A morning was spent pottering around Bariloche town before our bus (last long one folks!!) was due to depart. Once aboard we settled down for the journey. We took in the breathtaking scenery as we drove through the winding roads through the lakes and mountains in the border area of Argentina and Chile. There is an alternative and popular border crossing by boat, sailing through the lakes from Bariloche to Puerto Montt which we had considered doing. Unfortunately it is quite expensive and involves an overnight stay, so to make up costs from previous expenses (eg missed flight) we took the cheaper, shorter bus option, with the idea that the landscape would still make it worthwhile. And we were not proved wrong, it was stunning. What a shame to spend a beautiful afternoon on a bus. Our first stop was at Argentinian immigration, our second was at Chilean immigration. We had to annoyingly bequeath the majority of our packed lunch to the bins at this point as Chile allows no fruit, veg or animal products over the border, and waited around for the journey to begin again. I could see this one would drag out. Finally it was time to set off again, and we ventured into Chilean territory for the first time. Ari pointed out that Leo, not having turned 9 months yet, has managed to rack up 8 countries in this 8 months of life which, as well as being quite a feat, the only time in his life when he'll be able to say it (if he could speak, or infact have the cognitive capacity to give a monkeys) . A tribute to you then little one. As we drove on, now late in the day, the park became habited and small towns erupted in the views. It looked like on this side of the border there is more civilisation, for better or worse, and maybe more to do. It was very late by the time we rocked into Puerto Montt bus station, and quite an arduous journey all in all. Maybe because We'd spent a lot of Leo awake time travelling, and these days, as he gets older and more active, he gets more tricky to entertain. Thankfully it's our last long haul bus trip. Our new hotel was comfy and We hit the sack asap.
The next morning we bounded off to breakfast, to be met by the waitresses making a total fuss of Leo (it's been a while actually since he got this kind of attention) and whisked him off into the kitchen to meet the staff. Ari and I took the opportunity to wolf down some food and probably ate in 3 minutes flat to be free to tend to Leo and be off to head for town.
Puerto Montt was like being back in the city after weeks of country living. It's a sea port, and pretty commercial, and whilst a bit chaotic and not as pretty as the admittedly purpose built tourist towns we'd just come from, it was nice to be among the people once again. And everyone seemed particularly friendly too. I had my usual shopping fix by visiting a pharmacy and supermarket and lo and behold, baby food was now available at every turn! Hallelujah. Although on second thoughts, Leo may have learnt how to eat a more varied diet so we didn't feel so reliant on this stuff after all... We wandered into a shopping mall and grabbed a bite to eat in the food hall. The pre Christmas commerce drive was in full swing, which though expected as we were on the verge of December and I'm sure the folks back home have been subjected to Christmas songs, ads and such like since the end of October, this was our first taste and it seemed somewhat bizarre. More so because of the plentiful sunshine and warm weather outside. It's my first Christmas away from the cold and dark days of home and I'm not sure if I'm going to enjoy it. I am actually deadly serious, I love the whole cosy on up by the fire in your woolies singing Christmas carols whilst watching 'The Snowman' kind of thing. (not that I've actually done all those things at once). Anyway, as I was wandering about I saw a big toy store and with promises that I didn't want to buy anything to Ari we mosyed on over. Toy stores are so much fun and I was happy browsing. Unlike Ari. He saw a cute little glo-worm and decided Leo had to have it, and I did nothing to stop him, it was just too darn cute and we're coming up to his 9 month birthday after all. We've managed to lose more toys on the way and it makes me sad pulling out the same old blocks for Leo to entertain himself with. Having said that, it has been clear that Leo's favourite toys are the following 1) his dummy holder 2) the lid to his beaker and 3) any spoon, preferably of the shiny metal variety. I really believe that you can make toys out of anything with a little imagination. So this was pure indulgence on our part. Leo did seem to be intrigued by the strange musical glowing thing and we left with Wormy already in arms.
The following day we organised ourselves to travel to the island of Chiloe for a few days. This island is just to the south of Puerto Montt, and has wildlife and lakes and parks to explore. We'd hired a self catering apartment for five nights and were looking forward to an extended period in one place, I might even unpack again, perish the thought. And we'd left most of our luggage in the hotel in Puerto Montt so we were light as feathers boarding yet another bus (only 3 hours this time), no need to plead with the coach staff to overlook the luggage situation, they didn't even bat an eyelid. The weather had taken a turn for the worse unfortunately, and the wind and rain howled against the windows. The bus journey includes a 20 minute ferry crossing, and the sea was wild and unsettled and I watched in both amusement and horror as the spray from the waves smacked the windows of the bus. Even more amusing was the surprise on the faces on the poor people who'd disembarked to see the 'view' as they received their drenching and hurried to find shelter. I couldn't believe Ari and Leo could sleep through all this drama. The bus journey continued for another hour on the island, and with the lack of dramatic snowcapped mountains and the vista of ramshackle houses at every habited place I was thinking that the whole place looked a little bleak and hoped that the weather was painting an inferior picture. We arrived at our destination in Castro, the capital town, Ari did a quick supermarket sweep whilst I waited with Leo and the luggage in the taxi and we were off to meet our new cabin for the next 6 days. The location of our cabana turned out to be beautiful, a lucky find on the back of advice from our travel book. A little way out of Castro on a hillside, we had a beautiful panoramic view of the sea inlet and hill behind, complete with rainbow and hazy sunshine as the rain had run its course.
We knew instantly we had landed on our feet. Leo instantly was happy to explore the floor, having been fully crawling a week his progress has been dramatic as he can now stand with support and cruise tentatively round furniture. We therefore needed a cunning way to keep him away from the fireplace. Oh new challenges at every turn!
Our new little home was to be our refuge for the next few days, providing us with the independence we need from time to time. The weather was cold the first night, trying to keep Leo well wrapped up in his travel cot proved a challenge with all his wriggling and squirming. But the following days grew warmer and brighter, until we had the opposite problem, how to keep Leo cool enough to sleep comfortably. Again, we felt the need to downscale operations, so much so we barely left our cabana for two days. And then we felt we really had to get out and about, so hired a car for a day trip to the national park across the island. In perfect weather we drove the hour long drive round lake to the little town of Cucao and sought out an eatery for lunch. Did I already say that Chiloe is a bit ramshackle? Well this place was no exception, finding the best place is kind of like trying to decide who has the best menu from who's front room looks the most inviting. A little drive on and we stopped at the place that looked most like a public establishment and sauntered in (we also spied a couple of tourists heading that way, safety in numbers). The menu was seabass or salmon, so we opted for both and settled down to a hearty meal. Success! It was all really lovely, we were in a quiet, beautiful location with practically only ourselves for company. After dinner we headed off into the National Park for some scenic walking, and a short trek to the beach (hello Pacific coast we meet again) was great for the beautiful sea view- marred only by a couple of nudies (man and woman, or is that two men? Rude to stare..) and with the strong sun we had to make an about turn to head for the shade of the forest and not long after, homeward bound.
Chiloe is famed for having maintained a unique identity from the Chilean mainland, which includes an architectural style of its own, the remnants of which are visible in many churches made entirely out of wood. I've got a picture of one of these here for you now, which was located close to our cabana.
We had a lovely relaxing time here in Chiloe, and as it turns out I think we were extremely fortunate with the weather, though usually wet and blowy we had mostly blue skies and warm, sunny days. Ari's daily mantra does indeed ring true: wonderful things are happening to us everyday.
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