Today's the day! The sun is shining, the tank is clean! (Finding Nemo joke). We're officially heading out for a 10 week road trip through the South of Chile! The van is packed, and we're ready to go!
My in-laws, Brian and Karen, are accompanying us on this journey in their own slightly smaller camper. Anyone else have in-laws who are this adventurous? I didn't think so. We're so glad they're coming, as the boys love all the Grandma and Grandpa time. It also gives Drew and I a bit more flexibility to leave the boys in their care and go do some harder hikes that wouldn't be possible otherwise. And, finally, to be frank, I'm not entirely sure Drew and I have the camping cred to pull this trip off on our own. Brian did an incredible amount of work on both campers ahead of time to get them trail ready. Plus, these two are super experienced, with two trips from Michigan to Alaska under their belts, and another summer spent throughout the Western US. We needed their know-how, and they graciously came along, making this whole thing possible. Big shout out to them.
We're on the road again! I can't wait to get back on the road again!
The first day was a travel day. We drove 9 hours from Santiago to a little town just south of Temuco called Quepe. If you were in a car, this drive would only take about 7 hours, but we are not winning any land speed records in our vans. This little town has a nice sized central square with a police station right there and public restrooms, so it was a good place to stop for a night's rest. I found it using iOverlander, which is a website documenting both official and unofficial camping spots for campers, tenters, etc. Most of the places we'll be staying at on this trip I found using iOverlander. It was perfect for the night. Because it was a Sunday (I wanted to leave Santiago on a Sunday as that's when traffic is low), there was even a little market going on in the park when we arrived, so we got to stock up on some local produce. 2lbs of cherries for $1.50, anyone? It was a very quiet place, except for the handful of people driving around the town honking their horns and celebrating after Kast won the Presidential Election that day. But they stopped early, thank goodness.
On Day 2, we drove 4 more hours to a town called Frutillar. It is a German heritage town, settled by 50 German families in the 1850s. What are Germans doing in the South of Chile, you ask? Apparently Chile gave these German families lots of fertile land in exchange for their agricultural and technological know-how. The land needed settling, and the Industrial Revolution in Europe was making life as a farmer more difficult there. So the Chilean government created a program to lure the German farming families here (mainly from Hamburg), and it worked!
The town is very quaint. It is set right against Lake Llanquihue, which is the 3rd largest lake in South America. The water was crystal clear and cold. Lots of old, German style buildings. They even had a Biergarten where we had lunch!
On the other side of the lake is the Osorno Volcano. We really only got to see it kinda one time, as the weather so far has been very erratic. Hot, cold, hot, cold. Sun, rain, sprinkles, sun, clouds. Everything. But, we were warned about this. The weather in the South of Chile is a complete 180 from Santiago's hot hot hot summers. Here it is more like Alaska summers. But getting to see the Volcano when we did was pretty spectacular. On a clear day, when they do happen, it must be jaw dropping.
Frutillar is also known for its music scene. It's even considered a UNESCO Creative City of Music (Did you guys know there was an UNESCO designation for that?). It has a huge music festival one week every summer, and it has a gorgeous theatre right on the water for its events. The town is itty bitty, so the fact that it can support a music venue of this size is impressive.
Art piece in town that captures Frutillar's vibes!
The German influence of course means there were many bakeries selling German cake, or kuchen. We, of course, had to try some. Didn't disappoint.
There was a playground right on the lakeshore, so the boys had a great time playing in all forms.
Emerson mainly, but also Avery now too, is starting to really get into chess. They've been watching Drew play alot the last couple of years, and Emerson got to take a chess class at school last semester. Now they both play alot, so they were thrilled to find this giant board in the center of town.
Frutillar, in addition to the quaint German houses and the yummy bakeries and the music, has a flower scene that is out of control. I have never seen such lovely flowers. This climate must be treating them right, because, wow, they were putting on a show. I felt like my Mother. Have you ever seen THIS MANY hydrangeas on one bush? Have you?!?!? It was outrageous! I'm definitely getting old if I'm using the word outrageous to describe flowers. Jajaja
I've never seen dark pink hydrangeas like this before. And to see pink, purple, and blue all on one bush!
On our second day in Frutillar, we went to the German Heritage Museum to learn all about what the German settlers' lives were like. They had a water wheel powered grain mill, a blacksmith shop, and a bunch of old tools and machinery. Plus the grounds were really lovely. Worth the $3 admission for sure.
Anyone ever see an orange bumblebee before? Maybe that's the secret to these gorgeous flowers. The giant, hardworking bumbles.
While in Frutillar, we camped in the overflow parking lot for the theater. It was actually perfect because it was walking distance to town, it was free, and there were woods right next to it, so the boys ran amuck every chance they got. That's always their favorite part of any camping trip we take. Running amuck in the woods.
Here is a map of the distance we covered from Santiago down to Frutillar. We've basically passed through the entire fertile region of Chile, and after this, we're transitioning to fjords, and inlets, and lakes.
This map puts where we are in perspective in Chile as a whole. After this, it will be much slower going.
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