November 15, 2009
Pucon and Valdivia, Chile

Had to head over to Pucon, Chile this week to pick up a few things for the boat, but found out when we got there that the stuff was stuck in aduana up in Santiago.  Too far from Chubut to want to make the trip twice we decided to wait the delay out and headed out to the coast with our tent.  The little town of Valdivia turned out to be a pretty neat place though, so we hung out for a few days eating sea urchin roe and grilled salmon, and exploring the coastline throwing trout flies at unidentified saltwater species from the beaches.  This town is home to the Kunstman brewery, which we visited to sample the wares, and is the base for a large commercial fishery as well.  The seafood markets were just incredible, complete with resident sea-lions on the docks waiting to be thrown the scraps. An interesting couple of days, but upon crossing back into Argentina through the pass at the active Lanin volcano and headed back along the beautiful Rio Alumine and its tributary the Rio Malleo I must admit I was glad to be headed home.  No offense to you Chile types, but the East slope of the Andes has the light that spins my heart for a loop every time.