After meeting Nick in Santiago we took a side trip south in search of shady forests, big rivers, and something to climb. Before returning to the arid north for the final push with The Gold Link, we wanted to explore a different part of Chile. The following pictures show what we found: Las Siete Tazas (the seven cups) for perhaps the world's best swimming holes in a series of basaltic bowls carved out by sapphire clear water, the Teno River valley where we met Eduardo Doerr, co-owner of Chilean Adventures, at his family's stone house beside the brown, fast, paddleable Teno River, and Volcan Planchon on the Argentina-Chile border overlooking the massive high-alpine Teno Lake.
The southern detour ended with the Gastronomic Festival in the small town of Santa Cruz: meat, fresh empanadas, cheap wine, and live traditional music and dance.
Off to La Serena to meet with Barrick 's Ron Kettles this evening and then further north to the Huasco Valley.
