On this trip, we are endeavoring to split the blog writing a little more evenly given that I (Nikki) am not applying for PhD programs or sitting on advisory boards or working for the World Bank while we’re on the road. So, get ready for slightly more sarcasm and definitely less actual funniness today as you’re stuck with me recounting our visit with Matt and Clarissa!
Before I launch off on explaining our adventures, I have to start with by explaining our group name. Matt came to live with Colter and myself in a house on Breton Way in Fort Collins, during the summer of COVID in 2020, just after we’d returned from our first go at the trip. We used to refer to ourselves as the three musketeers because we get along so well and love to hang out so we were excited to have some (unexpected because we were supposed to be in Pittsburgh) quality time together. However, we soon needed a new name for our group because Clarissa and Matt wanted to spend the summer together and Clarissa also moved in with us. Our favorite shared activity, in addition to playing and training our new puppy Naiya, playing board games, sharing our panics about the uncertainty of the world and movie nights, was to make brunch all together. We would spend 2 or 3 hours on weekends cutting potatoes, onions, tomatoes, avocado, and cooking up eggs to make burritos and it became our special tradition. So there you have it – we very happily subbed out the Three Musketeers for the Breton Brunch Bunch, which we are thrilled to share will officially be sticking around as Matt and Clarissa are engaged and getting married in the summer of 2026!
Back to our main story. We bumped down the unexpectedly packed street towards the Puerto Montt airport, racing against time to pick up Matt and Clarissa. No matter how much time we leave ourselves, the traffic down here almost always gets the better of us. We rounded the corner of the airport track and see two big backpacking backpacks with Matt and Clarissa peeking out from underneath them. We stuff them, the backpacks – not Matt and Clarissa, into the back of Kaya (the camper) and Matt and Clarissa hope into Tony (the Tacoma). Tony is really just made for two of us, but does have two trundle seats which Matt and Clarissa generously agreed to travel along in for the duration of their visit. They updated us on their eventful flight into Chile which included dealing with propane tanks we had asked them to bring (and which ended up getting confiscated and causing a major hassle for them), several lengthy layovers and a customs process so long that they ended up missing their last connection into Puerto Montt. There was some confusion on if “mañana” meant tomorrow or morning (it means both) when discussing with the gate agent when the next flight was available, but thankfully they were able to catch the flight in the mañana (we will let you decide which manaña it is). We heard their updates while driving to Ensenada, along Llanquihue Lake.
We got into the little town of Ensenada and immediately Clarissa spotted a cute little coffee shop, on vibe with a Boulder or Oregon, complete with succulents and resident cat. We sat down for a latte and to catch up after having not seen each other in a few months. After catching up on life and latest news, our focus turned to preparing for the backpacking trip we were embarking on the next day in Cochamo Valley. We compared camping gear again, reviewed the path in, and made sure we had enough food and supplies. Comfortable we were ready to drive to the trailhead, we drove the additional 3 or 4 hours and get settled into our base camp before starting the 9 miles into Cochamo Valley.
People call Cochamo Valley the “Yosemite of the South” and it absolutely lives up to that name. Colter and I had actually done this same backpacking trip in 2020, when we were here last time and it was one of our favorite parts of the last trip. When Matt and Clarissa said they were hoping to visit us, we knew this was one of the places we had to take them. Not only are the views spectacular and unique, but the climbing scene is unreal and the comradery of the climbers and backpackers in the valley creates a really special environment that we encourage anyone we know to get a chance to experience if they can. Because some of the climbers set up camp in the valley for months at a time, the backpacking track in is part use for backpackers and donkeys who are used to carry in supplies. We were our own donkeys, setting in with a pack each. We chit-chatted the whole way in, still having so much to catch up on having been apart for several months. Upon rounding the corner into the valley, Clarissa and Matt inhaled as they saw the iconic granite dome the valley is known for. We checked in with the camp hosts and picked which site we were going to make our temporary home. We were here a little early for the season, so we had our pick of the prime spots and picked a site sheltered by bushes but with views of both domes.
We unfortunately had rain on the forecast for the four days in the valley, so we knew we needed to hike early in the mornings while there. We woke up early and set off on Sendero Trinidad. In order to get to the trailhead, we took a hand-powered chair pulley across the river, enjoying the views up and down the river valley as we each crossed one at a time. The trail was steep and had a lot of elevation fairly immediately. After some climbing, the rain started in earlier than we had anticipated, but we did make it the base of the major granite dome we had set off to see and had enough time for a snack break before deciding to turn around. We got back to base camp and settled into our tents, playing cards and eating snacks.
We set off early again the next morning for the Paloma hike which we were all excited for because it entailed climbing up the side of the granite dome to get a view over the valley beneath. The hike was stunning, passing by some of the climbing areas and requiring the use of several ropes to scramble up particularly steep sections of the path. The views from the top were stunning, looking off down the whole valley over rivers and other granite rocks. We returned in time before the rain started pouring and the camp hosts asked if we could help carry some wood to the camp to light a fire in the shared refugio area. Matt and Colter volunteered to carry the wood, so Clarissa and I said we’d make hot coca and get dinner started (grumbling only a little about the stereotypical break down of duties). 45 minutes later, Clarissa and I were getting worried about where the boys were and the soups we’d made were starting to get cold. Both boys both soon rounded the corner of camp, carrying half a forest on their backs each. They collapsed at the door and recounted their story of how the camp hosts had taken off ahead of them, our boys barely able to keep up with them as they sprinted through the forest like mule deer at home amongst the trees and rocks. Both boys thought they’d load up their packs fully, underestimating how far they’d ran through the forest to the collection site and came back exhausted. We pulled them into the refugio and fed them soup and dinner and settled in around the fire to share stories with the other campers and travelers. This included sharing space with a drenched set of three brothers, who after deciding they needed a bros meet-up, underestimated how long camping gear can last without needing to be waterproofed and had been poured on the night before.
The next morning, thankfully having properly accounted for our own waterproofing needs and waking up dry, we packed up our gear and headed back out the valley. As one does after 4 days of backpacking, our first priority was finding chips and beer which we did with great success. Having spent days backpacking, we had planned to spend the next 2 nights at a cute Airbnb in Ensenada. When I say cute, I can’t overstate how cute this place was. It was a tiny home, with a little stove and sitting room out on a beautiful plot of land. Clarissa liked it so much there, that we started looking at what homes in the area cost and day-dreaming about the days we could afford a house here to move in to together. We started to work our way through the shower line, cleansing ourselves of 4 days worth of dirt. But while Matt was showering, the power in the Airbnb died. Our host ran over to tell us that the power in the whole area had actually died, but not to fear as he had a generator that we could run our showers and lights on until 9 pm. We finished our showers, got supplies for the evening, and had a divine fire-lit picnic in the living room of this precious Airbnb, snacking on cheese and crackers and fruits and jams and wines.
The next day was a totally chill day. We spent the morning making our go-to favorite meal, brunch! And making friends with a sweet cat that lived on the premise, who Matt and Clarissa affectionally named Smalls. There was much debate on if they could manage to adopt her to bring her home as Clarissa and Smalls made a tight and fast bond, Smalls riding on her shoulders as we did a little hike around the property and Clarissa going back to town to find natural tuna to feed Smalls. Ultimately, they decided that their two furry friends at home wouldn’t love the addition of a third, and so we spend the day enjoying Small’s company and snuggles knowing she’d stay at the property.
The next day happened to be Thanksgiving and our longest drive day of the trip with them. It’s funny when you’re living in a country that doesn’t celebrate the holidays you’re used to – you kind of forget that they’re happening until you see another American couple and wish them a happy XYZ day. I felt the same emotion when living in Rwanda and Switzerland – it’s amazing how much of our enjoyment celebrating special occasions comes from the culture and tradition of sharing it with the people around you. We stopped for a fantastic meal, in a small town where I actually took my biggest PhD interview in while we were on this trip last time, and continued to make our way to our next stop in Pucon. We got into Pucon late but managed to find some dinner and crash into our beds.
The next day we spent exploring the Pucon area. We went for our favorite meal to a cute café that Clarissa had found and enjoyed exploring the city and meandering through the markets. Colter and I had to do some errands – exchange money, mail postcards, look for propane hook-ups – so Matt and Clarissa went off to explore a little by themselves and came back with prizes of knitted sweaters and stories about Grandmas who sold then said sweaters.
The next day, we all hiked up Villarica, the most active volcano in South America. If you have been following along with our blogs since the beginning, first off thank you, but secondly, you might remember that Colter and I actually hiked this volcano with his parents when they visited us in Feb 2020. We loved it so much – the hike up, the sledding down with an ice ax – that we wanted to make sure Matt and Clarissa got to experience it too! So we hiked back up the massive volcano, using ice axes, crampons, and a whole set of snow clothing to make it to the summit. We saw several skiers ski off the top of the volcano and did the iconic sled down ourselves.
The next day, we packed up our things one last time and headed to our final national park with Matt and Clarissa, Congiguillo. This park was stunning. With aquamarine lakes and stunning hikes with views of the same volcanoes we had just climbed, we were excited to spend some time out in our camper. However, when we got there, we found that the park guards had all gone on strike. None of the gates were down and online indicated that we could still pass into parks even if the guards weren’t there, but we weren’t sure where we were going to camp if there was no one to let us into the CONAF (Chile’s National Park management) to let us into the campgrounds. Thankfully we found a cute little eco-lodge in the park that allowed us to park Taka (affectionate combination of Tony and Kaya) in their parking lot and Matt and Clarissa opted for an ecolodge room for the night. The next day we did the Sierra Nevada hike which was stunning. We saw Monkey Trees (which the area is famous for), massive tarantulas (which other hikers informed us are fondly called chicken spiders in Chile because they are the size of a chicken) and stunning views.
We spent one more night on the property of a sweet, older Chilean man who was thrilled to have his first Americans staying with him and then got Matt and Clarissa packed up to take them back to the airport. We said teary goodbyes (on Matt’s and my behalfs) and sent them safely on their way back home, eager to share the next adventure with our precious Breton Brunch Bunch.
Nikki and Colter's South American Travel Blog 