We had one hour to re-pack, leaving our backpacking stuff in storage, scarfing breakfast, then catching our taxi back to the airport. In the meantime, we had a delightful conversation with a couple from Brisbane, Australia. In talking with them, we reminded ourselves that we want to visit their part of the the world for a scuba diving adventure.
With our backs and butts still sore from yesterday's flights, we flew yet again, first to Puerto Montt, and then to Castro.
Once on the ground, we drove (and ferried) to Achou, to see the oldest wooden church in the region. These wooden churches are part of the local identity. They may not have the grandeur of a cathedral; but they certainly have an intimacy that make them special.
We then drove the 90 minutes to our home for the next 2 nights in Chepu, on the northwest coast of the island of Chiloe. It's 15 kilometers off the Panamerican Highway, on a dirt road.
If you look up Chepu Adventures in the dictionary, you'll see a picture of heaven.
It overlooks the Puntra River, which was inundated by the tsunami following the 9.5 earthquake in 1960 (the biggest ever recorded). Since the river valley sunk 2 meters, the invading saltwater killed the local forest, yet the dead trees still stand.
Our hosts, Fernando and Amory are two of the lovliest people you can hope to meet. Funny, friendly, engaging and caring, their personal purpose is to live peacefully and with as little a footprint upon the Earth as possible. They are who we aspire to be.
They collect all their water from cisterns (it's probably the best tasting water we've ever had). Many of their showers have three-minute shutoff timers. All their electricity is generated by a wind turbine and solar panels. And they tell us often how important it is to simply stop, close our eyes and listen to nature.
Oh, and Amory is a great cook, and they serve rockin' organic wine. Our kind of people.
The next morning, we were supposed to go for a morning kayak through the sunken forest. But because it was raining, we instead had a leisurely breakfast, and then Fernando drove us the 6 kilometers to the coast and dropped us off so we could hike the massive beach and then walk the road home.
Imagine our delight that on a beach that is more than a mile long, we were the only ones. And we saw no other footprints. We'll let the photo do the talking.
Playa Aulen
Fernando and Amory
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