14 Mar – Linares, Chile
Last night was spent in Pucon, a resort town on a lake. This general area is the lakes district of Chile so we took a in couple of them on our tour north. Sadly the weather was crappy so we did not see to much.
Today was better weather wise and we made it half way back to Valparaiso. We stopped on the side of the road to collect wild blackberries and along came a couple of cyclists – a 60's plus couple from NZ; so that filled in a bit of time. On arrival in Linares we stopped outside a butcher shop to get our bearings. The owner came out and plied us with meat, bread and home made wine. That filled in some more time. Then still without any idea of where to find accommodation we befriended a group of young kids on motor bikes who took us in hand and found some for us. That took some more time.
Autumn is arriving down here so while the Makracapa, pine and eucalyptus are still in their cloak of green, the poplars, willows and aspens are turning yellow. Occasionally there is a light litter of leaves on the road which the bike in front send dancing into the air. They come back to rest just in time for me to pass. The topography of this area is remarkably similar to NZ.