Ensenada to Panguipulli

Today was a beautiful day. We could just barely see the volcano popping out of the clouds as we left Ensenada.

We drove through some idyllic country to Panguipulli where we are tonight.

Panguipulli sits on a lake also named Panguipulli. The volcano Shashuenco is in the distance.

You may have seen Chile in the news lately. There have been demonstrations all over the country. Here is a New York Times article about the unrest. We have seen broken and boarded up windows everywhere we have been.

Because of the demonstrations we have decided to err on the side of caution and change our itinerary. We will not go to any of the big cities where the rioting has been the worst. We have taken Santiago, Concepcion, and Valparaíso off our itinerary and are instead staying out in the countryside.

Achao to Ensenada in the Chilean Lake District

This morning we left the island of Chiloe and drove to Ensenada in the Chilean Lake District. It has been rainy and totally overcast all day so we can’t see any of what is reputed to be great scenery. The guide book says we have a great view of Volcán Osorno from here. I hope the weather is better tomorrow so we can see it.

We are staying in a geodesic dome at Cabañas Abilene Bosque Nativo just outside of Ensenada. Our cabaña is totally off the grid. We have a fire in the wood stove and we are deliciously cozy.

We are eating dinner here tonight.

If you would like a tour of our cabana you will find one on my YouTube channel in a couple of days.

Quellón to Achao on the Island of Quinchao – Tuesday 6 November

Tuesday morning we left Quellón at the south end of Chiloé and headed north. We stopped in Castro, the Capital of Chiloé. Right on the central square there is a beautiful, big yellow and lavender church, Iglesias de San Francisco. I think the all wood interior is gorgeous.

Just north of Castro we headed east and then took a short car ferry ride to the island of Quinchao, one of the 41 islands in the Chiloé archipelago. We are staying just out side of the town of Achao. In town we walked around a bit and visited the wooden Iglesias de Santa Maria de Loreto. It was built on 1730 and is the oldest house of worship in Chili. I especially liked the floors that still have the axe marks from when they were cut.

The hotel where we stayed is on a hill overlooking the harbor. The building appeared to be relatively new. It had pretty rough wood paneling throughout. Our room had a nice big window and expansive view. The building wasn’t heated but our room was warm because we had an electric heater. The whole place was a bit strange. We were the only people in the building besides the owner, there was no internet, and the bottom sheet on the squeaky bed had no elastic so it only covered the mattress when we first went to bed!

Quellón, Chile

Today we hiked in Parque Tantauco. We were lucky that the weather was much better than yesterday. It rained some but there was also a bit of sunshine. We drove for more than an hour on a bumpy dirt road to get to the park. Below is a picture of the bridge right before the park entrance. It had a five ton limit!

We hiked about two miles on the Rio Yaldad Trail and then walked on the dirt road back to the park headquarters. The trail was beautiful and extremely well built, signed and maintained.

There were also uneven, steep and muddy parts.

The first part of the trail which coincided with the Darwin Nature Trail had some great animal information.

We also saw a live Darwin Fox right outside the visitor center.

Ancud to Quellón

Today was rainy, wet, and cool but we still saw a lot of Chiloé. This morning we visited the San Miguel de Agüi Fort. It was originally built in 1779 and was the last outpost of the Spanish in the Americas until it became a part of Chili in 1826.

The fort is directly across the harbor from where we stayed last night but because of the fog and rain we couldn’t see across the harbor.

Next we went out to the Corona lighthouse.

For lunch we stopped overlooking the shore and ate our leftover fish from last night. The seagulls were picking up shells and flying up to drop them over and over until the shell opened so the gulls could eat what was inside.

In the afternoon we drove 100 miles south to Quellón where we are tonight. Quellón is the southern terminus of the Pam American Highway and is close to the southern end of Chiloé Island.