Hot Chocolate

We left Puerto Varas Christmas morning. It was a good decision as there wasn't too much traffic. In the town it was nice to see Christmas trees decorated in front yards and parks with Santa's and trees too. It was strange seeing the Christmas trees, outside, with decorations... this would not happen back home, as everything would freeze! It was 12C, Lisa still needed her down jacket under her motorcycle jacket. By the afternoon it was warming up and the sun was shining... 20C.



Sammy getting a much needed wash for Christmas

Our Christmas cabin



Chile had changed since the last time we were here. The flowers along the roadside and in the fields are in full bloom, with colours of purple, pink, yellow, white and orange. The Andes and volcanoes highly visible against the clear skies. We decided to camp and headed to Curacautin. The rivers nearby were filled with children splashing and playing; enjoying the balmy Christmas in the water. The campsite was tidy, with lots of hard pine fencing and buildings. There was a lovely river rushing by, with fish jumping in the evening, taunting Lisa as she likes to fish but doesn't have a rod! We had the campsite to ourselves which was a bonus! There were only cold showers so we both opted out.

Views of Chilean countryside

The morning was damp, but the sun quickly dried out the tent. We spoke with Jaqueline on the way out, letting her know that the wild roses growing in the campsite are the Provincial flower for Alberta and pointed it out on our license plate. 



Enroute to our next destination, we noticed more and more touring motorcycles heading south and we waved and they returned the gesture. The air was cool, but by the afternoon, Lisa was almost passin out from heat. This has been the hottest day yet! Lisa, was still wearing her motorcycle pant liners and long sleeve wool icebreaker, found herself wanting to fall asleep on the back of the bike. A quick roadside stop at the next gas station and those liners and wool top came off! Two layers left for Lisa... it's a record!

We asked the attendant the temperature and he told us 35C!! No wonder why we were both suffering and searching for shade at every stop. How we both would of loved those cold showers now! We made it to Talca, by early evening and returned to a hostel that we had stayed at before. We unpacked the food, but there seemed to be this brown goo everywhere. Grif's chocolate bar had melted and leaked everywhere! Lisa offered to hop in the shower and take the tank pannier and back pack with her. Her offer was quickly taken. Too messy for photos!

Next stop was the Jumbo Store... similar to a Walmart. This is the first one we've seen and it had a lot of stuff. Lisa has been on a hunt for peanut butter since we left Canada, and we both thought, this would be the place to find it, and so we did!! Too bad we didn't know this store existed three weeks ago!