Region Los Rios - XIV

First a bit on our cabin and the dreariness of the first day.

Our cabin

Jonathan got the loft

The first night was really cold but this did the trick.

cold and rainy

but still pretty.

A boat that used to ferry things around the lake before the roads could do it.

 On Tuesday, we decided to have a mellow day and just explore the immediate region.  We hung around lazily in the morning and took a few walks around the town, Choshuenco.  Most of the towns around this lake and around this region were historically logging towns and before that were inhabited by the Mapuche, a group of indigenous inhabitants of the region.  That would explain all the impossible to pronounce town and river names.  There is a long history of battles and resistance from this group which apparently is still being fought but now more in the courts.  They are currently approximately 4% of the Chilean population but many people have some Mapuche blood in them.

 

Lunch in Panguipulli - I finally had a Fanschop (orange soda and beer - surprisingly yummy).

and Renee had a beer?

Weight-watchers really works!  There is a see-saw theme - they are everywhere.

A sculpture showing missionaries coming to "help" the Mapuche - hmmmmmm

Calzones-rotos (broken underwear) - basically a fried dough but gotta love the name ;-)

The region is trying to reinvent itself as a tourist destination and is marketing itself as Siete Lagos.  A little north of here is the town of Pucon, which is THE town where many Santiguinos vacation in the summer.  It has a huge tourism infrastructure and is apparently beautfiul but so is this but without as much of the bustle.  Maybe we are missing something but there seems to be enough here to entertain us.

On Wednesday, with the promise of sun and after a quicker start, we headed to Huilo-Huilo Reserve which was recommended by many people.  What we didn't realize (appreciate?) was that it was a private reserve.  There is an extensive national park and reserve system in Chile but this isn't one of them.  We had hoped to take a three hour or so hike through the mountains but when we got there we found out that it would cost us $150 to take a three-hour hike and we needed to take a guide.  Somehow we couldn't justify it so we went on a short $20 one and saw a beautiful waterfall.  As we were coming back some waiters from one of the restaurants were offering to show menus to the "hikers."  We'll have to get to one of the national parks here or in Argentina.  This reserve is known for its interesting hotel and cabins but we didn't see them.

I am starting to think that the see-saws are all about the availability of cheap wood.

Lots of lizards

and grasshoppers to amuse us.

Salto Huilo-Huilo - quite magnificent

Because we had such a short walk we headed back to our cabin, ate our lunch on our porch, and then looked into renting kayaks at the lake because it was turning into a beautiful day!  We succeeded in renting just one and took turns.  Everybody enjoyed it and it turned out that the water wasn't as cold as we assumed it would be.

1.5 person kayak

Can't quite make out Renee but had to get the view.

We finished the day having dinner at the local feria which was basically a bunch of huts set up at the beach offering things like freshly made empanadas, humitas, shish-kabab type things, and cakes.

The kids, especially Renee, just kept eating and eating these.  I finally confessed to the "cook" that I have failed as a vegetarian mother.

Best humita yet - served with either pebre or extra sugar (they are super-sweet to begin!).

The "restaurant"