We are finally “back on the road again”, something Anne sings from time to time when she is happy to be back on the motorbike. We spend two half days riding down ‘Route 5’ which is the main dual highway road spine of Chile. Easy riding, but the tolls every 50km or so are a pain to pay the 1400 pesos for two bikes – fumbling with notes and coins in gloves is not the easiest. I have resorted to small envelopes pre-packed with one 1000 peso note and four 100 peso coins. Apart from this minor irritant, weather is good, not too hot, traffic is light and follows road rules, something we have not been used to for quite a while. Our first destination is Talca, a town some 250km south of Santiago, we overnight and then push on to Temuco, our jumping off point for the Chilean Lake District, our first area to explore in our southward meander. Temuco has an unusual statue in the town’s main square which is dedicated to all the peoples, including indigenous Mapuche, who contributed to the area’s development.
We are slowly adjusting to the the local timings, such as late breakfast, lunch and dinner. Here this pizza restaurant was open at 7pm, with one member of staff when we arrived, we were the only customers. I think we had finished dinner before all the staff arrived!
In Temuco, we visit the railway museum, which while they have retained some impressive buildings such as the coaling tower and roundhouse for locomotives, the level of carriage and engine maintenance is non existent with rusty coaches and deteriorating steam engines, a pity really as it could be a wonderful historic tourist attraction. We travelled parallel to a railway line down route 5 and while bridges and other infastructure appeared intact the track, catenary and signalling had a disused air about it, plus we saw no trains running. It appears some sections are no longer in use, probably due to the highway running parallel to the railway offering faster transportation options for people and goods.
We turn west heading for lago or lake Villarrica, traffic is heavy coming back as it is the end of the school holidays, every property we pass seems to offer Cabañas or camping of various quality. As we start to skirt the lake, we get our first glimpse of Mt Villarrica as we head towards Pucón.
Mt Villarrica dominates that landscape at 2,840m with a wisp of smoke coming from the top, we understand that the last volcanic activity started in December 2014 and has not finished yet! Each day at 12:00 they test the emergency alarm, which covers volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis on the coast. Warning signs give evacuation routes for the volcanic activity, we will be happy to avoid such potential excitement.
Pucón is a charming, if somewhat touristy, village at the eastern edge of Lake Villarrica under the watchful gaze of Mt Villarrica, seems everything is named after the volcano. We spend a relaxing afternoon and enjoy the long summer twilight, which lasts till about 9:30pm even at this time of the year.
South brings us to lake Calafquen in search of hot springs, mentionned in other travel blogs which can be a good source of current information. Our chosen hot springs destination is Termas Geometricas some 20 kilometers towards the Villarrica volcano, which I presume is the source of the warming waters. This beautifully developed hot springs is laid out above the stream that cuts through a verdant green gorge. We spend a relaxing afternoon testing various pools, which range between 36 and 45 degrees (and make us wonder how hot a couple of pools closed for being too hot were) and take a walk in the forest above the hot springs before returning to our campground in Coñaripe, on the edge of Calafquen lake.
Anne is excited at camping again.
Anthony
Hi. what a fantastic place, i envy you both. keep up the blogs as they warm the hearts of the armchair bikers.
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It is a great place to visit. Will be keeping up the blogs
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Well I hope you didn’t have to evacuate! Thought of you as we saw the volcanic activity. What a beautifully breath taking part of the world-gives one a relaxed feeling just looking at your photos !! Happy travelling !xxx
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No we missed the eruption by a week or so, did see smoke while there but glad to have missed the 4am evacuation call.
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Just seen the volcanic activity on Australian news ! Looks fantastic ! XX
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Best sen from a distance and on TV. Hope you are enjoying Australia how long before you head back?
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Glad you chose the best evacuation route by going to the Easter Islands…. great to get an insight into parts of Chile. Enjoy ‘being away from it all’, you certainly are on the Isla Pascua ; ) xxx
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Yes, we have moved to the safety of an island built of three, luckily dormant, volcanos. We are seeing different part of Chile more updates to follow.
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I’ve ridden as far as Panama on my R 1200 GS but not further. I plan to go further south from my home in SoCal soon. Congrats on you Blog.
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Thank you, getting to Panama would have been a interesting journey with the number of countries travelled through. Great roads here with many local BMW 1200’s traversing them. Am sure you will enjoy. When do you plan to travel down here?
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How amazing is it that Villarrica should have erupted – after how many years? – precisely when you were there? Loved the “wildlife spotted”! xx
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Not sure how many years, but missed the eruption by a week. It was steaming when were there last week. Anne is a good photographer seeking out the camouflaged wildlife.
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Termas Geometricas looks fabulous and the hot springs would be a good relaxation before the next leg of the journey. Great idea to use envelopes with the correct amount in for each toll – small adjustment, big return. Hope the bike is performing as expected? xx
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It was a great place to relax. The bikes are performing well and are enjoying the journey as much as we are, we think.
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