Valdivia & (near) Cunco

Playing catch up here, as we haven't really been online much over the past week. There probably isn't also quite as much to say - as we have headed north it has become warmer and warmer (so much so that even I have the beginnings of almost a tan...) so inevitably the pace has slowed and the amount of time sitting around and enjoying the weather increased. I think we have also been more tired than we think, as we have been on the move a lot again in recent weeks.

Anyway, going back to this time last week, we left Púcon and took a bus to Valdivia just a couple of hours away. This was described as "perhaps the most attractive city in Chile" by the Lonely Planet - although our first impression was perhaps not. Our view was clouded slightly by the fact that Andrew was feeling unwell (nasty cold) and we were also turned down by a couple of hostels before we found a place to stay. All in all information as to where to go seemed reasonably difficult to come by. However,we got ourselves sorted in the end and had a very quiet rest of day.

We had planned to get a boat out to see the nearby Spanish fortresses on Thursday, but as Andrew still didn't feel great we decided to stick to the town instead. I should also add that we were probably being very dim in that we didn't manage to spot any sea lions in the river as apparently they are always there - I suspect we just didn't know where to look! Anyway we headed to the very interesting museum, and learnt some more about not only the local Mapuche culture but also the German influence in the area, as there was a large amount of German colonisation here. We didn't really know about this before we came to Chile, although it is obvious in many places we have visited, so it was interesting to find out more. Despite feeling a little disappointed with the city (although the local beer was pretty decent!) as Andrew was feeling much better we did consider sticking around another day to head out on the boat trip we had originally planned. However, we were very aware of how little time we had left in Chile, and so opted against it in the end. Maybe we should just give up on boats?!

After a little deliberation, we decided that we really needed to branch off the beaten track and headed out to the country instead. We had seen a few adverts for Adela y Helmut, a small hostería run by a Chilean/German couple in lovely countryside pretty much in the middle of nowhere. We had to get a local bus from the nearest town, then it was another 5km bumpy ride in Helmut's jeep. We had decided that a quiet weekend with no self imposed pressure to be tourists/sociable would be ideal, and it was! Adela's food was great, with far and away the best breakfast we have had anywhere (including delicious cake!)and really good dinners too. We were briefly tempted to go and explore another nearby national park, but instead stayed put and enjoyed a few lazy days. The whole area very much reminded me of the English countryside - as you´ll see when we get some photos up it was incredibly green, as it is everywhere in this very beautiful part of Chile. Andrew also felt at home as there were many eucalyptus trees in the vicinity!

Despite feeling like we could have happily stayed there a few days longer if we'd had time, we left on Sunday to catch a bus to Chillán. More on that - and some photos - soon...