Erin, la pescadora

We had two days in Puerto Varas and, as usual, Brook wanted to go fishing.  Erin was more reluctant - fishing guides aren't cheap, Erin doesn't really fish, and there was a 100% chance of rain. But enthusiasm prevailed over logic and so we went.  Carlos, our guide, picked us up at 8 AM and we were on the water by 10.  Floating the Petrohue that morning, Brook took a couple of hours to figure out how to catch Patagonian trout, but eventually got the hang of it and was landing feisty rainbows and huge browns, sometimes in back-to-back casts. He lost as many as he landed, but a dozen or so trout and one sore shoulder later, he was a happy camper.

But that's not the half of it. On her first real fishing trip, Erin dutifully followed the guide's instructions, plying the deep water with a huge spinner in search of King Salmon. And, well, the pictures speak for themselves. One 15+ kilo salmon (which she hooked and landed alone, after a 20 minute fight) and a couple of very fat rainbows. She's not a convert yet, but a few more trips like that, and she might need her own fly rod in the near future...

Figuring out Chiloe

The Lonely Planet guidebook describes Chiloe as "an archipelago whose wild western woodlands are darker than the Black Forest and traversed by trails leading to secluded ocean beaches with rolling dunes." Followed by descriptives like "ideal for sea kayaking", "Chile's most diverse seafood", and "roadless wilderness."  We were sold.

Chiloe started out easy enough. Our hostel in Castro - the "big" town in the middle of the island - was lovely and we picked up some fantastic clams and smoked salmon ($4 per kilo!) at the local farmer's market (which did have an amazing seafood selection). But when we asked our host about one of our destinations, Parque Tantauco, he was not optimistic: We would not make it up the park road in our rental car and the nearby town was not nice. Another American couple was also hoping to make it to Tantauco (probably reading the same guidebook) but were also stymied by transportation obstacles - apparently, you need a boat that only goes sporadically and only in good weather.

So that afternoon we decided instead to head to Chiloe National Park, where we found a small network of nature trails and a cafe. The walks were pleasant and there was a beautiful secluded  beach, but we wanted more hiking. And so we asked (using Erin's passable Spanish) if there were longer trails. Yes, there was one - a four hour hike to a refugio on a beach, no reservations needed.

The next day, we packed up our camping gear (including our pieced together tent), bought food and headed back to the park. We kept driving, and driving, looking for the trail, until we realized we were on the trail. The trail was really a dirt road through a native settlement. Hmmm....With the bus loads of Chilean 20-somethings we kept passing, ominous skies, and a taped up tent, we decided to turn around and find a place to stay nearby. A good decision as it turned out because the ominous skies opened, raining torrents all night.

On our way back, we saw Jeroen, a friendly Norwegian we met on the Circuit. Jeroen was also stymied by Chiloe - it had beautiful wilderness, but how to explore it? He was considering heading to the north of the island for a "kayaking at dawn" excursion. We were thinking about doing that too (same guidebook?). He needed a ride and we had a car, so we got his email and planned to head to Chepu, Chile for kayaking.

The next day we turned off the island's main road and headed 13 kilometers down a dirt road to Chepu Adventures, an ecolodge/kayaking spot where you can stay the night in a dorm, get dinner and breakfast and go kayaking at 6am near the "sunken forest", a roughly 25 square-mile marshland created by the 1960 earthquake, which dropped the land by 2 meters.

This was the Chiloe we were looking for. Quiet, full of birds (parrots!) and wildlife (Jeroen saw a Pudu!), kayaking, and a hike to a penguin colony. Chepu Adventures is also completely off-grid, piquing Brook's environmental interests and, because you can continually monitor your water and energy use, satisfying Erin's love of data. We stayed an extra night.

But the next day we woke to driving rain and wind, so we packed up the car and headed north. As we left, our hosts gave us a warm goodbye, but with a hint of happiness that they had their little piece of Chiloe back to themselves. And maybe that's true for most of Chiloe - they want you go come and explore, but they don't want to give up the really good stuff too easily or else you might not leave.

Hiking Torres del Paine

The Patagonian wind is swift; the internet, not so much.  It took a few days but we finally culled and uploaded photos from our Torres hike. You can view the album by clicking here (or go to https://plus.google.com/photos/103829313469224560701/albums/5973629455686129089).

