Zoe Harrison Travel Web Site

Well, the trip really has started now. Can´t believe after all the months of sweat and toil that the planning has paid off. Arrived exhausted in Santiago, Chile on Wednesday after a 24 hour trip from London. Fantastic views of the city as we came in - right in the middle of the snow capped Andes. Transfer to the hostel Hostal Rio Amazonas went without a hitch too and was in a nice area, relatively clean and best of all had English speaking staff!

Tried our first Chilean meal at a local restaurant called the Fat Cow (Las Vacas Gordas) and ate fillet steak for about 3 pounds! And found even better value for lunch on Friday at a restaurant called Circulo de Periodistas (imagine school cantine mixed with Prisoner Cell Block H and then squint a bit) where we had a 3 course meal and drink for only 1.85. Pleased to see that the Chileans don´t promote the Atkins diet either!!

The luck with the accommodation had to run out sometime and sure enough in the middle of the night there was a huge storm which sent the hostel staff running for buckets to catch the overflow through the ceilings! And then the power cut ..... luckily I was in the girl guides and had my torch to hand (right in the bottom of my ruck sack, in the first aid kit without any batteries which were in a different bag of course!).

Thursday started with some real sightseeing and we visited the Cerro Santa Lucia (a 70m high steep cone of rock) and took a funicular up the Parque Metropolitano (CLICK THE TOP RIGHT CORNER OF THEIR WEBSITE FOR VIDEO EXPERIENCE) to see the giant statue of the Virgin Mary. Beautiful views of Santiago too.

Well, heading south tonight on a sleeper train to Temuco then a 6 hour bus trip to Puerto Montt and Chiloe in the lake district - I imagine it will be just like our lake district just a bit bigger, a bit colder and with a few volcanoes thrown in for good measure.

Santiago to Puerto Montt 25th April 2004

Caught an overnight train to Temuco (the end of the line for trains in Chile) and travelled first class! My justification of this extravagance is that we need to ease into the idea of travelling gently. And technically since we´ve only been gone a week then I reckon it still counts as a holiday rather than "travelling". However, travelling first class doesn´t make the train any less likely to have technical faults. So 10 minutes out of Santiago and we were already delayed by 2 hours. We were appeased by the guarantee of a complete refund although this only amounted to a free return ticket - and there´s no going back on this trip! A fellow passenger gave us a lift to the bus terminal (in return for our return tickets to Santiago) and we travelled immediately onto Puerto Montt (6 hours). So arriving late and weary into Puerto Montt (which on first impressions reminded me of the docks in Immingham) we opted for a really nice hotel Hostal Pacifico, with cable tv and hot showers. Really got to stop these indulgences!

The Lakes and Volcanoes 27th April 2004

After a day of catching up and mundane things like laundry we headed out on a tour of the lakes organised by a local lady Emma, who was just lovely. She even came to see us off when we caught the bus to Argentina and gave me a card with a prayer on it - she must have thought I needed it! Anyway, the trip to Argentina comes later. Back to the tour. We visited Lago Llanquihue (the 3rd largest lake in South America), Lago Verde, Parque Nacional Vincent Perez Rosales, Rio Petrohue, Salto de Petrohue (spectacular waterfalls cutting through volcanic rock), Lago Todos Los Santos (claimed to be the most beautiful of all the lakes), Volcan Osorno (a perfect cone shaped volcano) and Puerto Varas. Of course this all probably means nothing to you? There´s some photos on the website which might explain things better than my creative writing capabilities! In all it was a wonderful day - stunning scenery with the "Lake District" certainly living up to its name.

Chiloe 28th April 2004

Next day it was off to Chiloe, an island off Puerto Montt. The islanders are said to have an entire mythology of their own , including goblins, ghost ships, mermaids and witches! Everyone appeared quite friendly and it´s safe to say I haven´t joined any cult groups! So, we took another organised tour around the island to Caulin (where we saw pink flamingoes, black necked swans and seaweed farmers), to Ancud, and the capital Castro. We hopped off the tour at Dalcahue and took a local ferry to Achao which promised to be a pretty little fishing village with a church that was a "fine example of Chilote Jesuit architecture". Unfortunately by the time we got there the day had turned to night so had to retreat to a local seaman´s bar for a couple of Cristals (beer).

We joined another organised tour the next day (although we were the only 2 passengers) to the Chiloe National Park. First stop was Chonchi (another pretty fishing village), then Huillinco and it´s lake where the driver tried to convince us (only speaking in Spanish) to visit a cemetry where corrugated "houses" covered the graves. We declined in our best Spanish! Then onto Cucao and the National Park where we walked for an hour or so in incredible forest - really dense and saturated under foot. After another 1.5km we reached the beach. Not just any old beach though - 15km of it and magnificent thundering waves coming from the Pacific.

Castro to Bariloche (Argentina) 30th April 2004

So we gave ourselves a challenge - since we were leaving the country and didn´t want to change any more money - we had 5 pounds between us for 3 meals. Didn´t we do well. Empanadas for every meal! Basically a cornish pastie with egg, cheese and an olive thrown in for good measure. Gives a whole new meaning to "who ate all the pies". Back on the diet now in Argentina! Travelled via 2 buses and arrived here in Bariloche (famous for its chocolate - bang goes the diet again) last night - great hotel Premier Hotel only 10 pounds for a room, includes breakfast and free internet access all day!