Rounding the Southern Cone: Patagonia and Central Chile
Plus Latest Posts from January 2023
Since Last Time
Our minds don’t measure time in minutes and seconds, but in significant memories. By that measure my last newsletter should have been at least four months ago. And yet, digital timestamps testify that everything that has happened since then somehow fit into a single measly moon cycle.
In case you think I’m exaggerating, only a month ago we were celebrating Christmas in Uruguay. Then we took a ferry to Buenos Aires; took a New Year’s Day bargain flight to Ushuaia at the southern tip of the continent; rode the End of the World Train; walked among penguins on an island in the Strait of Magellan; independently toured Torres del Paine National Park where we stood face to face with wild foxes and guanacos and witnessed an avalanche (from a very safe distance); spent a week at a campground with cabins in Central Chile where we roasted beef on a spit, soaked in a wood-fired hot tub, rode bikes that our host freely lent, and met a vacationing Brazilian-Chilean family who insisted that we visit them in Santiago. We drove past an active smoking volcano. We took a “shortcut” on a mountain dirt road that neither Google Maps nor any human recommended — it was one part scary and and five parts awesome!
We spent a weekend at a remote mountain cabin in Coñaripe, Chile. The rustic accommodations had no WiFi, but we could walk the mountain valley amongst sheep, goats, chickens, and geese and gaze upon the Milky Way with no interference from artificial light. We bathed in some really snazzy hot springs in the crevice between two mountains.
Just when I thought I couldn’t possibly say “wow” one more time, we hiked into the crater of a volcano (Crater de Navidad) and imagined the high pressure inferno beneath that had created a wasteland of ash and a river of cooled lava that stretched for miles.
Those are just a few of the highlights.
Our Big Fat Chilean Family
Enough of the obnoxious list of awesome experiences. Now I want to introduce you to one of the most hospitable families we’ve met on our journey.
Liuan, the fount of our family’s social connections, got in contact with a Chilean woman who is starting up a conservation foundation dedicated to environmental education. She invited us to stay at her family’s 1000-acre farm. For free.
We arrived at our designated meet up along a rural highway between Victoria and Curacautín. Our hosts led us through a locked iron gate and proceeded to drive four miles on a dirt road through a private cultivated forest of tall eucalyptus trees. I joked that the forest was closing behind us, a reference to the journey to the mythical Ta Lo in the movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
We exited the forest into a sea of wheat. We had arrived. On the horizon, perfectly conical volcanoes reached high above the clouds. The dirt road bent sharp left toward an island of trees. Inside that haven of shade, two houses and the quincho (a place for hosting large groups of people) surrounded a yard filled with toys, cars, and three generations of family members, plus friends.
Rather than feeling like guests that needed to be catered to, or volunteers that must prove our contribution, we were received like family. A large part of our day is spent preparing and eating meals with an ever changing cast of family members and friends.
During the extended after-meal conversation, called sobremesa, we tell stories, make jokes, and pick up all kinds of Chilean-isms. They share their funny misheard substitutions for popular American songs: “we’re not gonna take it” sounds like “huevos con aceite” and “this is the rhythm of the night” becomes “is this the Reebok or the Nike” (Nike pronounced as it looks with the final “e” silent). We are immersed in so much Spanish that Liuan and I sometimes don’t bother to switch back to English when we are alone.
We have had many great experiences in our seven months of travel. But when it was time to leave, I was always happy to move on to the next adventure. This might be the first time I truly wish we didn’t have to leave.
Latest from Slow Camino
We had a productive month of writing. That’s one of the few luxuries that hours of plane and bus travel afford. Here are our articles since last time.
A Perfect Travel Day Includes Lots of Unplanned Adventure
By LIUAN - FEBRUARY 2, 2023
We recently came to the end of a day of exploring southern Chile and said to one another, “That was the perfect travel day.” Here’s what made it so wonderful.
6 Surprising Discoveries After 6 Months of Long-Term Travel
By MATT - JANUARY 19, 2023
Six months into our family gap year, I reflect on the things that have surprised me the most about long-term travel and how our family has adapted (or not).
Normalcy, Time-Crunch, Homeschooling Blues, and Dreaming: Thoughts at 6 Months
By LIUAN - JANUARY 12, 2023
Halfway into our family gap year, we reflect on how we’ve grown, how we’ve failed, and what’s ahead.
Our Patagonia Adventure Starts in Ushuaia
By MATT - JANUARY 10, 2023
Our first stop in Patagonia was the southernmost city of Ushuaia. We took the End of the World Train and an ill-fated boat tour.
Uruguay Is Probably Not on Your Bucket List. Should It Be?
By MATT - JANUARY 5, 2023
You probably know little about Uruguay. I sure didn’t. We just spent two weeks in this small agrarian country. This was our experience.
VIDEO: Huska Family Interview at Eco Caminhos Farm in Brazil
DECEMBER 28, 2022
We were the first family to stay at the newly constructed Ecolodge at Eco Caminhos. In this promotional video, our family is interviewed about the experience.
What If There’s No Trash Can? A Reflection
By LIUAN - JANUARY 3, 2023
Principle #6 in permaculture is “Produce no waste.” We saw this (imperfectly) lived out at an Argentine permaculture project.
Did You Know We Are Mapping Our Journey?
By MATT - JANUARY 9, 2023
We are documenting our journey with this interactive map. Read more about how to use the map to see where we’ve traveled.
Puerto Natales for Cook-at-Home Foodie Families
By LIUAN - JANUARY 26, 2023
Where to get gourmet groceries in this remote Chilean town.