The one with Carretera Austral

Carretera Austral is the name given to Chile's Route 7. The road connects Puerto Montt to Villa O'Higgins, about 770 miles of mostly unpaved road, and three ferry crossings where the roads don't connect. 

Despite its length the road provides access to about 100,000 people, and the largest city along the way is Coyhaique, population about 45,000. 

The Carretera Austral is both a tourist attraction with incredibly beautiful views throughout, and a very important connection for the people of Patagonia between towns. There are plenty of hostels in every town along the way, and it's a popular route for bike touring (anyone interested in biking it with me let me know!)

It's winter right now in the Southern Hemisphere so there are very few tourists (as in me and one other person...we're friends now naturally), but with a very flexible schedule it is possible to do most of the route. I decided to take a boat for the first part from Puerto Montt to Chaiten. The boat, run by Navier Austral, takes 10 hours and usually runs twice a week. From Chaiten I took a 12 hour bus ride to Coyhaique. With the exception of when we stopped at a random house along the way for coffee and I had the special opportunity of watching just stoppage time of the USA vs. Portugal match, it was the best 12 hours on a dirt road I could ever have imagined!

I think going any further south from here is going to require renting a four-wheel drive car so there will definitely be more stories to come. 

The one with the Homestay like Grandma's!

The best part about not having a plan is that sometimes things end up better than you could ever imagine! 

I stumbled upon a hostel last night that very well could have just been a nice old lady letting me stay in her house. I had arrived in Puerto Montt around noon and didn't have a plan for where I was going to stay that night. Just a few blocks from the bus station I saw a really cute sign: Hostal Suiza 

Only problem was I couldn't figure out how to get in. I stood looking through the gate for a few minutes hoping someone would see me when I noticed a tiny sign - "backpackers go to next door - 247". So I walked up the street further and rang the bell of the next house. An old woman opened one of the windows on the first floor and stuck her head out. Her face lit up when she saw me standing there with my backpack. She came running to the door and before I knew it I had an adorable twin bed with a great view, a key to her house, we were all sharing a bathroom, and I had been introduced to three other nice old ladies in her kitchen. I say before I knew it because she didn't speak a word of English just some damn fast Spanish. I just smiled and nodded as usual. 

Later that night she came by my room with her alarm clock asking what time I wanted to be woken up and when I wanted breakfast. It was like being at grandma's house! 

I had breakfast in her kitchen next to the wood burning stove with a fresh loaf of bread she had just baked. She sat and chatted with me the whole time. 

Sometimes you think you're far away from home, but just because it's not your home doesn't mean it can't be home.