We do leave Santiago after all, though only for a little while. Since Pepe is still in recovery, Great Samaritan Rodrigo - who is already providing us with deluxe shelter in Santiago - sends us on an expedition to the south in his bad-ass Land Rover! :) Indeed, when in Santiago, do like the Santiaguinos do... so we decide to explore one of the Chileans' favourite vacation destinations: the Lake District.
The Discovery-on-duty allows us to cruise down the Panamericana in no time (at about twice the maximum speed of Pepe!), and while a full-option 4WD SUV at first seems a little too much for Chile's well paved roads, we are soon having some real off road fun in the beautiful (but flooded) National Park Conguillio.
The Lake District has not stolen its name: stunning lakes and lagoons (some even more breathtaking than others) pop-up around every corner, and we lose track counting after number 14. Countless snow-capped (active!) volcanoes make the already spectacular scenery even more picturesque (think emerald alpine lakes surrounded by charcoal-black lava beaches), and the views from the top (as many of them can be climbed, with or without assistance of a ski-lift! :) are unrivaled.
Our (long!) days are packed with exploring all this natural beauty: impressive lakes, volcanoes, waterfalls and local Mapuche communities (our Santiago laziness has completely vanished!)... hence we very much enjoy some welcome relaxation time in what may well be the most amazing hot springs on the planet: the Termas Geometricas (an absolute must if you are in the area!). The nights, on the other hand, we spend stargazing through the glass ceiling of our "dome" accommodations, which appear to be pretty popular around here, and in front of the old-school wood fire in our own lakeside "home" at Manuel's family cabaña on the shores of lake Llanquihue (how could we not love Chile with all these great friends?!).
Last but not least - and the reason why I am writing this blog post (under Eveline's strict supervision ;-) - the southern Lake District pretty much feels like (perhaps an even better version of) home... with an abundance of homemade Kuchen and Apfelstrudel for sale, ample dairy farmland dotted with typical German architecture, especially in the lovely villages of Puerto Varas and Frutillar, an important German choir heritage (beautifully implemented in the impressive and world-class Teatro del Lago), plenty of craft beer producers (Kunstmann, Kross, Becker... get the picture?), etc. While Eveline's rusty Spanish has led us smoothly through South America until now, fluent German comes in very handy here!
Ich grüße dich! :)
