Valparaiso is one of those places that defines a country. It is a loud mouth of a city, colourful, unapologetic, it has trade and a good climate that puts Santiago to shame, Continue reading Valparaiso
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Valdivia
Valdivia is a pretty university town that was started up by German settlers. It has a civilised air to it, nice bars, traditions, great brewers! Yup, Continue reading Valdivia
Puerto Montt
The bus journey from Castro to Puerto Montt was a lovely journey. Green rolling hills, a ferry across the Canal de Chacao standing on deck with spray in the face from a wind flecked sea. Continue reading Puerto Montt
Castro
I had a weeks work to do in Castro so I found a neat little house to stay in with good Internet at the Hospidaje Familiar under the watchful eye of Orfilia and buckled down.
Castro was a lovely place to spend the week, brightly coloured houses gripping the side of a steep slope leading down to the sea, one of the last enclaves of the Spanish in South America. My hospidaje was a funny old place, it was above one of this bars where scantily clad women served beers to drunk sailors up until 11pm sharp when it would close it’s doors. The noise would be quite loud upstairs but I didn’t mind, it had character.
Futaleufu
The early morning bus ride with a hangover, dealing with customs, gorgeous mountains, back to Chile. I love the idea of stitching my way back and forth across such a grandiose mountain range, as if it were a playground ride, something to skip over, surf down. This time to the rafting mecca of Futaleufu.
Continue reading Futaleufu
Esquel and Trevelyn
Esquel, supposedly Welsh as are some of the villages around the area. I stopped by for a cuppa in one of the ‘tea’ houses in Trevelin, just down the road.
Continue reading Esquel and Trevelyn
Paragliding, Tragedy, New year and Refugios
I found a lovely bunch of people running a paragliding hostel a short half an hours walk from town. The welcome was wonderful at the house of Martin and Mariella, there were a few other paragliding folks and Martins’s brother Diego. We all got on well, talked of flying and the freedom it brings, we didn’t even begin to suspect what would happen the next day.
Continue reading Paragliding, Tragedy, New year and RefugiosXmas 2010
After my train ride to and my bus ride back from Carmen de Patagones I needed somewhere to stay for Xmas, so I headed down to El Bolson Continue reading Xmas 2010
Bariloche to Viedma Train Ride
The train station of San Carlos de Bariloche is a little like much of Argentina, one part first world and two parts third world. The station has great little cafe that is reminiscent of a bygone era and sits, within it’s parent that is built of solid stone to battle the almost permanent gale force winds.
Continue reading Bariloche to Viedma Train RideBack to town
After hanging around in the Bariloche wilds for a good while I moved into town as I was in need of some simple company. The Refugio Cordillera, has become more of a place for catering to the cycle tours around the Circuito Chico, than for being a hostel. The owner has been running the place for too long and has become very set in his ways, has the propensity to go into sulks when he decides that only Spanish can be spoken, which can get tiring, but all in all a fine fella and a great little place to pop one’s hat up for a while.
Continue reading Back to town