Well, the day looked like a crap shoot from the start, given the very iffy weather predictions. Just goes to show you that weathermen are just as lousy in Chile as they are at home. Despite the grim rainy forecast, we arranged for a fishing outing down the Torten River at 10:00 am. I know you are thinking - "fishing?" what the h___ do they know about fishing? Exactimente. Nada. No se nade about Pescado fisihing. Poor Juan, our captain, guide and unbeknownst to him, "on the fly" fishing instructor. Talk about fish out of water (bad i know, but I am sitting here after a glorious dinner complete with Pisco sour made with eldenberry syrup for god's sake and Vino Tinto, and you expect me to be semi coherent? You try it sometime!).

Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, here I am, never fly fished in my life, and Juan, no habla nada Ingles. What an odd couple. Juan is yelling incomprehensible Espanol at me and I'm pretty sure he's saying, 'why do they always send the gringos with me?'. But Barbara assures me it's more like, "reel in hard' or 'pull hard' or some such arcane fishing jargon.

But, despite our ineptitude, we managed to catch 3 good size fish - Juan called them "salmon", but everyone later thought they were red trout. In any case, the weather was unbelievably beautiful and we had a lot of fun. And, we (sorry animal lovers) ate our catch for lunch, ably prepared by the cook at our wonderful Hosteria. Never in my life have I tasted so delectable a fish dish.

After lunch, we drove past Pucon and down a gravel road (Caseys/Masses - think of the awful gravel road in Kauai) for 10 km where we took short hikes to 2 really cool waterfalls. The pictures tell the story better than me.

On the way back to Villarica, we stopped at the Eltit store in Pucon to pick up a couple items. Barbara refused to get out of the car, preferring to send her Espanol challenged esposo in alone. So, solo but intrepidly, I entered the Eltit, practicing my first question for the Farmacia as I walked. "Tiene crema de hydro coritsona?" I had a rash on my cheek that itched and was driving me a bit crazy. Success. On to the next item. A large bottle of water (sin gas). I walked the entire store, which was humongous, but nada. Finally, I spied a sweet looking elderly (i.e. around my age) woman shopper. "Con permisso", "persone" - ah, that worked. "Puede decirme donde esta aqua?" She "no save" either, but juntos we managed to find it. Feeling very proud of myself (thanks, Lia!!), I hauled my loot to the car and we drove back to Villarica. Whew!