Saying goodbye to Sydney was tough…it was a great holiday, it was great to spend time with friends and it was great to drink tap water and flush paper down a toilet. But the holiday from a holiday had to end, and on the 8th January we touched down in Chile. The first time any of the Price family had stepped foot in South America. 

With multiple days of Duolingo under my belt I confidently went in search of our airport transfer, quickly realising my pigeon Spanish will need some more brushing up. Fortunately Uber (illegally at the airport) was on hand to transport us to our hotel.

While the unrest in Chile, in particular Santiago, has disappeared from western media we had kept a close eye on the situation throughout our travels in Asia. With tensions continuing to run high we decided to fly straight out of Santiago and hopefully visit the city later in our travels. That meant one night in an airport hotel and ample time to secure cheap storage for 2 months for the majority of our summer gear while in Patagonia. 

Travel to the Lakes

After surfacing at an ungodly hour we boarded a 1 hour flight south to Puerto Montt, the gateway to northern Patagonia and at the southern tip of the Chilean Lake District. Puerto Montt rolled out the full English welcome, with weather conditions similar to those in the Lake District, freezing temperatures and torrential rain. Fortunately within a few hours the rain had cleared, and that was the last rain we saw for the entirety of our stay in the Lakes. 

Having done a tonne of research it was clear travel by bus is pretty easy in the area, however, in order to give more flexibility with the kids we booked a rental car at the airport. With fewer bags we also had the advantage of saving money by downsizing on the typical vehicle. Needless to say the absence of Australian friends and being next to one another in the backseat of the car meant the kids quickly renewed their squabbling…fortunately we found a short jet lagged induced shout had the desired affect.

Chiloe

With the parenting 101 manual firmly ignored, our first port of call was the island of Chiloe, the largest island in Chile and part of an archipelago an hour south west of Puerto Montt. There isn’t much written about Chiloe, but I’d recommend the detour to anyone visiting this neck of the woods. Getting to the island was only one hour from Puerto Montt airport then a short 30 minute hop on a car ferry across the Chacao Channel. We had no idea about process, but it all became pretty clear when we rocked up and were directed onto the next departing ferry and simply paid once we had set sail. We stayed in both Ancud on the north of the island and Castro the main town. 

Ancud is a somewhat tired, yet endearing fishing village looking back to the mainland. We primarily used Ancud as a base to explore the north of Chiloe and for groceries from the well stocked Unimarc supermarket. Where Asia was primarily hotels and dining out for €10, we had prepared ourselves and the kids that South America would be a change to Airbnbs and self catering. Our first house was an amazing dome building perched outside Ancud looking out across the ocean. With no curtains, at night we had a view of the stars, and anyone looking in had a view of the Jennie walking around sans clothes. 

Everyone loves Penguins

On only our second day in Chile we set the bar high for the kids…after waking up in one of our most unique Airbnbs, we surprised the kids with a trip to see Humbolt and Megallanic penguins in their natural habitat off the north west coast in Puñihuil. With our trusty Renault Duster we headed 40 minutes west of Ancud, leaving the paved roads for our first (and definitely not last) experience of Chile’s dirt roads.

Slightly disconcertingly upon arrival at the departure point for tours, we were directed onto the beach where somewhat like the Chiloe ferry we were shepherded to the next departing boat tour. For 7,000 CLP (approx €8) for adults, the children were free, we hopped onboard a makeshift moveable pier and pushed out off the sand into the water. For the next 30 minutes we had the fortune of bobbing up and down just off the coastline of 2 small islands that these penguins call home. While only 30 minutes, we never felt the tour was rushed. A long lens camera might have provided great close up photos, but the proximity of the penguins to the boats meant everyone was enthralled and even the language barrier didn’t prove an issue.

Jennie often mentions advertising doesn’t work for her, but it does for me, particularly when food is involved. Despite already eating a picnic at the penguins, all it required for a family deviation was a sign in the middle of nowhere highlighting XXL Empanadas. A couple of dirt roads later and we were introducing the kids to their first cheese and prawn empanadas. Suitably stuffed we spent a lazy afternoon exploring nearby hidden coves, walking along the cliff top and stumbling upon an Fuerte Ahui – an old Hispanic fortification looking back across to Ancud. 

