About Carretera Austral and Panamericana to Santiago

Finally in Chile, the roads are better and hopefully the weather too

Ralph's dream was to drive the Carretera Austral

A real challenge for seasoned rally drivers

unfortunately the weather got worse again

but the road doesn't matter

it's something for connoisseurs

but they're working on it, much to the dismay of the connoisseurs

The weather isn't getting any better

We take the ferry to Chiloe Island

Here begins the Panamericana

Impressions of Chiloe:

Resting at Guillermo's ecocamp, with goat cheese and grilling

Next day, last attempt to see penguins... failed due to strong waves

the weather is once again very disappointing, a last look at Ancud, we leave Chiloe

and hoping for better weather

The Osorno volcano is also covered in clouds

more clouds than sun here too

we continue north

We visit Salto de Lajas

is already a must for us, it always rains at waterfalls:

Now it's a done deal, we won't stop again

until the sun is shining!

the Pacific in Pichilemu in the evening, that gives hope

That's how you want to be woken up!

But work is calling right away, a wedding guest from the neighboring restaurant, where we slept in the parking lot, had gotten stuck while maneuvering during the night and had spent the whole night in the car with his wife, as we were making breakfast, he was trying to dig his car out of the sand... that's when we could help:

Louis pulled the car out of the sand, only deep tracks remained. The man was very grateful, and his wife too...

and I had to feel the Pacific

then we visited the town of Pichilemu

Cochayuyo are dried algae and are sold in every corner

Pichilemu is a surfing mecca

after Ralph had seen it, he also wanted to give it a try: (surfing for retirees)

here they serve cinnamon with the cappuccino as an extra!

we continue along the coast

We stop on a peninsula between EL Tabo and El Quisco

it's too cold for swimming....

we still enjoy the Pacific

those are Cachayuyo still in the water

Then comes Santiago:

Plaza de las Armas

Up to Cerro San Christobal, with the funicular

The highest skyscraper in South America is in Santiago

Student neighborhood Barrio Bellavista

In Santiago, the journey ends for Jakob and Louis.

As we have already complained about the continuous rain for days, I can now focus on the consequence of this weather: We decide to make progress and drive until the sun shines. After all, the continent still offers us a lot of room to the north.

On our way, we realize that there are creatures in the Latin American road biotope that are much worse off than we are. First, there are the many cyclists fighting their way through the mud on their heavy packwire bikes, wrapped in flapping plastic sheets. The water flows from the rain hat over their glasses and nose, and then finally drains off their chin beard, depending on the wind direction, into the collar or onto the handlebar bag. You wouldn't really want to trade places with them, although cycling is supposed to be healthy ...

Then there are the construction workers in their professional neon clothes, striving for constant improvement of the road network. The weather doesn't seem to affect them. They happily let us pass, never forgetting to wave, stick out their thumbs and say 'Buen viaje!' But we don't want to trade places with them either.

The third group that regularly evokes our sympathy is the dogs on the (open!) loading areas of pick-up trucks. Even in sunshine, we wouldn't want to imagine what our pampered German four-legged friends would say about this type of dog transport. However, even South American dogs don't seem to be particularly enthusiastic about participating in road traffic in this continuous rain.

Speaking of pick-up trucks: We often saw vehicles of this common type in SA loaded either with refrigerators or portable toilets. Given the long distances one has to travel here for weekend shopping, it might be advisable to cool the groceries on the way home, which could explain the refrigerators. I will leave the considerations about the portable toilets to the imagination of the readers.

Even the worst rain eventually stops. Just as we arrive at the Pacific Ocean, the sky takes pity on us and wakes us up in the morning with sun and blue sky. And it has stayed that way until now. Thanks to our steady driving in the days before, we can afford an additional day by the sea and still arrive in the Santiago area a day earlier than planned. Jakob and Louis will then be sent back home. Of course, everyone involved will have mixed feelings about it.

The smiling eye now accommodates us in our motorhome with a seemingly generous abundance. After we have also had a day of decluttering and clearing out and have gotten rid of all the useless junk, suddenly there is room for everything. So we start the second half of the journey highly motivated.