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Background: Prior to the coming of the Spanish in the 16th century, northern Chile was under Inca rule while Araucanian Indians inhabited central and southern Chile; the latter were not completely subjugated until the early 1880s. Although Chile declared its independence in 1810, decisive victory over the Spanish was not achieved until 1818. In the War of the Pacific (1879-84), Chile defeated Peru and Bolivia and won its present northern lands. A three-year-old Marxist government of Salvador ALLENDE was overthrown in 1973 by a dictatorial military regime led by Augusto PINOCHET, who ruled until a freely elected president was installed in 1990. Sound economic policies, maintained consistently since the 1980s, have contributed to steady growth and have helped secure the country's commitment to democratic and representative government. Chile has increasingly assumed regional and international leadership roles befitting its status as a stable, democratic nation.

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By CD and LT
October 25th 2008

Volcanoes

South America » Chile » Los Lagos » Puerto Varas

Villarrica Volcano
Overlooking the small town of Pucon.

Hola Amigos, Since the last update we have been to a good number of the towns in the Chilean Lakes district. We arrived in Puerto Varas to climb Osorno Volcano only to be looked at in a very strange way and be told that only very experienced climbers can attempt such an ascent. Though I was up for the challenge it seemed like the best thing to do was a brief Mountain Bike trip, and then take the next bus to Pucon to Climb the very active Volcano Villarica (not so technical). Our ascent started at five A.M. in order to [View Full Entry]

By looking for my zihuatanejo
October 20th 2008

Returning to a wet Chile

South America » Chile » Los Lagos » Puerto Montt

1. San Francisco de Castro church, Castro

Day 111: Saturday 18th October - Returning to life as a backpacker with a bump Get up ridiculously early so I can enjoy a bath before I leave......don't know when the next opportunity will be! Pack my bags and get breakfast and at shortly after 9am its time to say goodbye to Estancia Huechahue. Jane drives me out to the road and Domingo, one of the gauchos waits with me until the bus shows up at 9.30am. Arrive back in Bariloche some time after noon, and as my next bus is in less than 2 hours its not worth heading into [View Full Entry]

3. Iglesia del Sagrado Corazon, Puerto Varas

By ChristinaTravelbug
September 30th 2008

Walk on the moon

South America » Chile » Los Lagos » Osorno

In the woods - engulfed by thick fog
of Parque Nacional Puyehue

(April 06) Considering that I wasn´t going to do this trek for another few weeks I can only say: GOOD ON ME that I postponed the other stuff, packed up and set off in a matter of half an hour that day. I hopped on a bus towards Osorno and asked to get off et Fundo El Caulle, the trailhead to "Los Baños", a series of natural hotsprings in an unwordly setting (and that for FREE!) PLUS a beautiful mountain to climb right next to it. When we came down from the Pass near the Argentinean - Chilean Border I saw [View Full Entry]

By Dirk en Silvia around the world
September 8th 2008

Dag 22: Cruise Navimag

South America » Chile » Los Lagos » Puerto Montt

Puerto Montt

Na het uitchecken uit guesthouse Canales del Sur, rijden we naar Puerto Montt; de laatste 25 km van dit stuk in ieder geval. Eerst maar eens inchecken voor de boot en dan de auto inleveren. Om de tijd te doden, lopen we Puerto Montt een beetje door en gaan we in een lokaal cafeetje zitten voor een broodje en koffie. Na de nodige souvenirwinkeltjes zijn we dan toch weer aangekomen bij de boot, waar we de laatste 2 uur in de wachtruimte blijven zitten. Dan mogen we rond half 3 aan boord gaan. We hebben hut 117, met uitzicht op zee… [View Full Entry]

By Dirk en Silvia around the world
September 7th 2008

Dag 21: Lago Llanquihue

South America » Chile » Los Lagos » Osorno

Koud in Puerto Octay

Vandaag staan de pinguïns op het eiland Chiloe op het programma, maar….. De eigenaar van Canales del Sur raadt het ons af: het is de tijd van het jaar niet, er zullen geen pinguïns zijn… :( Maar hij heeft een mooie alternatieve route: een rondje om het meer Llanquihue. En dat gaan we dus vandaag doen. Via Frutillar komen we in het plaatsje Puerto Octay, waar we een mooi uitzicht op het meer hebben (tussen de bewolking door). Dan door naar het plaatsje Las Cascadas, waar de weg overgaat van asfalt in onverhard wegdek, met heel wat gaten in de weg. [View Full Entry]

By Dirk en Silvia around the world
September 6th 2008

Dag 20: Van Pucon naar Puerto Varas

South America » Chile » Los Lagos » Puerto Varas

Regenbuitje
Het uitzicht vanuit Canales del Sur (tussen de regendruppels door dan...)