Driving to Castro

As anyone who has read this blog will know the Price family are deeply religious and love a good church (the kids were missing temples) 🙂 So just imagine the kids excitement to hear Chiloe is famed for the 16 UNESCO churches dotted across the island. The coastal drive from Ancud to Dalcahue passing through Quemchi gave an opportunity to tick off a number of the modest wooden churches. The church on the Isla de las Almas was particularly memorable for the 400m wooden walkway over the water to the island. Along this route we put the Duster through it’s 2-wheel-drive-off-road paces on a detour to see the Cascades de Tocoihue, a lovely waterfall set in thick vegetation with very few tourists.

Continuing along the west coast we eventually popped out in Castro, the main town on Chiloe. As you would expect for somewhere so remote, while more vibrant than Ancud, it only took a couple of hours to explore and ensure we left with the obligatory photo of the row of painted houses on stilts over the water. 

From the few reviews we had read about Chiloe it appeared folks typically spent a couple of nights on the island, so our 4 nights gave us ample opportunity to explore. Our final full day on Chiloe took us to the west of the island in search of the Bridge of Souls, a heavily instagrammed sculpture / bridge looking out to nowhere, or more precisely the Pacific Ocean. The 6km round-trip walk took us across private land, so entrance and parking fees were charged, but they were inexpensive. The scenery on both the drive and walk reminded us of the Cornish coastline, the weather was amazing and we got the photo, now I just need to get active on Instagram. Fortunately we timed our arrival perfectly. No sugar-induced-kamikaze-kids and no photo queue. By the time we finished our picnic, and had 3 sugar induced kids, the queue was well over 100 people long! Sadly despite the remoteness this is one attraction that has been discovered. 

Before saying goodbye to Chiloe, we hopped across to Quinchao. A 40km long island offering spectacular views back to northern Patagonia, and also home to our final Salem-esque church. Upon return we once again swung by Dalcahue, a small quaint fishing village that was certainly the most picturesque village we visited in Chiloe. Sadly our primary reason for stopping was to grab some of the famed ceviche, however, the barely month old reviews all spotlighted restaurants that had since closed down…perhaps a sign of the tough times Chile has faced from a crash in tourism or perhaps we were just observing the Chilean equivalent of hipster cafes going in and out of fashion (for the avoidance of doubt there are no hipsters in Chiloe). Either way after much searching we found some great ceviche…and added another dish to our 10 years old’s favourite list.

Puerto Varas, wow…volcanos!

Back on the mainland we headed north past Puerto Montt to Puerto Varas. Puerto Varas is a Swiss style ski resort overlooked by Osorno Volcano on the other side of the lake. We struggled for a more picturesque view during our time travelling when waking each morning to look out across the lake onto the cone shaped volcano. In keeping with the unique Airbnb experiences of recent days, this time we opted to stay in a bright purple converted shipping container. Recent experiences with storage containers had been horrific (note never use Hasenkamp for storage or relocation), but fortunately these containers were great, the kids loved their bunk beds and while there wasn’t room to swing a cat we had everything we needed to eat, drink and sleep.

It would be easy to spend a week or more exploring the southern part of the Lake District and extending down to the start of the Carretera Austral. Sadly we only had a couple of days, but nevertheless hugely enjoyed:

• Driving up Osorno volcano to the snow line. A road that had been described as windy and terrifying in reviews, perhaps if you live on the freeways of LA this might be case, but in comparison to the tight country lane in the north of England there was nothing to be concerned about.
• Exploring the kid friendly trails around the Petrohué waterfalls. In reality there are no waterfalls, instead a set of impressive rapids. Indeed if you continue further up the road a few kilometres you can see similar rapids without the fees and without the crowds. 
• Taking a long hot walk along the shoreline of Todos Los Santos. The lake marks the beginning of an epic 24 hour border crossing towards the Argentinian town of Bariloche. Perhaps next time…on this trip there was just too much tempting deep water for our 3 occasionally unruly children.

