45 degrees latitude isn’t much really, about Dunedin but in Chile you have a big effect from the Polar region. The town of Puerto Aisen that we are in and the newer port of Chacabuco 20 km down the road have very predictable weather, it rains 400 days of the year, according to locals .
We arrived on a warm afternoon and have had a day off with pleasant weather, the clouds are gathering though and we are hoping the rain holds back a bit longer for our boat trip to the San Rafael Glacier tomorrow.
Todays outing was great with me opting for a horse trek through the valley out of town and up into the tree clad hills. It is hard to get used to the neck-reining way of steering the horse but it is a relaxing way to ride. Sturdy foot-sure animals took me and the guide over mud and rock to a high vantage point where I could see the “boys” out on the lake fishing (unsuccessfully) They were rowed along and used worms for bait.
The lake they were on was used for very intensive and successful salmon farming for 5 years but then suffered major contamination and the economic bubble burst. The roading and infrastructure of this area has been mainly funded by these good years, but the environmental disaster has seemingly had a big impact on native fish. The salmon farm and buildings lie abandoned 2 years later.
After our relaxing hours of fishing and riding we were spoilt with a traditional BBQ lunch, red wine, chicken, pork, venison and soup, salad and desert. A couple of us needed an afternoon “nana nap” when we got back to our rooms.
The wind is up and it is cold outside, it is 9pm, and the dinner restaurants are just opening.
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