During our summer break back in Canada ( but also at other points in our van travels ) we’ve been asked lots of questions about our somewhat extended “life on the road”, ranging from the technical, to the personal, to the financial, to the operational and various other aspects of it. Over time I’ve made a bit of a mental list of them and recently collated some of the more common ones – in the coming weeks I thought I’d add an addendum to the blog as a short “Q and A”. If some were asking it, we figured, likely others were thinking it ! We’ll kick it off at the bottom of this week’s edition ( feel free to send us any others that you would like answered ) 😊.
One of the toughest things about travelling in Europe is the simple fact that you are so spoilt for choice. We’re finding ourselves a little bit tormented in a way, and by moving on in the direction we are going we always seem to be passing up something else that we feel we really should be checking out – a nice problem to have though, I suppose. Seems each time we make a detour there is something else equally appealing if we could “just drive a little further on” ! So that’s kind of how we got where we are now ( south eastern France, exploring some of their historic villages and cities ) and we have absolutely no regrets. Why go straight south when there are so many great detours to distract us !
What could be more French – classic Citroen 2CV !
This past week the route took us further south in France, through the stunning castle village of Chateau Chateauneuf, the foodie haven of Dijon ( yes, home of the eponymous mustard ), a few other smaller villages and ultimately to Annecy ( sometimes known as the “Venice of the North” ) – one of France’s prettiest small cities where we spent a couple of days. The week wrapped up with a foray into the Alps at Chamonix, and while not quite the outcome we hoped for it was probably one we should have expected 🧐.
If Flavigny was impressive, Chateau Chateauneuf took it a notch higher. The same historic, original French stone buildings and cobblestone streets, but Chateauneuf also had the most imposing castle perched high atop a knoll with the most expansive views. Taking the self guided tour of it was well worthwhile – interesting to see how the nobility lived back in the day.
Entryway, Chateauneuf.The chateau.Chateau ChateauneufSuit of armour, inside the chateau.The village of Chateauneuf.
World-renowned Dijon was only 40 minutes away and with more to offer than just its famous mustard we enjoyed wandering its historic streets and parks. Sadly, it’s famous market was not open the day we visited but we had no problem finding other sights to enjoy and an excellent lunch to savour- a foodie haven so thought it a good spot to sample the local fare.
Cathedral, Dijon.The walking tour of Dijon is easy – follow the Owl’s route !Building from the 1400’s in Dijon. Made partially with wood and still in amazing shape.One is, unsurprisingly, spoilt for choice with varieties of Dijon’s eponymous mustard.
Close to Dijon was the smaller city of Besançon and, while we would not have made a special trip to see it, there was a very worthwhile reason for the detour there that we made. While the Mercedes dealer in Troyes couldn’t help us with the EGR part we needed, the Service Associate very thoughtfully arranged for it to be delivered to the nearby Besancon dealership – most conveniently they could also fit us in for the installation. With service appointments often needing to be booked weeks in advance, we were incredibly appreciative of the cooperation between the two dealers that made it possible for us to continue travelling with what ultimately amounted to a very minor interruption. Thank you, again Saber and Cédric !
Thank you to Cédric and team at Besancon Mercedes. Not only did they get the new EGR valve it was installed quickly and with out fuss.While waiting for parts to arrive the service guys were checking our route.Street scene, village of Poligny. Originally visited because there was a great spot to camp and then realized it was also a great little village to explore. Famous for Compte cheese ( we loved it ).We’ve become somewhat addicted to visiting cheese stores – here at a market in Poligny. The local specialty is Compte…delicious.
Annecy, a beautiful small city on Lake Annecy, and just a few hours further south, was effectively our last stop in France. We had read much about this place and seen quite a few pictures so were keen to get there and explore it for ourselves. It did not disappoint. With our van parked up right on the waterfront and just on the edge of downtown, it was one of the most convenient locations imaginable and gave us lots of opportunity to explore Annecy’s beautiful attractions. It’s popular, being just an hour or so south of Geneva in Switzerland, and being a weekend it was extra busy, however the crowd of visitors from all over the world simply added to the ambiance.
