Day 626 – South America – Chile [Rest Day in Huarilihue]

07/01/22

 Rest day in Huarilihue (Chile, South America)

A rest day spent by the coast (north of Tome) and inland by Coelemu

Dichato and Villarica from the road

Today, for a change, I drove the sag wagon! It was my rest day and James set out to cycle by the coast. There are quite a few beaches and resorts north of Tome: Dichato, Villarica (another one) and Pingueral. We met by the coast in Pingueral, a privately owned village by the sea. Very neat and beautiful. One more occasion to dip my toes in the Pacific ocean.

The sag wagon busy today!

We then drove across the country towards Coelemu. A fine little town with a busy square and fine little cafes and eateries. The landscapes are once again very green, we are in a logging area. Forests of pine trees and eucalyptus everywhere, new trees growing where the stumps of the previous forest still stand… intensive logging it seems.

Feet up today!

Tonight we stay in a wooden lodge in the woods, south of Coelemu, near my re-start point. Our host, Ivan, is a descendant of a Mapuche. He became an anthropologist in honour of his grandfather (a Mapuche) and had built by himself the chalet/ cabin where we are staying. He also is a winemaker and tonight we sampled a bottle from his vineyard – with french grapes dating from the 16th century! We are in for quite a treat, we’ll be back here after my run tomorrow and hopefully get to spend more time with him!