I remember arriving in Seattle some years ago just after a big earthquake that everyone was talking about for days. I had missed it because I was still in the sky. A similar thing happened here. I was a couple of hours away on the bus when an earthquake hit Santiago. Measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale, the locals were keen to talk about it, but as one resident told me - this is the world's shakiest city, and earthquakes of this size are common. I can't help spari...

I arrived on foot at the tiny village of Puesco on a Sunday. The bus back to Pucón was due on Monday morning, so I camped under a cherry tree by the river and lay there in the afternoon sun watching dragonflies. What a great way to wait for a bus.It's the height of summer here, but as anywhere it doesn't bring all good things. Whilst sitting at a remote viewpoint above 1700m from where the panorama takes in five volcanoes, I made a very good friend. A lizard cli...

My Spanish skills have a long way to go yet, but it is a wonderful feeling to listen to a member of the Huentemo community, standing on his own soil, and understand most of what he is telling me about his life here. The island of Chiloé is isolated from the rest of Chile not by its location, but by its culture. The population consists of a high proportion of indigenous people like Hugo who I met after walking several miles along the Pacific beaches to the ...

One of my favourite moments aboard the Evangelista (usually known by the name of the ferry company Navimag) was our arrival at Puerto Eden early on the second morning. The previous day had been overcast and damp, so it was nice to wake to blue skies and sunshine here at the only inhabited location between Puerto Natales and Puerto Montt. As we lowered anchor, at least a dozen small boats left the shore to take delivery of the twice-weekly supplies. With only abou...

Only 6 people made the crossing on the small boat to Puerto Williams, causing the customs men in each country to open their small offices to stamp our passports. I had previously made contact with Patty who rents rooms in her home and offers home-cooked meals in the evening, so I was soon settled there. A good choice, since the restaurants in this small town look like they open only when they feel like it. Two days later, and I was hiking over an 800m pass just ...