The R&R Big Adventure

Country Life

If the hotel we had stayed in in Chiloé was in Europe, I would definitely recommend friends and family stay there (Hotel y Cava Estancia Rilan). Aside from the great views, design, and attention to detail (fresh flower displays everywhere, and a large scented candle in the bedroom), the service has been very personal and friendly – the husband and wife team who built and interior-designed it respectively introduced themselves to us over dinner. I also got a lick from their dog 😊.

Yesterday we tried to get to the Pacific Ocean from a neighbouring national park, but a large course of water between the dunes and the beach stopped us. The driving rain didn’t help. We certainly got humidity in this part of the world. We stopped for lunch in a restaurant in one of the famous stilted houses on this island, and had a great view of the various birds on the water below. We realised that many of the dogs we have seen on the roads in Chile are not strays, but domestic dogs that like to take themselves for walks, often with one or two canine friends in tow. They are not scared of cars either, so on the drive back to the hotel, we had to be especially careful turning corners or going round blind bends. God forbid if we got in the way of them. 

We spent late afternoon watching the rain clouds come and go from our hilltop bedroom window: it really was quite relaxing. Dinner was another delicious affair – made more entertaining by seeing the owner’s dog take up its position on the restaurant balcony wall, in the rain (Chilean dogs don’t mind the elements) contently surveying all the countryside beneath him, as night fell.

This morning we set off on the drive back north to the mainland, and to Puerto Montt, to get our final internal flight in South America to Santiago. It has been yet another punctual departure – I really thought we would have had at least one flight cancellation or serious delay whilst we were here. I suppose I can look forward to that again when we return to the UK. 

After nearly two weeks of Chilean desert, lakes and rural countryside, we are looking forward to spending a few days in the capital, to enjoy some warmer weather again – and to experience a bit more civilisation. Who knows, we may even stay up beyond 10pm.