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Vi�a del Mar - Santiago - Lake District (23-26 Nov. 1999)

The bus-ride from Vi�a del Mar (above) to Santiago (below) passed through a virtual palm forest. The vegetation changed drastically along the Chilean coast. A few days earlier we had left the desert.

Now, in the Chilean capital, I encountered a tree that I just had to hug (see left). It was a birch, the symbol of my home town, Ume�, in Sweden. Santiago deserved one day's sightseeing. As always we didn't visit any museums or pubs, but saw some parks and supermarkets. We also enjoyed some cable TV in our "Casa de Familia" before jumping on a southbound bus to Puc�n in the Chilean Lake District. This town, centre for recreational activities in the area, normally offers great views of the Villarrica volcano. However, the volcano was mostly covered by clouds. In addition, the volcano was currently hyperactive, restraining approach to crater edge. Not that we skinflints really wanted to pay an expensive guided tour to climb the volcano. Instead, we joined a bus tour to the nearby national park Huerquehue, where we would get to see strange trees and bunches of small lakes.

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Parque Nacional de Huerquehue