Annecy.Pizza lunch.Selfie in front of Palais de I’lle, Annecy.Annecy.Coffee time, Annecy.Annecy.Thiou River, Annecy.Pont de Amours, Annecy.Annecy, waterfront. Long waterfront walks were necessary to burn off the calories consumed here !
At this stage, we planned to finally start heading east with our first stop being to visit some old friends in the east of Switzerland. East was also the logical direction we should’ve been heading ! Rather than scoot across the top of the industrial region of Italy as originally planned, we opted to cross the Alps and go straight up to Switzerland, but planned a route which would be all virgin territory to us. This gave us the opportunity to sneak in a visit to Chamonix, ( a skiing mecca and home to Mt Blanc ) just before leaving France. It was probably optimistic to think we could park anywhere near the place ( but thought we’d roll the dice ) – even a nice view of Mt Blanc alone would make a visit worthwhile and it lay right on our path to Switzerland anyway. See below – let’s just say it was fortunate we did not go too far out of our way !
Chamonix- bumper to bumper traffic, packed with tourists and impossible to park. It was the last Saturday of summer holidays on a gorgeous summer day – what were we thinking !!!Too cloudy to see Mt Blanc from Chamonix but got a good view of the glacier. A consolation prize of sorts 😊.
Q: Do you guys argue from time to time and isn’t it difficult living for extended periods in a ( relatively ) small space ?
A: A surprisingly common question ! Yes, we do, mostly about driving directions but sometimes about destinations, and routes as well. Made worse when one of us is sick, or something goes wrong with the vehicle ( the severed ABS brake cable issue in remote northern Norway in sub zero temperatures would be a good example ), or when the weather is bad ( “Jeff, remind me, again, why are we here in March ?” ) ! We actually don’t find the space “small” and we see MANY travellers in vehicles smaller and less well equipped than ours. We are very thankful for all the facilities and features our van has – helps minimize those arguments !
A typical “micro-camper” the likes of which we saw regularly during our time in Japan. As can be seen (compared to the standard Japanese sedan parked beside it), some of their campers are really small ! Very happy with the size and comforts of our van ( and having lived in Japan for 3 years we are used to small spaces ! ).
Seems like yesterday that we touched down here in Kelowna, and yet, here we are already preparing to blast off back to Australia. In reality we’ve been back almost 7 weeks – longer than we had anticipated but there were a few, er, shall we say, unexpected “curve balls” put in our path. Expecting simply to come back and have a relaxing month with our children, friends, and of course our adorable new granddaughter, things didn’t go quite exactly as planned.
Grandma and Hadley. Seemed this was her favourite resting place !Grandpa and baby.Mum and baby.
Two days after arriving I came down with Covid ( a mild dose ) and two days after that Lois got it from me ( she unfortunately being sicker, for longer ). Needless to say that eliminated any further immediate one on one time with our new baby – with isolation, followed by masking (after the RAT tests showed negative ) we lost about 2 weeks all told. Fine, we thought – having successfully dodged it for 3 years while half the world had gotten it we knew it would come our way sooner or later and at least we had it in the comfort of our own home. Well, almost all of it while at home. Lois was still in the final days of testing negative when another calamity struck – we were caught up in the Kelowna fires and evacuated from our house for a week ! Did someone break a mirror ? Fortunately our home ( and most others in Kelowna ) survived the fire scare but it was a frightening disruption we certainly did not need. Our thoughts were very much with those that lost homes and of course, our eternal thanks to our amazing firefighters ! A special shoutout to the friends and family that took us in for the evacuation days ( Sue, Mark, and Jackie – thank you ! ) – thankfully we emerged unscathed. Nothing like an evacuation order at 10.30 pm to throw your erstwhile tranquil life into complete chaos !
The dreaded RAT test. No one wants to see two lines !Between the houses in the foreground and the mountains in the background is Okanagan Lake, probably 2kms wide at that point. The fires, which started in West Kelowna ( across the lake ) were so strong that burning embers crossed the lake and started multiple fires on the Kelowna side ( near us ). Here, our neighbours observing the fire – a few hours later we would all be evacuated.National newspaper headline showing the Kelowna fires. They came frighteningly close to our own home.
