Back on the mainland, we stop along the lake Llanquihue, surrounded by several snow-capped volcanoes. The perfectly conical shape of the volcano Osorno, a winter ski resort, reflects itself in the blue waters where we have a bath in between some kayaks. This is the end of the summer holidays here, and they seem to enjoy them till the very end! We will rapidly pass by Puerto Varas and Petrohue, small holiday villages turned into lakeside Disneyland.

road to Cochamo Llanquihue

Osorno road to Petrohue

We then go to Cochamo valley, which is the last fjord of the coast (the first when coming from the north). The place is charming and much less busy , so we stay a couple of days. We temporary leave the car to walk to the heart of the valley, localy called "the Chilean Yosemite". After a long walk in deep muddy trenches, we discover a nice meadow in the middle of impresive granite peaks. The place would have been perfect if our neigbours in the camping hadn't party all night long.

Reloncavi trenches

meadow camping

Nevermind, the following day, we go for the rainbow trek, leading to a gorgeous viewpoint over the valley. As usual, the Chilean trails are tagged in their own special way, so we got a bit lost and were so hot that we had to take a cold shower once back at the camping...

arcoiris 1 arcoiris 2

arcoiris 3 arcoiris 4

Because of long running mecanical issues, we have an appointement in Bariloche, Argentina, with a trustable mecanic. We meet again Johan and Flo near the border, were we drive across a dead forest, petrified by the heat of a previous eruption, few years ago. That explains all the signs "eruption evacuation way", we see everywhere in Chile.

osorno 2 samore

While our friends enjoy kite-surfing on the Nahuel Huapi lake, we spend few days waiting for the mecanic who meanwhile broke his finger... No luck, but eventually Jeremy act as intern under Cristian 's professional supervision while Sophie trains her language skills with him, talking road trips.

Nahuel Huapi Nahuel Huapi 2

Once our problems seem solved, we drive back to Chile, passing by a beautiful valley, usually disregarded in favour a the famous lake road. Then again another broken road, leading to one of the smallest border, where we fortunately enjoyed a natural hot spring.

rio limay 1 rio limay 2

On the Chilean side, we drive along the lakes Villarica and Panguipulli, still way to busy to our taste, and continue north to the mountains...

Panguipulli