Volcanoes and old boats

From Las Lajas it was a short ride west to the Chilean border. Another easy crossing but with over 25Km of no mans land you start to wonder whether you have missed a control point or not. The border itself carried all the usual South American bureaucracy. Get one thing stamped to be told to move to the next window to get the next thing stamped and so on till everything that needed a stamp had one. Sandra did have to remind security to scan her bag, which they did and then it was time to move on. The weather was nice and the roads very good.

Chilians finest at work

It should be noted at this time that a lot of Sandra's and my conversations had turned to our inevitable return home. It really felt like we were close to the end of this adventure. We had promised ourselves so much on the trip and indeed had completed most of them, some things still remained undone. We wanted to spend Christmas in a cabin in the Chilean lakes, I was real keen to see the Chilean glaciers and we had promised ourselves a trip to Antarctica once we had reached our goal. However, funds had taken a big beating in Chile and were running a bit low. We had to make some big decisions and these would be made in Vilerrica ,our next stop in the Chilean lake district.

The ride to Vallica was real nice and it was astonishing just how much like England this was. If we were not on the wrong side of the road there was nothing to tell you that you weren't out on a Sunday ride somewhere in Hampshire.

The town Vilerrica is an astonishing little town dominated by a massive (if not still active) volcano. This volcano is just like you would see in a cartoon, perfect volcano shaped with snow running ¾ of the way down. The lake had crystal clear water and it was all picture postcard perfect, but we didn't buy any postcards....doh

We had decided to stay a few days in order to explore and plan the next bit. This was a wonderful part of the planet, and we took the short run the Pucon at the base of the volcano. Again lovely roads to a beautiful small, Swiss like town. We took the shed as far as we could up the volcano and took some great shots. Back in Pucon we were drinking coffee in a small café when the loudest siren in the world went off about 20 meters away from us at exactly mid day, This was the test of the “volcano's gonna blow....run” warning system and was exactly like the WWII sirens you hear in the movie,s. It made Sandra and I both jump and nearly caused an eruption of another kind.

Now, on our original plan we had no idea how much a trip like this would cost but now we have a good feel for our living and travelling expenses, we already knew that the Antarctic trip was impossible due to the exorbitant costs involved. We did have the funds to spend Christmas by the lake but this meant missing the boat trip to the glacier. Sandra and I had a little think and a chat.

Priority one was to have enough funds to complete the trip and get ourselves and the shed home. We both wanted to see the Chilean glaciers and as I did the sums on the back of a napkin in the café we both knew that Christmas by the lake would have to wait for another Christmas and another lake. It was time to get this thing done and dusted. So after three nights in Vilerrica we headed south to Puerto Montt, a fast a furious ride down the motorway some 220 miles to the ferry and the glaciers. This three day cruise would take us past some of the most wonderful scenery on the planet. We were both excited about it.

We stayed the night in a sea front hotel and ate a MacDonald.....not good. A few too many pisco sours saw us wake the next morning with what can only be described as the heads from hell. Now let me tell you about Pisco sours. We can't work out if they are native drinks of Peru or Chile, either way a good pisco sour is in my view one of the finest drinks on the planet. However, drink with caution as more than one sends your head to the far side of hell the next morning. I am making it my quest to be able to make a fine pisco sour on our return to blighty.

Once we had recovered our capability to see further than the back of our eyelids we looked across the bay to the wonderful pristine ocean liner that awaited us in the docks. White, sleek and gleaming in the sun this monster liner promised luxury beyond our imagination and we could not wait to get on board to try out the pisco sours.

The Promise

We got down to the boarding gate and checked ourselves in. Even more tedious south American bureaucracy to get the shed on board (she even had to be inspected for damage and dents prior to having getting clearance to ). After a lengthy process I was given a big white sticker and told to get her loaded. I followed the signs along the dock and was horrified to find I had booked the shed on to some old roll on roll off ferry. I stopped and had to ask twice if this was the right boat.

Oi Mate! wheres the pool

Built about seven hundred years ago this old tub was to be our luxury transport for the next three days.

The reality of budget travel, A proper old tub

I was gutted. The shed was placed in her spot and this time (remember the problems in La Paz, Mexico) secured properly to the ageing steamers deck. Our sea going part of the adventure had not got off to the best of starts.