While the area was incredibly picturesque, there is one other abiding memory we leave the Chilean Lake District with…flies. In Osorno the flies were evil…they stung, they were big and they were quick. In Pucon they were less evolved, but arguably more annoying…more your typical slow horseflies that required a constant swiping and smacking before they bit. On the plus side we got a lot of upper body exercise from unnecessary flailing, and the kill count for the kids could rival the best Fortnite elite players. Insect repellant doesn’t really work, but lighter clothes seemed to help…the biggest help for the future would probably be avoid the area in January. 

Equal measures of relaxation and adventure in Pucon

Our final stop in the Chilean Lakes was Pucon, a town dominated by another huge and active volcano…Villarrica. The town is super popular during the summer months, with the nearby thermal pools and countless adrenaline fuelled activities attracting a diverse crowd.

We should really be getting the hang of this travelling lark…but on the way north from Puerto Varas we fretted about running out of fuel and on the way south we rightly fretted about running out of local currency for the tolls. On both legs we had to take diversions off the highway in search successfully of fuel and unsuccessfully of a working ATM. In the future we’ll be travelling with a jar full of coins for tolls, which on this leg seemed to come with rapid frequency (approx £2.50/50-75kms) and no matter how much fuel we have in the tank we’ll be filling at first sight of a petrol station.  

Another day another fantastic Airbnb. After a week of moving every couple of days, we had the luxury of 4 nights in one place. It was 4 nights being hosted by the most welcoming family we encountered anywhere on our trip. There was a huge language barrier, but nothing was too much trouble for Liliana and her family. Rory and Elsie were in their element exploring a huge garden, playing on the swings and having fun with Liliana’s grandson. 

Our plan was to mix walks in the national parks, homeschooling and generally relaxing at the beach or cabin. When it comes to walking in Chile, by the second week we realised walks come in two categories…very easy or super difficult, the only complexity is where a guide advises the walk is easy after the initial assent, in most cases this means you reach a plateau after 1,000m of climbing.

Using Maps.Me and some local advice we steered away from the popular Lake Caburgas and Park Huerquehue areas, and instead headed to the Argentinian border to Lake Quillelhue and walked the Sendero Lagos Andinos route. Honestly the 10km round trip was amazing…nowhere else in the world can you walk through a forest of monkey puzzle trees where the floor is carpeted with wild flowers. It’s also a haven for animals, that said with exception of horse flies, the majority of animals had been scared out of their habitat by the inability of our kids to be quiet. We ate the obligatory picnic while sat in the sun on the banks of the secluded Laguna Huenfuica, and without time to let their food settle (that’s what our parents told us) they were swimming and splashing about in the ice cold water.

After lowering their body temperatures in the glacial water, the obvious next step was to overheat them in some thermal pools. As idyllic as some of the hot pools sounded, we steered clear of the swanky places and found some rustic pools called Los Pozones. They ticked the box as kid friendly and were incredibly scenic given their position on the river edge. Somewhat similar to the disappearing wildlife during our walk, the kids managed to empty most pools they entered…if only they had a volume dial.

Climbing Volcan Villarrica

As appealing as relaxation sounded, ultimately I got bored, so in a weak moment I booked a guided hike to the top of Volcan Villarrica. So while Jennie and the kids slept, I left the cabin at 5am to ascend 2,800m to the summit of the volcano. Without a doubt the climb and descent are one of the most incredible experiences I’ve ever had. We passed above the snow line, and switched to climbing with crampons and ice picks.

By the time we reached the summit the cloud cover below us had lifted to reveal an incredible panorama of the Andes, but more spectacular and frankly scary was the bellowing volcano spitting rock up and bubbling lava. Later on I would be told the volcano was on a yellow warning, which given the recent tragedy in NZ, I would probably have skipped…fortunately I live to tell the tale.

While getting to the top was slow and measured, the descent was bonkers…we hopped into toboggan style snow chutes and slid the entire way down the volcano at speed on plastic trays. The entire descent took about 40 minutes versus the 4 hour ascent. If anyone visits I would 100% recommend spending the $100 with Summit Chile. I’m just sad we didn’t pretend Molly was 13…she would have loved it!

So far Chile has exceeded all our expectations. Next stop southern Patagonia.