With our precious baby time cut short we made the obvious decision to extend our stay and have enjoyed every minute. Freed of the shackles of Covid infections, not only could we enjoy every minute of grandparent time but we were also free to join family and old friends/colleagues and enjoy our Okanagan summer – even if it was rather smokey from the residual effects of the fires. We’ll miss our little Hadley greatly but have sworn that future trips home will be more frequent, even if a bit shorter in duration.
Managed to get out on the lake with my old boss, Mike. A little smoke still evident in the background.While doing some shopping in Kelowna we noticed this very impressive German overland rig, making us a little homesick for ours. It’s just an accepted fact among overlanders that the Germans almost always have the coolest rigs !
There’s been no travel here in Canada to speak of but we are truly excited to be getting back in our rig and to exploring the remaining parts of Australia which we expect will take us well into 2024. Western Queensland, the NSW coast, some detours into western NSW and on to the many parts of Victoria we’ve not yet seen, before travelling to Tasmania in the New Year should fill out our itinerary nicely.
It was with very mixed emotions that we got ready to board the flight to Vancouver and then on to Brisbane. Leaving had never been this hard before. It would, ultimately, be a very long flight to Brisbane.Could not swing a direct flight back to Brisbane, but instead had to go the long way around via Sydney.
Very unfortunately it appears that, last week, all subscribers to our blog who use @gmail.com email addresses had their weekly blog link diverted to their junk/spam folders. Probably half our subscribers use gmail so it affected many of you. So if it’s ever not there just open your junk folder and you’ll see it, or simply go to our website www.OneEndlessRoad.com and look under Recent Posts ( it’ll be there ). I have been advised that it could be the good folks at Google tweaking their Spam filters ( which usually means it will catch some stuff it should not ). However, I’ve also been advised that it could have been caused by content in the blog – unlikely, since there was nothing unusual in that edition – pretty much like all the others !
On the assumption it may have been caused by blog content, I am sending out this “one off” blog post with no commentary, and no pictures, to see if it gets through as per normal. I’ve also included a link to last week’s missed post “Onwards to Broome “ as well as this week’s post ( “The Gibb River Road” ) in case the same thing happens again: see below
To ensure that you will always get it, it might be a good idea to add OneEndlessRoad to your Contacts and include our 1endlessroad@gmail.com address in the email section so that the Google system recognizes this as a legitimate email address.
I’d love to hear from any gmail.com subscribers just to know that you got it…..just put a comment in if you don’t mind. If there is a Google/gmail guru out there in our subscriber base who can advise me on how to prevent this in future, I’d love to hear from you !
While we have patiently continued the waiting game in Temora, there has been some progress with our ship – read Postscript: Shipping Update ( at the end of the blog ) for the gripping details. Other than that, a pretty short blog along with a very slight change of location.
We have, of late, been very fortunate ( and extremely delighted ) to be able to spend more time with family so we split this week between Temora ( my brother ) and Forbes ( my sister ). The communities are very close by so it’s easy to get from one to the other – passing the quaint town of Grenfell on the way we checked out what would become the first of (what should be ) many examples of unique “silo art” in NSW and Victoria. The images below show what else we have been up to.
Lois enjoying a little pool time in Temora – perfect on 30 degree days ( 86F).Delicious Aussie scones and tea with my brother and his wife and the neighbours (all aviation enthusiasts of course ).One of the guests for scones owned this unique plane, a TransAvia crop sprayer ( one of just a few left in the world ). Known as an AirTruck, it’s practical but does not win any prize for aesthetics !
Through the week we took the opportunity to travel to a couple of nearby communities, Junee and Cootamundra to take in some local attractions. Junee is renowned for its chocolate factory ( yes, we just seem to keep finding them ! ) and Cootamundra for both the Australian Test Cricket Captain’s Walk and, perhaps more famously, as the birthplace of Sir Donald Bradman – THE most legendary cricket player of all time. In more global terms, Bradman is to cricket as Babe Ruth is to baseball or perhaps Pele is to soccer – an icon in the annals of the sport, idolized by cricket fans all over the cricket playing world. His childhood home is the attraction and has been tastefully converted to a museum honoring his life. Very impressive !
