We spent our first couple of days in the hub town of Puerto Varas deciding and organising what we were going to do for the next couple of weeks - spending several hours using the wifi of a delightful little cafe which served fabulous proper coffee (rather than the Nescafé we'd become used to - and they even had soya milk for Sam!) and kuchen (all of the south of Chile if heavily German influenced).
The plan for the first three days was to cycle around lake Llanquihue (Yan-key-way), which was supposed to be a delightful pedal in the Chilean sun....
A mediocre forecast didn't put us off however (we decided that it was preferable to cycle in the rain than kayak & camp - our other plan for the area) so we hired two very fine steeds from a helpful bike shop:
After a slight delay to our start to let the worst of the rain pass (hiding in our hostel for a couple of hours), we set off for an average first day (a cycle path along a road) - which did improve as, having reached our destination in time for a late lunch, we had time for an afternoon trip to Lago Todo Los Santos - for the first time truly appreciating the potential of the region, despite the clouds. ~80km cycling meant we had tired legs and were looking forward to our dinner. We'd heard about a place a few km up the road from the random Refugio where we were staying so we set off to find it. Set back off the road in a lodge we found a French inspired restaurant with a roaring fire and spectacular views. We had a lovely meal and Sam started to feel her age as she really appreciated the slightly finer dining aspects of the evening (which is not de rigour in Chile).
The second day was certainly 'type 2' fun (not at all fun at the time!) as the rain lashed down, the winds blew Sam sideways and our saddle-sore bottoms and achy legs reminded us we hadn't been cycling for a while! So we were certainly happy to reach a very welcoming hostel/b&b at the end of the day, with warm showers, cups of tea and fires to dry us out and warm us up, followed by dinner without needing to go out the front door!
The third day dawned a completely different kettle of fish, with blue skies and sunshine (even if the air temperature was pretty cool). We even allowed ourselves the luxury of a short stop on the lake shore to read our books...
...but unfortunately that rain in the distance was coming our way, so it wasn't long before the heavens opened again! Thankfully it was only a passing shower, and a shorter day cycling allowed an early arrival in Fruitillar, a chilled out afternoon and some good home cooking.
The final day's short ride back to Puerto Varas was mostly dry, despite being overcast and windy, and we celebtrated our return with a nice dinner in a great little fish restaurant! (Sidebar: despite having perhaps the worlds largest miles of coastline: population ratio the Chileans don't seem to really eat fish. Even in the Lake District where you'd think there would be trout or something you really have to hunt the stuff out!)
Having written all the above, we have since caught up with all the news at home, and certainly no longer feel in a place where we should be complaining about the rain - our thoughts are with any of you who have been affected by the atrocious weather.
Ps the title of this blog is also the name of one of our current favourite song by Hugh Laurie (Jazz album of the same name).
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