Vandaag weer een stukje rijden: van Pucon naar Puerto Vars, 320 km richting het zuiden. We gaan van IX Region de la Araucania naar X Region de los Lagos. Ook het landschap verandert: van bomen voor hout in akkers voor landbouw. Aangekomen in Puerto Varas gaan we, op aanraden van de eigenaar van ons guesthouse Canales del Sur, naar restaurant La Olla voor een goede lunch. Hier is het ontzettend druk, allemaal vis eten. En het is niet voor niets zo druk want het smaakt heerlijk! Na de lunch gaan we 'uitbuiken' op onze kamer en een beetje TV kijken: het [View Full Entry]

By Indiana Jones 5
August 19th 2008

Isla Chiloe

South America » Chile » Los Lagos » Chiloé Island

Pfahlhaeuser in Castro

Nach den wunderschoenen Tagen in Chiles Hauptstadt verlassen wir am Samstagabend Santiago mit dem Nachtbus und fahren immer weiter nach Sueden. Durch die wunderschoenen gruenen Huegel und Seen (wir fuehlen uns wie in Irland :-)!) geht es mit Bus und Schiff weiter - nach ca. 17 Stunden erreichen wir die Insel Chiloe - eine Insel, die ungefaehr so gross wie Korsika ist. In der Hauptstadt Castro angekommen beziehen wir ein wunderschoenes, gemuetliches Hostel mit Meerblick und erkunden danach die Stadt - so gut es mit Sandras Kruecken eben geht :-)... Nach einer kleinen Staerkung im Zentrum machen [View Full Entry]

By ross and polly
August 11th 2008

Chilly in Chile - Puerto Varas

South America » Chile » Los Lagos » Puerto Varas

The party bus over the border
Time for a comfort break!

Ross: From Bariloche we caught an 8 hour bus over the border to Puerto Varas in Chile. Rumours had been flying around about poor road conditions over the Andes but after a 30 minute wait on the Argentine side of the border the authorities allowed us through. Heavy snowfall meant that the roads were fairly covered but we eventually arrived at the Chilean checkpoint of Villa La Angostura and headed on to Hostel Ellenhaus in Puerto Varas for a two-night stay. Puerto Varas was originally a German settlement and this is echoed in the architecture and German-named drinking establishments. Howe [View Full Entry]

Polly tears up another children´s playground

By fogh
July 7th 2008

Mandag d. 7. Juli: Chile

South America » Chile » Los Lagos » Puerto Montt

Mandag d. 7 Juli: Chile Kørte gennem ødemarker og skove. Virkelig flot i grænselandet mellem chile og argentina. Hele vores bil blev checket igennem. Så er det også prøvet. Endte i noget som nok bedst kan beskrives som værende Danmark. Grønne marker som var mindre end i argentina. Som om vi var kommet hjem, hvilket ville være meget kedeligt. Fandt et motel en times tid fra den chilenske grænse, som vi bookede. Heldigvis ændrede tærrenet sig som vi nærmede os den mest aktive vulkan i sydamerika. Gjerde en lidt nervøs, givet den høje aktivitet der har været. Dårligt vejr spolerede m [View Full Entry]

By georgielenf
June 25th 2008

Strange smells, beautiful lakes and a picnic in the cold

South America » Chile » Los Lagos » Puerto Varas

We hired a car and went to see the Saltos de Petrohue today. It is an amazing set of rapids/waterfalls. We spent quite a bit of time exploring the national park. It was pretty cold and windy at the waters edge but the rapids were amazing to see. I could have spent ages just watching them but it was too cold to hang around. There were lots of little paths through different sections of the park and you had no idea where they would lead. One path that had taken us through the forested area suddenly opened up and we were [View Full Entry]

Travel Blog » South America » Chile » Los Lagos