Pictures from our trip with Laura

As you've probably noticed in some recent posts, my sister, Laura, was here visiting us in October, which turned out to be one of the crazier months of our time in Chile, with the Ladies Day she and Amanda participated in, plus final preparations and meetings for Marriage Encounter. Amidst all of that we managed to get out of Santiago for a few days and see some more of the southern part of Chile. We rode on an overnight bus to the town of Valdivia. There, we explored the town and the large seafood market. The fishermen prepare the recently caught fish and feed all the leftovers to the sea lions that sit on the steps of the market right next to the river.

A hungry sea lion looks for some fish to eat

This is at an old Spanish fort in the town of Corral, very close to Valdivia, just a short boat ride across the bay.From Valdivia, we moved on to the town of Puerto Varas. On the way was this beautiful lake named "Lago Ranco." Puerto Varas was just a stopover place for us. We traveled on to the Island of Chiloe, a remote but culturally rich part of Chile's history. We followed a guide book and several people's instructions to arrive at a small fishing cove where we took a boat ride from the beach to some surrounding rocks where there were penguins swimming and hanging out on the rocks. For you penguin experts, there were of the Humboldt and Magellan variety. The only way to and from Chiloe Island is on this ferry boat. They run all night and all day so there was no way of getting stuck on the island.

We had a great time seeing a new part of Chile and especially spending time with Laura, since it had been a year since we'd seen each other! It was such a blessing that she could come down and visit! Thanks for keeping up, God Bless!

john and amanda