arrived at Constitucion where we met again Carlos' s family. We spent three very pleasant days with them. We then left for Santiago.

In Talca (300 kilometres in the south of Santiago) we tried to call Justine - who sent us a message on the forum of the internet website - but we had again the answering machine... In Rancagua (1 hour in the south of Santiago) we met Frederic : a boy from Belgium who has been working for two years for a mining company. He received us in his house and introduced us to his Chilean friends : his girlfriend Patricia, Natalia and Mauricio. We started the evening around a fine barbecue drinking Pisco, Fred made us taste a sort of Chilean Merguez (but bigger and fatter) the name of which we have forgotten... Our conversations about France, Chile and Pinochet quickly drowned into alcohol that was flowing freely. Around one o'clock in the morning we continued our party at the "Notta" : the most fashionable bar in town. Considering all we drank during the evening, we have trouble trying to tell with details what really happened afterwards... except that Fred offered us, very kindly, to sleep at his place. On waking up on Sunday morning, we noticed that Philippe had had real difficulties to digest this Chilean Merguez and the Pisco might have something to do with it as well "Fred, once more, we're very sorry about the fitted carpet and the blankets". An hour later we arrived with much effort in Santiago and we spent the day trying to recover from our excellent party the night before.

See you
Philippe and Olivier.