After a few days of down time in Puerto Natales and Punta Arenas (including a trip to an island with 300,000 penguins - but more on that later), we flew to Puerto Montt, picked up a rental car and drove down to Chiloe. This is a huge island with a rich history and lots of fishing, aquaculture, and farming. There are also a few national parks, and we're headed out tonight for a couple of days of camping on the coast.

Hot and Bustling: 2 1/2 days in Santiago

Welcome to Chile!  Our first stop on this adventure...

When we're traveling, we generally limit the amount of time we spend in cities. We've lived in lots of big U.S. cities, and been to many others.  So we're usually eager to get into more remote and rural areas where it's less chaotic and the livin' is easy. But Santiago proved to be a good introduction to Chile. A few things we learned in our two and a half days:

• Chileanos are very nice and courteous. They even let pedestrians cross the road - truck drivers at rush hour will stop and wave you across.  Needless to say,  this was a big a cultural shock after two years of living in Boston.
• Even Chilean stray dogs are nice and much cuter than your average stray dog. 
• Many Chileans don't speak English - this gives Erin an excellent chance to practice her Spanish skills (which aren't too bad!)
• The subway is cleaner, faster, cheaper, and just better than those in Boston, D.C., New York, San Francisco, London, Paris, Budapest, and many more.  Quite impressive.
• There are lots of great museums, but the capstone is surely the Museum of Memory and Human Rights. 
• Santiago is a vibrant, fun city, and given the amount of construction, is planning some serious growth.

Here´s a link to a few photos from our time in Santiago, including a few from our wanderings, the Mercado Central, a whimsical French art installation, and some archaeological treasures.

We´re now down in Puerto Natales in Patagonia (after an aborted landing at the Punta Arenas airport, but more on that next time).  While Santiago is hot and dry, this place is cool and damp.  But there are epic mountains and hundreds of miles of wilderness, trails, and fjords to explore.  Tomorrow we start an 8-9 day circuit hike in Torres del Paine national park, around its eponymous peaks.  It should be an awesome (if difficult and somewhat windy) experience.  We´ll let you know how it goes...

Hosteling in your 30's

When we're on vacation, we usually stay at nice B&B's, mid-range hotels and the occasional luxury resort (when we get free Hyatt nights). But this is not a vacation, and we're on a budget. That means hostels. And hostels in your mid-(or in  Brook's case late)-30's is a different experience. To minimize feeling really old, we have strict criteria for our hostels: no attractive women on the website, no advertisements for all-night drinking parties, and a private room option. Don Santiago is our first hostel stop and so far, so good. Yes, we are the oldest people here, have to put our toilet paper in the trash can and there's a shared bathroom with a floor that was weirdly wet last night. But we had drinks last night with a couple of guys from the Netherlands, three Koreans, a Brazilian woman (not hot), a woman from California, and one very tired German. Then we put our earplugs in and went to bed when one of the Dutch guys pulled out a bottle of Jim Beam at around midnight. Because, after all, we're in our 30's.  

Packing

We're in Florida at Brook's dad's house for a final visit and some last-minute preparations.  We're battling winter colds (a little memory of frigid New England), but otherwise we think we're about ready.   Our goal was to cram everything we needed for a year into two backpacks, and by jove we think we did it.  That includes a tent, sleeping bags, other camping/cooking gear, photography equipment, travel gadgets, malaria meds, and clothing for a broad range of climates (think down coats to board shorts).  We have to admit, it's a little messy and more stuff than we thought.  But, we can cram it in backpacks and run for that early morning bus (or flight, or boat, or yak) if it comes down to it.

We've updated the Kit and Logistics page with more details on what we're lugging around, but the following photos should provide a (hopefully amusing) insight into what we're bringing along...

Before...

And after.

2014

We rang in 2014 with a wonderful send-off hosted by some of our best friends in the world, with some very unexpected out-of-town visitors. And we spent today visiting Erin's sister, her husband, and our new niece before having dinner with yet more great friends. It was a good reminder of how fortunate and blessed we are to be surrounded by great friends and a loving family; this trip would not be possible without their support.  We're excited about what 2014 has in store for us, but we will miss everyone and think of you often! Feel free to come visit us along the way...