Grenfell’s colorful silo art. There are now many of these that make a tourist “silo trail” across much of Australia. Thanks for the book, Anne, we look forward to seeing many more !Henry Lawson, a very famous Australian poet, hails from Grenfell, probably its most famous son. Memorialized on a bench in the town.Sir Donald’s childhood home ( now a “shrine” to the great man himself ).Inside the museum.A bust of every Australian cricket captain is placed on a walking path in Cootamundra. The most famous one is below !Don Bradman himself.The Chocolate Factory – from outsideThe Chocolate Factory is a local success story, having been created from the remnants of an old flour mill. It’s now a major employer in the town – and the chocolate is excellent !
Postscript: Shipping Update
Mixed news ( at best ).
The good first. Our vehicle is finally off the ship and on the port in Melbourne. That’s far more exciting than you might imagine given we have watched it float on a car carrier in Bass Strait for a month..! Now the bad. It has been inspected and, as we had been told to expect ( by EVERYONE ! ) it did not pass the initial rigorous quarantine inspection. To put this in perspective, a month or so back some new cars that arrived on a ship from China were shipped right back to China because they did not pass – yes, NEW cars ! Vehicles that fail ( our shipper advised that was 98% of anything used ) usually go off port to a Quarantine Dept approved wash bay but that has not happened because there was some confusion over the fact that our van contained personal effects ( it’s full of them obviously, as with any overlander’s camping vehicle ). As such they called for a “re-inspection” of those goods which has set us back further. Frustrating ! More details on that as it unfolds next week.
As an aside, it has now been almost 11 weeks since we left our van on the dock in Savannah, 5 weeks since the ship arrived just offshore of Melbourne, and almost a week since it was offloaded at the port. It all seems to have taken sooooooo long. Our plans for Tasmania (the booking was made 7 months ago) have been cancelled since we were not able to make the initially scheduled departure date ( Feb 28 ), nor even the revised date ( March 3 ). Incredibly disappointing. Hard to make firm plans for anywhere else until we get our rig. Sigh…………
The last task in Futaleufu was to visit the nearby Argentine border and get clarification from the Chilean border folks as to exactly which Chilean borders would open in the south, come December 1 and then January 1. This was critical information and would determine both our route south and the transportation method ( driving or ferry ). I’ll spare readers the intricacies of the Argentine/Chile border crossing options in southern Patagonia but suffice it to say that with none of those critical borders currently open we could be looking at an extraordinarily circuitous road route to visit both the Chilean and Argentine attractions that we had hoped to see in the Tierra Del Fuego area. Turns out it was a good news/bad news” story. The bad news was that none of the borders that we needed to cross would be open in December.
Border guys in Futualeufu telling us which borders would open next. They were extremely accommodating ( not much else to do at a closed border I guess )
The good news, as seen below, was that finally, on January 1, a critical southern border was scheduled to open ! For us, assuming it all played out as planned ( and news of Omicron was just breaking leading to new international restrictions ) this would mean being able to complete the Carretera Austral and travel all the way down to Villa O’Higgins, returning back Puerto Yungay and then taking a Chilean ferry through the southern fjords down to the very bottom of Chile. The ferry through the Chilean fjords is a spectacular journey itself, saves us a lot of driving and would have us in Tierra Del Fuego for Christmas. All going well with the border opening as scheduled January 1 it would then be possible to cross to Argentina and work our way back north through Argentina after exploring southern Argentina’s many attractions. With fingers tightly crossed the ferry was booked from Puerto Yungay to Puerto Natales for December 11.
This was important – we did not want to just ‘hear’ it, we wanted to ‘see’ it. The Chilean border officer actually showed us on his phone that the January 1 openings included Rio Don Guillermo ( near Puerto Natales ) which was just the one we needed ( in the south )
That all settled, back to planning the rest of the Carretera Austral !
Road leaving Futaleufu ….realized as we drew closer that these were sheep !On the Carretera even some of the major bridges were single laneWhile the roads got rough the views stayed consistently impressiveMap showing the end of the Carretera Austral in Villa O’Higgins. One then drives back as far as Puerto Yungay to take the ferry to Puerto Natales at the very bottom of South America.
