view of part of the Auracanian coast, with at the far end Missisipi
We need to get back to Temuco, to return our rented car. But rather than going in a direct line, Ruta Panamericana further north, we decide to detour in the direction of the coast, which we reach at Mehuin, a small fishing village just south of the provincial border of Auracania – the province of which Temuco is the capital. In fact we reach an even tinier village, Missisippi, located at a pretty bay, with a beach and boats moored offshore. We are too early for lunch, and too early for the boat tours that take in the penguins at a nearby island.
the Chilean village of Mississipi, located just south of Auracunia province
nets of the Mississipi beach
the beach of Cheuque, with dark sand getting very hot at midday
there is no swimming here, without lifeguard on duty
but dipping our feet in the Pacific is just about OK
Following the coast northwards, we dip our feet into the Pacific at Playa Cheuque, a long beach where we burn our feet badly on the way back from the water; middle of the day, and dark sand that gets very hot, unsuitable for bare feet, really.
the port of Queule
with the fishing boats just arriving
and offloading the crates
the fishermen cleaning the fish onboard
big fishes, rich catch
By the time we arrive in Queule, the next port, many of the fishing boats have just arrived, too, and it is a busy coming and going of trucks, taking away the catch of the day. Which is offloaded, and carefully weighted before being packed in colourful plastic crates. An entertaining scene, even though we do feel a bit of a tourist intruder in a hardworking community. To compensate, we eat our last fish lunch in Chile, really one of the highlights in this country, with the amount of fabulous fresh fish available everywhere.
on another boat, colourful crates stacked for the next trip
fishing nets onshore
The rest of the road to Temuco turns a bit more inland, and follows an estuary. We end up at Puerto Dominquez, located at the large Lago Budi, a sizable body of water probably in one way or another connected with the sea. But in a setting that cannot beat the many other lakes we have encountered this trip, much higher up in the mountains, and far more spectacular than this coastal environment.
So we head to Temuco, to finish our trip. But not before stopping in Carahue.
the large Lago Budi, in a coastal setting
with black-headed white swans
