Day 5 · Monday

We decided Day 4 was day of meeting people. Today was driving day. We left Chelenko Hot Sptings. We passed through Cierro Castillo for a gas station (Copec) and stopped at the only restaurant for lunch, San Sebastián.

There are a lot of things named for the patron saint of archers, soldiers, and athletes, as well as those who desire a strong and enduring faith. El dueño of the restaurant was a middle-aged man who, by the pictures on the wall, had been in the rodeo in a previous life. There were two options for lunch. He was very descriptive, but what I understood was chicken or beef, both came with salad, the chicken with papas frites as well. After a minute he brought out soup for someone and explained that this is what I had ordered. Perfect!

We continued on to Coyhaique for the post office and gas Then through Rio Simpson Reserve and then Puerto Aysèn out to the coast. The flora and landscape have changed slightly. The dogs are different (though still ubiquitous). It’s colder and rainy and just different.

Sadly the hotel and tour we wanted in Puerto Chacabuco was unavailable. I was fighting a cold and we were tired from driving about 250 kilometers. So we got a cute hotel on Puerto Aysen and ate dinner there. There was a tv in the room and we chilled out and I got some decent sleep.

New adventure tomorrow!