Day 615 – South America – Chile [Quepe to Reduccion Quinahue]

27/12/21

38km

  From Quepe (Chile) to Reduccion Quinahue (Chile)

South America

A varied run, made slow by the terrain, under a blazing sun

Across the Cautin River in Temuco

The day started in foggy conditions, grey skies and 10 Celsius. The first part of the run was pretty uneventful, running on the service road of the big Ruta 5, all the way to Temuco. Across the Cautin River. Then across Temuco, the roadworks and up the hills. As I left Temuco behind me, I noticed the wooden cabanas again. And here and there, a flag was often seen flying.

The Chilean Mapuche flag

That’s the flag of the Chilean Mapuche people. The “Wenufoye”, which has been adopted as the official flag in 1991. Each color symbolizes something (sun, history, prosperity, wisdom, healing…) as well as the “cultrun” in the center, the Mapuche drum. It is a percussion instrument which represents the earth surface, the four cardinal points, the sun, the moon and the stars. This is the Mapuche symbol for the knowledge of the world.

Happy face, sore feet!

Out of Temuco, I ran on country roads, which then became unsurfaced again. I really need to get myself a proper pair of trail running shoes! The current ones are way too thin and it hurts quite a lot now, on all these small stones and gravel. As I approached the point where the Campervan was parked, I noticed a fire in the distance. It was a wildfire that was blowing in the general direction of the car. It helped me decide to cut the running a little short today… More tomorrow then!

Enjoy the video of today’s run: https://www.relive.cc/view/vxOQYNwJj2O

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: