Rolling rapidly south

6th Jan, A little more leisurely start today, getting up after 7:30 to pack our bags before heading down to breakfast. I decide to splurge out and pay the extra 60p for scrambled eggs. We then check out of our room, dump our bags in the basement for the day and sit outside waiting for the white water rafting bus to come and pick us up. It is a little cold and the sky is filled with mid grey clouds. It has been raining again overnight, but t least it isn't at the mo. Along comes the bus, towing a trailer with 3 rafts. Inside are 3 spaniards, 2 canadians, another 2 brits and the local crew plus a german girl along to learn the ropes. It is an hour long drive to the drop off point so after filling in the necessary paperwork, which has the usual signing your life away statements, I admire the lovely scenery of Lake Llanquilhue.

We get to our launch spot and get into wetsuits and booties before walking along a narrow path along the river to the place where we have our safety briefing. We are split into two groups dependent on mother tongue. So there are 6 of us in the one boat, with Issidro as our guide. He is a friendly and humorous Mexican. I volunteer to go at the front, knowing that this would be the most exciting place to sit, as this is only a grade 3 set of rapids. As Matthew the Canadian is the only other male, he is volunteered to join me. We were doing a 10 km trip, which would take approx 90 mins. Whilst we are getting ready there is a guy going around taking photos, which will be on sale after the trip. I look at his camera with pangs of jealousy even though it isn't anything that modern. We name ourselves The Soggies as we settle into the raft. The ride starts off fairly sedate and in reality we only hit a handful of holes where I get wet. I accept that this isn't going to be an exhilerating ride, more a bit of fun and a chance to appreciate the beautiful landscape. We are riding though some beautiful tree lined hills, with the odd snow capped mountain in the background. The cloud base is low so all the volcanic mountain peaks are hidden. Agree with Mandy that we have been lucky to see the peaks in glorious blue sunshine over the previous few days. The sun occasionally breaks through the clouds to light up the odd tree covered hillside. Around us we see a few strange ducks, that have an amusing way of appearing to run along the surface of the water near rapids. There are also quite a few white bellied birds of the swift family, not that our guide can tell us what they are. We stop every so often to allow the photographer in his canoe to get past us to the next stop. At one point the guide spins us into a rapid to ensure I get wet as I have been chatting. Whatever turns him on!

We finish off and haul out the boat, then go and get out of our wet suits etc, before grabbing a bite to eat as well as having a drink of Pisco Sour. Not sure it is the right thing after a cool ride. Spot a couple of birds of prey who are loitering in the vicinity. Maybe they know that if they hang around a little they might get some scraps. Some of the others have definitely suffered slightly from the cold water and the breeze. Back on the bus and head back to our Hostel. I chat briefly to the photographer before having a little snooze, like most of the others. Get back to the hostel around 3pm and go for a much needed hot shower as well as removing 3 days hairy growth from my face. Then head out to the lake to sit and read my book (Notes from an Exhibition) for an hour before joining Mandy for a bite to eat at 6pm. Have a lovely fettucine with seafood, which includes juicy scallops and squid - yummy. This is washed down with another glass of dark beer. Again I find that it is all a bit on the expensive side, even the beer costs over £4 a bottle. Accept that we are sat lake side, but £10 for a snack is a bit overpriced. Back up to the hostel to download a full user guide for the camera and send a last few emails as we are likely to be incommunicado for at least 4 days whilst in the national park. As much as Mandy thinks I am glued to my laptop, I think it might be a little sad not to be able to get away from lots of modern day trappings for a while.

We have booked a transfer to the airport, which only takes 30 mins to get us there, so we snoop in the one shop, that seels the usual mix of stuff, although a couple of the books, showing images of Chile are not too bad. End up with 90 mins before we leave, sat listening to the likes of Procol Harlem's A whiter shade of pale and cat stevens 'It's a wild world' definitely indicates how wild the world is! Just about the last ones to board. I really can't get into this mad rush to get on board, especially when your hand luggage can sit unde your seat. We are near the front and have to convince an old woman, who evidently doesn't fly very often that she has to undo her seat belt and step out to let us get to our seats. After we are settled, she gingerly opens a carrier bag on her lap and has a swig of what looks like Pisco Sour. As you can gather, security re fluids etc on internal flights isn't taken seriously over here. It is a 2 hour flight and I have a bit of a snooze after doing a bit of this blog. Usual snack pack for eats, this time it contains 3 diferent types of buscuit. The old dear sat next to me, has a drink then quietly pops the snack pack into her carrier. This bag, must be the female equivalent of a tardis, when it comes to being a means of transporting stuff.

We are on the ground and in our cab pretty quickly and at our homestay for the night by 1:30pm. The tres hermanos homestay doesn't live up to it's website billing. It reminds me of some of the stack em hi places in Oz and the far east. Also not impressed to be told we will be picked up at 9:30 not 11am for our onward journey. Sleep comes fitfully, thanks to all the shuffling around in the corridor and the paper-thin walls.