While light rain fell almost constantly on the road to Puyuhuapi, it was a visual treat, albeit rough at times and marred with ( the ever familiar ) roadwork. Puyuhuapi is not particularly attractive but has some interesting German history and more famously is the jumping off point for one of the Carretera’s top sights – Ventisquero Colgante ( the hanging glacier ). Reached by an ( at times ) fairly challenging 3-4 hour hike, the glacier is amazing; had we arrived 10 minutes earlier we could have seen the deafening calving that we heard when we were still a few hundred metres away.
Entering Puyuhuapi a town founded by German immigrants in the 30’s. Strong German influence in Southern ChileMet up with Johannes, a German biker and the first foreigner on a foreign registered bike we’d seen in Chile. Normally there would be many and prior to Covid we had seen manyEntrance to the magnificent Vintesquero Colgante hike in Parc Nacional QueulatCrossing the first bridge to Vintesquero Colgante View on the way up…The hike required navigating some narrow creek beds….….to reach the stunning view at the top of the hike Closer view……heard some calving on the way up ( loud !! ) but missed seeing itSelfie time
The road from Puyuhuapi to Coyhaique was one of the tougher sections of the Carretera, lots of gravel, lots of rain, lots of washboarded surfaces, lots of steep hills and hairpin bends – but all in a days drive on this road. As someone told us, never a dull moment…!
Some pretty steep roads just out of Puyuhuapi , all under construction – lots of delays but the scenery was impressive Cascada ( Waterfall ) La Virgen ( on the way to Coyhaique )Roadside flowers near Coyhaique The colorful wildflowers were all along the roadside between Puyuahapi and Coyhaique Close up of the Spring flowers
Disconcertingly, on arrival in Coyhaique, it became obvious that what we thought was just a faulty ( propane ) heater was in fact more serious when the ( gas ) cooktop also suddenly stopped working. How I would explain our propane issues, in Spanish, to someone who could work on an American system ( and find needed parts ! ) in the middle of the remote Carretera Austral was a nerve wracking thought. Fortunately our camp host “knew a guy” and if ever there was a time we “needed a guy” this was it. “Juan” turned up at our camp site at 8pm, stayed till 11pm working on the system and quickly identified a faulty regulator as the issue. Of course, the regulator itself was readily replaceable, and he had one on hand, but the connections ? Of course….all different ! A colleague of his had worked on several foreign ( to a Chilean gas guy anyway ) propane systems, had some cannibalized parts left over and by a stroke of miraculous good fortune these allowed him to tightly connect the new regulator ( property leak tested while we watched ! ) and get the system working perfectly. A huge relief, we could now stay warm AND cook again !
Juan, the gas technician who worked on our propane problem Leak tested, every fitting, while we watched
Delighted to have the propane issue now resolved the next few days were spent exploring Coyhaique, a small city of about 65,000. Easy to get around, we enjoyed beautiful sunny days there after a couple of drizzly ones, and all our shopping ( and repair ) needs were met. It also seems the camping facilities are just getting better as we go south – “El Camping” in Coyhaique was one of our faves so far. Secluded, private, close to town, strong wifi, best hot showers and cleanest bathrooms we have seen yet AND they helped solve both our our bedding and regulator problems ! As seems to be a pattern in Chile they also had the most adorable animals that stood watch over our camper.
Downtown street scene in Coyhaique Another street scene in Coyhaique Candy and Blanco were always at the bottom of our steps…………while kitty just loved to sleep under the truck in the camper steps box ! Reminded us of the new pups that adopted us in Villa de Leyva, Colombia
Even got in a little emergency ‘construction’ work on the camper. With the aid of a piece of irregularly shaped plywood, our dinette folds into an emergency bed – we had kept the said plywood with us for the last 6 years until I carelessly left it at the campground in Pucon during a clean up two weeks back. We would need this for the 41 hour ferry ride to Puerto Natales ( there are no cabins on board and while we CAN sleep in the camper we will NOT be able to pop the roof up ).
