Yesterday was a driving day. It was also a "Back to School" day on how can we sustain our basic needs (food, shelter, beer and coffee) in a foreign country where shaking my head and smiling is my primary means of communication.
After many kilometers of driving under the influence of hunger we discovered truck stops. They feature clean banos (bathrooms), good coffee and food we can identify. They even have showers and gas. One stop shopping for the road. If this trip goes south I'll just sleep in the Suzuki sedan in a Copec parking lot.
As far as real shopping goes. Supermercados are the Super Targets of South America. We tried out a Jumbo store. I stocked up on toiletries, PB&J and loaves of bread. This is a country where when opportunity knocks, you better take advantage of it.
The weather changed drastically over the course of heading due south. Gone are the days of tank tops and flip flops. Today's temperatures felt more like late fall than early summer. Fleece, tights and a Go-Lite jacket were the appropriate outdoor wear.
I'm going to freeze in Patagonia!
Today we hiked in another National Park where the trails are ex-Jeep roads. This is the third Park and and the third rough road we trod upon. I'm beginning to see an emerging pattern. Maybe Conaf (the equivalent of the National Park Service) thinks "Hey we have these old logging and mining roads, let's make them trails. The Gringos won't know the difference!"
So far the only fellow Americans we've met are two Mormons on a two year Mission to convert the Catholics of Chile. I politely asked them to save their sale's pitch for the Chileans.
Here's a few photos from today's National Park. We are on the northern edge of the Lake District
Hasta la tardes,
Jeff
PS. Hola Jenny again
PSS. Wifi is iffy.
