We have had two terrific weekend trips these past two weeks. Javier and Sandra invited Helen and us to visit their mountain home near Villarica, and Claudia and Marcos invited the three of us the following weekend to visit the region around their family get-away in Conaripe. (Click on any image to see full size picture.)
With Javier and Sandra we saw much of the towns of Villarrica and Pucon, met their relatives and neighbors who have an extensive cheese and plant nursery business, and watched a mob of ironmen and women finishing their competition in Pucon. Javier is very proud of his Mapuche background, and we
enjoyed a tour of the family farm which has been promoted by the Chilean government with a special grant to encourage indigenous businesses. We were also treated to a visit to the local Mapuche market where we ate delicious native food (bread, empanadas con queso, sopapillas, 
and matte tea repeatedly prepared by Sandra) and viewed the fine handiwork of local craftspeople. (Leslie fell in love with some of the expertly-carved wooden bowls in a booth manned by a charming young Mapuche.) While we ate, a puppet show charmed many kids.
With Volcan Villarrica looming in the background, we also sampled 
some of Javier’s wonderful beef which he barbecued in the yard of the family home near a burbling stream.
(Click on the image below to see gallery.)
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With Claudia and Marcos, we traveled a bit farther south to the region of the seven lakes (Region de Seite Lagos) where we went to two different biosphere reserves. One, called Huilo-Huilo, is large and developed with entrance gates, unique architecture, shops, trails and signs, etc. 
The other, El Cani, is 
totally undeveloped. The only way to visit is to walk up a very, very steep logging road to get to the huge trees that escaped the loggers when private funds, mostly
from the US, were raised to purchase and protect the land from development. We stayed overnight in the family summer home in Conaripe after touring the town at midnight on Saturday. (We are now on Chilean time….) Believe it or not, young kids were still up, in the market with their parents or viewing the lively local Mapuche dancers performing on the main street.
Our serious hiking friends would be appalled to learn that we did not have many of the “10 essentials for survival” on our El Cani hike…. We got an “early” start in driving to the initial starting point (our greeters were a large, verbal goat and a friendly pig) after an 11 a.m. breakfast and started hiking relentlessly up and up and up and up in mid-afternoon. 
Thanks to Claudia, we had lots of water, and Leslie had her small first aid kit. No snacks, though, as our nuts and dried fruit were locked in the back of the truck in Leslie’s backpack. So, up we went, discovering some bountiful cherry trees, snacking on native plants with the careful guidance of Marcos, finding the illusive Chilean woodpecker, and having some very rewarding panoramic vistas near the top of the mountain.
The long drive home was illuminated by a wonderful sunset.
(Click on the image below to see gallery.)
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Hi Val and Leslie,
We are enjoying keeping up with your adventures in that beautiful Long Skinny Country! Keep your entries coming. Maybe you’ve heard that you have missed some wild weather on SJI – worse in Seattle, tho.