Borrowed a saw from the campground owner and cut some “slats”Not the perfect platform I had lost but a few pieces of tongue and groove slats cut to length would close the gap we needed to make our emergency bed ! Voila’, an emergency bed. Better than two nights sitting bolt upright on a crowded ferry !Italian food tonite ! We seem to eat a lot of it, always washed down with excellent Chilean wine ( and beer ) ! Their cheese is pretty good too.
Leaving Coyhaique on an overcast rainy day we expected a 3 hour trip to Puerto Rio Tranquillo, renowned for the Marmol ( marble ) Caves. Between the weather, countless construction delays and some slow traffic ahead of us, we managed to turn it into a 5 hour saga. I say saga because the road was substantially gravel, and rough gravel at that – loose rocks, ruts, corrugations, steep slopes and narrow cliff edges made it well, shall we say….interesting ! But, just another day on the Carretera Austral. The trip did present some interesting sights and even the weather improved by mid afternoon to reveal the grandeur of azure Lago General Carrera as we rolled into our campsite.
The roads were indeed steep at times….but not quite as steep as this sign suggests ! Freaked us out at first though.As we drove into Villa Cerro Castillo the eponymously named mountain was covered in fog and cloud. On the way out the clouds parted to reveal this – quite impressive !Had always imagined the “gauchos” to be an Argentine thing but this horseman ( herding cattle by the road near Cerro Castillo ) sure looked the part ! I showed the picture to a local Chilean who confirmed he was indeed a gaucho ( and obviously that Chile also had gauchos ! ).Typical of the miserable conditions on this day – road and weather !Just before Puerto Rio Tranquilo, we passed this idyllic scene. Looked much like the South Island of New ZealandWe passed so many motor cyclists that we lost count ( a few hardy cyclists, too ! ). While almost all were Chilean registered motor bikes many foreigners come to Chile just to do the Carretera and rent Chilean bikes. Saves the shipping headache
Puerto Rio Tranquilo is a small, rustic Patagonian village whose sole purpose seems to be a base to tour the nearby Marmol ( marble ) caves. A pit stop for almost all who tackle the Carretera, these multimillion year old marble caves are found on the shoreline of Lago General Carrera just outside ‘Tranquilo’. We’d seen pictures and they looked impressive so we were keen to get out on the water and check them out ourselves. They did not disappoint – I probably took more than a hundred pictures but narrowed the selection down to the following handful. Definitely worth a stop for anyone who comes this way !
View from inside the caves Marmol caves – can you see the dogs head ?Marmol cavesMarmol cavesMarmol caves
Vina Del Mar had been a great place to transition back in to Chilean life. Beautiful warm days, excellent shopping, and – I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention it – incredibly hospitable hotel staff. They simply could not do enough for us and all commented on how thrilled they were that tourism here was “coming back”. Enjoyed a special dinner on our last night as it was Lois’s birthday the next day – as soon as the waiters became aware of that some cupcakes and cookies were promptly delivered to us and the two of them serenaded Lois with a rousing “Happy Birthday to You !”
Lois getting a birthday treat
Our “man in Chile”, Juan Pablo, arrived Sunday morning and it was truly wonderful to connect with him again after last seeing him in late March, 2020. He had become a father, started a new business, and, as it turned out, did a fantastic job of taking care of our vehicle ( and almost 30 others ! ). Quillota was only an hour or so away so we took a slightly more scenic route up the coast. He had kindly washed the vehicle and it truly did look just as we’d left it. Some cleaning to do inside, lots of re-packing and ultimately a new battery ( we would replace it a day later – after 18 months a dead battery was to be expected ) but within a few hours we were ready to at least get moving. Juan Pablo would have none of it and insisted we stay for a full Chilean family lunch ( which starts late and runs almost into a North American dinner )…..course, after course, after course !!! Delicious, filling, and supplemented with interesting conversations with the whole extended family. Star of the show was of course their new baby boy, Andes ( yes, like the mountains ) who captivated us all. It was one of those get togethers you just did not want to leave. A global pandemic had brought us together as strangers and here we were about to leave but certainly now as good friends – COVID did give us some silver linings.
