Hello, Again!

Good day, my friend.  It's been a while, hasn't it?  And I am quite serious when I say... "I've missed our chats!"

We've much to catch up on, I believe!  If you happened to catch our Instagram stories, then you might already know that we snuck away to grab a piece of summer in the southern hemisphere.  5,670 miles away (to be exact) for a bicycling trip in the lakes and volcanos district in the southern half of Chile. 

Of course, the day we were to drive to Baltimore to catch our flight, we awoke to a fresh 5 inches of snow. 

 

Hubbs headed out to clear the driveways, while I headed to the barn to do barn chores for the last time before leaving.  By the time it was time to leave, the roads were cleared and our trip proceeded smoothly.

29 hours later, (with only one connection missed and re-scheduled) we arrived in the town of Puerto Montt, Chile - gateway to the Andes and the Patagonian fjords.  As we approached our destination, I saw many volcanos from the airplane window.... mountains, lakes, volcanos. 

 A little research showed me that there are 2000 volcanos in Chile - 500 of which are potentially active!   It became quite evident that this trip was going to be a spectacular adventure!

From Puerto Montt, we took a shuttle to the quaint, lakeside town of Puerto Varas. 

 This area of Chile has a very heavy German influence which is definitely evident in the architecture.  We arrived in the town just as they were celebrating what they consider to be the end of their summer season. 

 Our hotel room overlooked the lake and a beautiful snowcapped volcano.

The following morning, we were fitted for our bicycles that we would be using for a week as we rode the beautiful countryside.  After breakfast we met our guides, Pablo and Mario (both from Spain) and off we went on our first adventure. 

Joining us was a local guide, Igor, a wonderfully enthusiastic naturalist who shared his knowledge of the flora and fauna of the region as he rode along side our group.

Being a native of the area, he was able to warn us when we would run into obstacles, such as road work and a small traffic jam.  Luckily, this only occurred on one day.

Our week took us past the most beautiful vistas.

 (Some of the following photos were taken by members of our group and shared.)  The following photo is only half of our group.  And Hubbs was way ahead of the rest of us that day.

Most of our time was spent on country roads, 

rolling past fields of grazing sheep, horses, and cattle.

Up hill and down we rode... around lakes,

and beside volcanos... one was active, as you can see by this photo I took at night.

The flowers were intoxicating - especially after these past few months of winter!

Fuchsia  and hydrangeas grow everywhere.

My favorites were these dark purple hydrangeas, just slightly beyond their peak.  They grew in hedgerows everywhere.

Chile has a large number of street dogs.  I was happy to see that they are all well fed and amazingly friendly.

If only we could have snuck a few into our luggage!

Our weather was perfect... a few raindrops fell on only one morning - not even enough to get us wet.

We dined on delicious seafood and fish, as well as the freshest of fruits and vegetables.  Our accommodations were lovely.  Aside from the beauty of the countryside, the best part of the week was the people with whom we spent it.  So much fun!  So many memories made!

We arrived home late on Monday and spent yesterday catching up with our critters, laundry, and groceries.  Our snow is almost gone - a fact that makes this poor boy less than happy.  He finds a patch and cools off his belly...

As I have said every single time we have travelled... I am grateful for the opportunity to see different parts of this big, beautiful world - but I am most grateful for the home to which I return.  For it is here, at home,  where my heart is happiest!

I'm glad to once again have a chance to chat with you.  I'll see you tomorrow!