I read the thread [closed now] from 2003 ref. Chile and that seems quite interesting == it would be my husband, my self, and two older teens {M & F] and I'd like the idea of eco-lodge, b and b, inn or whatever and then to be able to explore and see things.....has anyone here done that or know of any information or sites...the 'blog' that was the link in the Chile discussion emails doesn't work, or at least the Adventures in Chile link didn't.....so would appreciate any info you might have....

It was my blog. I moved it but you can still read it. This catagory has my planning notes for the trip to Chile and this catagory has the postings I made while in Chile.

I highly recommend Chile. It is a huge country so I recommend trying to scale down what you see and stick to one area unless you have a long period of time. But it is hard to do. I couldn't and ended up doing quite a bit of 'fast' travel. How long do you have?

Christmas is the start of summertime in Chile and also the start of a school break so you should start planning soon.

A lot of people like the Lake district. It is very similar to Oregon. Lots of forests, lakes and volcanos. Weather is pretty good but you can get rain. The Lake district is definitely setup for tourism. You can stay at hotels, B&B, camp or cabanas. Cabanas are groups of small one bedroom cabins. I saw a lot of them around Lake Villarica and near Pucon.

It is very easy to drive in the Lake district. The main roads in the Lake district are paved. You might need to go on some pretty rough dirt roads to get to some of the national parks. You can also take a ferry into Argentina. We didn't have time but I know it is popular. You can fly from Santiago to Puerto Montt in about 2 hours. Most of the area is accessable within 4-6 hours drive from Puerto Montt.

To the far south, another area to visit is Patagonia. It is very remote. It is somewhat like visiting a cross between Wyoming and Alaska. Wide open spaces, far distances but beautiful country. We went with a group hiking and camping and had a great time. But we are adventurous so it might not be for everyone.

To the north, is the desert and altiplano. It is more like visiting Baja California. We did go to the beach at Arica and I wouldn't recommend it as a destination. There is really isn't a lot to do.

The altiplano is pretty cool. San Pedro de Atacama is a popular place to go to see the altiplano. We went farther north than San Pedro because we wanted to see some unique plant life. I think there is more to do around San Pedro.

As I mentioned above, I would probably look at visiting the Lake District especially with two teenagers. There are a lot of activities to do in the summer from fishing, hot springs, climbing volcanos, etc. There are a lot of different options for staying in the area. We stayed at a B&B in Villarica owned by Americans. It was great. We ended up eating there most of the nights. They can advise and arrange anything you want to see. It is probably a little pricey for the area but we really enjoyed it. It is Hosteria de la Colina. We found it in the Fodor's guide for Chile which I also recommend along with the Rough Guide.

I'd love to answer any questions you have on the areas as you start to research Chile.

I just took a look at your pictures. Outstanding! Is photography part of your trip plans? There is a link in my blog to a photo gallery of the areas we visited.

Also, I noticed you've been to Akumal. We visited there also many years ago. It is a great area.

I would second the lakes district. I am here on the Argentinian side (going to Pucon in two days) and it's stunning.

Have fun in Pucon, Rar. I'm interested in hearing what it is like in the winter and how the area compares with the Argentina Lake district.

How are you getting there? Ferry? Or is the pass open in the winter?

Have a safe trip home.

The pass was open, I just got here yesterday by bus. Tomorrow I might go snowboard the volcano, which might be fun. The ride from San Martin to Pucon was really beautiful, everything drenched in fresh snow as we had storms last week. Unfortunatey I have to be in Santiago in two days so I do not have time to explore the area, but Pucon's backdrop with all the peaks and the volcano is pretty special.