Blog

Glad we were returning to Valdivia in a more straightforward manner, Astrid and I spent the next morning in Bariloche exercising, strolling along the costanera, window shopping the leather, sweater, and chocolate stores on Avenida Mitre, and returning to breakfast at…Continue reading→

With 120,000 residents, the city of San Carlos de Bariloche is the largest in the Patagonian Andes. Homes with a distinct European look crowd together with larger modern buildings, all sloping to the edge of Lake Nahuel Huapi. A conventionally attractive…Continue reading→

When our catamaran pulled in at Peulla, we were slightly less than halfway across the Route of the Andean Lakes. Peulla: A tiny port at the eastern edge of Lago Todos los Santos, Peulla is little more than a dock, a…Continue reading→

Early in the morning, Astrid and I boarded a large bus in Puerto Varas for the first leg of our CruceAndino tour, a 12-hour slog over land and lakes to reach Argentina’s Patagonian city of Bariloche. Skirting the vast blue waters of…Continue reading→

For the first evening of a four-day journey across the Andes mountains, Astrid had booked us a stay at the Hotel Bellavista in Puerto Varas. The large picture window of our room, which has a comfortable lodge feel about it, faces Lago Llanquihue…Continue reading→

Valdivia’s weather in March compares to September in the temperate U.S. — an erratic time of warm sun, cool rain, and everything in between.  When my older daughter Astrid visited me for a week in Chile, we had two days to…Continue reading→

Standing ankle-deep in transparent water, I feel an almost mystical appreciation for the lake. It’s off-season, and I’m the only tourist in sight. The large, round body of water is nestled at the western edge of the Andes, its mountain ridges…Continue reading→

Perhaps fittingly, the day I visited a patch of Valdivian temperate rain forest, it was raining cats and dogs. As we passed the north shore of Lago Ranco, the lake appeared little more than a vision in gray — leaden water,…Continue reading→

Squint your eyes on most any corner of Valdivia, and you can imagine you’re in Germany. You might see German homes that seem straight out of Bavaria, complete with sloping roofs and shutter windows; signs with German names; gothic German churches;…Continue reading→

An excerpt from my novel-in-progress: However, all extended vacations eventually tarnish. As her daughter’s family eased back into their normal routines, Pamela had to entertain herself. Without a car, her outings consisted primarily of long walks to downtown Valdivia. Once there,…Continue reading→