Puyuhuapi

The morning after Christmas we were all up and moving bright and early.  Early yes, but not so bright really. The sun was not up yet and when the sun isn't up, I feel like I shouldn't be either.  But this morning, I was excited to be up.  It meant that soon we would be on our way to Patagonia.  A place we had been talking about since the minute we found out that we were moving to Chile.  A place I have actually had on my "bucket list" since before I knew what a bucket list was.  I was like a kid on Christmas morning (just like yesterday).  So, it didn't bother me so much to half-wake the girls up, throw them in a taxi still in their jammies and begin our journey.  And a journey it was!

Ready to board the flight...Now, Please.

We live at the end of the world down here in Chile.  At least we thought we did.  But in fact, it takes two plane rides (totaling 3 1/2 hours and over 1000 miles), one bus ride (about 7 hours and who knows how many miles) and a 10 minute boat ride to reach the semi-end of the world.  I say semi because we only hit the Northern part of Patagonia.  With two little kids, we didn't think it would be wise to push them any farther than we already had.  Even though, I will say (with a bit of pride in my voice) that the girls did excellent.  Better than excellent.  Let's put it this way, the first one to whine was me.  But in my defense, I get motion sickness pretty bad - and all I was doing all day was being put into motion - in the air, on land and then on sea.  At some point, your body says enough.  I thought, this lodge had better be worth it...but I think I thought it out loud - hence, the whine.  It was more than worth it.

(The first part of the trip - Puyuhuapi Lodge and Spa - I will cover here...the second, in another post.)

This will become a theme.

It was a direct flight to our destination - sort of.  We did have to have a small stop over in Puerto Montt (no deplaning needed) before we landed at the Balmaceda airport about 11:30 am.  We were immediately met by our porters.  They hauled our luggage and our tired bodies to the big orange bus that we would be calling home for the better part of the day.  No one really paid attention to the bus, or our tired bodies. How could you when all you could see as we pulled out of the parking lot were huge, lush fields of flowers butting up against rocky outcroppings that jutted all the way to the bluest sky I had ever seen.  After all the smog in Santiago (even on a clear day it is hazy), the air here was heavenly.  I couldn't help but start shooting pictures of the landscape as we passed - through the windows of a moving bus.  Not the best, but it was all I could get (forgive them when you see them).

 We drove for about 45 minutes to the town of Coyhaique.  Small town - last civilization we would see until we hit our destination and I wouldn't call that civilization (but I would call it beautiful).  We were back on the bus in minutes and settled in to drive for awhile before we stopped for lunch.  Yes, lunch.  Keep in mind we landed at the airport at 11:30 and had already been driving for over an hour - lunch was not to be served until about 2:30 or 3 pm and we were starving.  (A good not for anyone doing a similar trip - bring snacks).  Good thing I have little kids and I always have snacks!  That bag of smuggled goldfish that my mom brought down with her was gone in a matter of minutes.

We stopped for lunch at a place called Virgen de la Cascade (The Virgin of the Falls).  We ate a quick lunch, learned about why this was here in the middle of, well, nowhere and snapped some pictures of the monument and streched our legs.   

 And then, after lunch we settled in for the long haul.  And I mean, the long haul.   We were travelling down a road called the Carretera Austral.  It runs over 770 miles through Chile and was built as a means of reaching the remote villages that are located in the southern regions of Chile (click the link above to learn more).  It is still a largely unpaved road, though we spent most of our time on pavement (or bricks, as that was what parts of the road were constructed out of).  It is still slow going even in the paved parts since it winds up and down through the peaks and valleys that surround you. 

Thankfully the girls were tired and Stinkerbell sunk into a 3 hour nap while MadHatter colored quietly.

And then, there it was, the dock.  It was a short ride from here...

to here...

                                                               to here...                              

And we were finally in our rooms.

  

It was late.  About 7:30 when we arrived but they greeted us, each and every staff member.  And at the end of the line there was a great sight - a gentleman holding a tray full of Pisco Sours.  Welcome indeed (the girls got fresh juice)!  And we quickly got changed into our swimming suits for the welcome ceremony in the Spa, followed by a 20 minute swim in the sulfer pools.  Finally dinner, and sweet sleep.   

Next up...Our two day hiking, swimming, eating and drinking adventure at the Lodge.