It is the eve of leaving Chile and we never would have thought we would be so happy to leave a foreign country. The car paperwork has taken a total of 7 weeks to receive a copy of the duplicate padron from a Registro Civil office, after six visits with the final including our new friend and translator from Ancud named Ricardo. Needless to say the wait for a piece of paper was challenging as every day we waited we were cutting into another day we should have been roadtripping south through Patagonia. Every blog and article Matt researched over the past 18 months about the car purchasing process reassured us that at a maximum it would take three weeks. So after the fifth week we were barely hanging in there and hence the lack of blog posts!

We must have been made to stay in Chile for a reason. The best reason I can think of is that we found the best coffee in Ancud which was actually reminiscent of our favourite coffee shop back home. It’s actually an awesome sushi restaurant and we happened upon it at the right time of day for a coffee and it was the best coffee we have had since Santiago! Such a delight in the mornings while we were playing the waiting game. The owner Ricardo is a great dude and hopefully we can return his hospitality when he visits Australia. If anyone is venturing to the island of Chiloe, definitely visit Cafe Bar Nerudiano to enjoy the beverages made (finally!) by someone who knows his way around an espresso machine. Also I think we might have introduced Piccolo’s to Chile. Or maybe just Chiloe. But Ricardo was straight onto it once we explained to him how tasty they are.

Matt’s highlight was exploring numerous nooks and crannies along Chile’s most southern coastline (accessible by road). Many days consisted of wrong turns, long dusty pot-holed dirt roads and stunning coastal vistas. Due to large tidal variances and consistently changing wind directions, not to mention the difficult beach access, good surf was a matter of right place, right time, and the windows were very short. The potential is amazing, and Matt managed to have a couple of memorable surfs completely solo bar the inquisitive dolphins and seals. We’ve confirmed that seals are just dog mermaids, swimming lightning-fast circles around you only to pop up and snort five metres away whilst having a good stare at the man in neoprene.

Not to mention the drunk fisherman. These dudes write themselves off so hard with 1000 peso (AUD $2) tallies of Escudo they literally nap in the gutter/on the footpaths by 3pm each day. Work hard play hard I guess…

So lots of places we have visited, revisted and revisted while we waited but the highlights so far I shall show in pictures with blurbs. I think this is easier on the eye than reading through my words as they spill randomly from my brain through my fingers.

Things are bigger in Chile. The cows, bulls, turkeys, onions, strawberries, volcanoes and the flies. The biggest sand flies we have ever seen in our lives. And we’re Australians, not strangers to the fly or two. But these bastards are massive. And jerks.

all rugged up

this beach break was amazing for an hour before the tide killed it

southern chile set ups

como se llama?

volcan osorno. pictures cannot convey how amazing this scene is

heading west

beth’s favourite place to relax

the nooks and crannies of the southern chilean coastline

farmer in chiloe

the miguelito has seen better days

trespassing “she’ll be right beth”

first time matt’s ever used the kookcam in the surf. normally it’s just a travel tool. not bad for a first effort. the sea life is abundant in this part of the world. amazing place.

Until next time amigos!