panguipulli

After leaving the beach on Lago Choshuenco, I cycled to my next destination of Panguipulli passing by farmland and woodland on an other terrible chilean unpaved road.

Arriving at Lago Panguipulli and be able to admire the white beaches from the top of a hill was a great relief.....and so it was to see the paved road, after some impossible uphill bits with plenty of stones.

I stopped at a small cafe', 20km from the town of Panguipulli and ate a sandwich and a lovely Kuchen (German for cake....you will see more references to German immigrants in Chile), as I was resting a motorcyclist I crossed earlier on the road turned up to order his supply of smoked trout.

He sat next to me and we started talking, Emilio, a lawyer from Santiago in his late 40s, was on holiday with his family and he invited me to his house on the lake to check on some better maps and give me some advice about my trip.

As soon as we arrived at his lovely wooden cottage overlooking the lake, his wife Wendy arrived with her brother to show me a few maps and a few minutes later we were joined by their son Emilio and lots of friends.

They insisted I should stay for lunch (my second one....), and after having "pastel de choclo" (something similar to polenta, mixed with mince meat and boiled egg) cooked by their maid Dora, the guys invited me for a boat trip around the lake.

After having a good look around we stopped near to a cliff where some guys were diving, I had to have a go, I thought......a good shot of adrenaline !!!!!

We then went back to the beach, where I met other friends and members of the family and tried out a bit of Jet Ski and kayak.

Wendy invited me to stay for the night, and after having dinner together we went out with the guys to go to a local club, my first real night out of this holiday.....we arrived after midnight and stayed outside the club for a couple of hours, drinking and having a chat....that's how they do it in Chile !!!!!!

We finally went in at 2.30am and after an hour and a half of dancing to some modern Latin music such as Reggaeton and Cumbia as well as some international hits, we got out and talked a bit more, before living.

All the people in the club were around 20, and I think I was one of the oldest....if not the oldest.... and possibly the only foreigner among them, but everyone was really nice to me and all the friends came around to say hi and talk to me and ask me lots of questions, I had a great night !!!!!

Feeling a bit tired and in hangover, I rested one more day at Emilio and Wendy's house, enjoying the view of the beatiful lake ....I then had a good chat with Wendy before going for a quick sauna and my last swim in the lake.

The guys invited me to go out for a sandwich and a drink for my last night in Panguipulli......all the people I met there, on the three houses on the lake, have been really nice to me and I will never forget the good time I had there !!!!

Guys and girls, if you are reading this: GRACIAS POR LOS DOS DIAS INOLVIDABLES QUE PASE' EN PANGUIPULLI, FUE MUY DIVERTIDO SALIR CON VOSOTROS Y MUCHO GUSTO DE CONOSCERVE A TODOS.......

Wendy y Emilio, MUCHAS GRACIAS POR LA HOSPITALIDAD Y LA GENTILEZA....NUNCA VOY A OLVIDARME DE VOSOTROS.....