Juan Pablo, his wife Daniella and their son, Andes Preparing for a Chilean feast
The general direction now was simply…….south ! Santiago lay immediately ahead and having explored it fairly extensively on a previous visit the plan was simply to navigate around it. Chilean elections were just 2 weeks away and the city had seen protests and threats of road blocks so not something we wanted to get tangled up in. Our trusty iOverlander app ( absolutely THE most essential travel aid in the repertoire) helped us locate a small private campground near the coast on a route that would later take us through Chile’s Colchagua valley, one its most famous wine growing regions. Unsurprisingly we were the ONLY campground guests, a pattern that would repeat for the rest of the week.
Camping Las Cipreses, El TaboEl Tabo
From the rustic town of El Tabo, our route took us through the grimy port city of San Antonio ( only for the sake of procuring a new vehicle battery ) before getting dramatically more scenic on the approach to Santa Cruz. What did strike us was both the relative absence of campgrounds in this area, or, where they did exist, the fact that they were closed. COVID impact ? Too early in the season ? Either way, finding a spot to camp would be be a tad more challenging for the next couple of nights. In any event as most often seems to happen, a solution was found and we found ourselves ( again ) the only guests, this time in a private’ gated, “Tiny Cabins” development with total run of the place…!
Marco, replacing our dead battery in San Antonio
It only made sense to make full use of the facilities ( space, security and privacy ) to do a total re-clean, and re-pack of the vehicle merging all the things we’d left behind with an even bigger pile of the things we’d brought back, only to realize that some serious, shall we say, er, “consolidating” was in order.
Parked at Tiny Cabins, Santa CruzBattery was not the only thing we replaced. I carried a spare cabin air filter so changed that tooA most serendipitous discovery
While Santa Cruz does not offer easy camping accommodation it does deliver great wineries, restaurants and a real “Napa Valley-like” ambience. Hugely popular with Chileans, it’s an easy place to just linger……so, linger we did for a couple of days, one touring the wineries of Laura Hartwig, then the amazing Clos Apalta, followed by a second day just unpacking , cleaning, the re-packing the camper – it had been so long since we left Chile that we had forgotten how much stuff we left in the camper. One little gem we ( well, “I”), did uncover in the process was an almost full jar of pure Australian gold……..Vegemite ! Absolute heaven, and enough to last me a good few months used sparingly ! Lois suggested it was the aroma of Vegemite ( she hates it ) that kept the mice out of the camper !
Laura Hartwig WineryLois sampling a Laura Hartwig wineLaura Hartwig WineryClos Apalta WineryLois sampling a Clos Apalta redClos Apalta cellar The staircase to the six level Clos Apalta underground cellar. It was dug out from stone over 6 years and is one of only a few such in the worldJeff, with a whiteThe vineyards
More than a couple of Chileans had recommended we visit Siete Tasas ( 7 Cups ) National Park and being that it was not a big detour on the way south we made our way there. Great place to stop for a couple of days, enjoyed a long-needed 8km hike and realized a second thing that also became immediately obvious – how absolutely out of shape we were ! Once again we were pretty much alone albeit in a beautiful setting right on the Rio Claro.
Lois at the Siete Tasas National Park entryWaterfall, Siete TasasCamping at Siete TasasRio Claro, right beside our siteThe Siete Tasas cascading “cups”
While the next stop on our route was Chile’s Lake District ( centred on Villarica and Pucon ), it was a bit of a stretch in one day so we broke the journey at a great Eco Camp ( El Rincon ) just north of Los Angeles ( Chile’s Los Angeles ! ) hosted by Don and Carla, two expat Americans who have created a little slice of heaven in the Chilean countryside. Great spot, great hosts and we finally met our first other foreign travellers ( a Dutch couple ), ironically however on their way home to Holland. Enjoyed a night together sharing drinks, and tales from the road. Bliss……….
Road to El RinconCamping at El Rincon They still wash your windscreen and pump your gas here…….and wear a uniform !
The PanAm completed in April, 2022 and with the truck camper sold, we shipped our new Sprinter van to Australia in late 2022. We travelled there through all of 2023 and into 2024 before shipping it up to North East Asia where we travelled for 4 months between Korea and Japan, before shipping it back to North America. It’s our plan to continue exploring the world in 2025.
