After a few days in Pucon, we headed towards Parque Nacional Huerquehue (pronounced Where-kay-way, although Danny tends to prefer a myriad of other pronunciations) to get in some good hiking in this remote area surrounded by lakes and volcanoes. My body was pretty beat up from that stupid bike wreck, but I was determined to overcome the bruises and get right back out into nature.

The park is easily accessible from Pucon as a day trip, with a few buses going back and forth daily. But we had heard about a special refugio, or lodge, located in the park and so we planned to stay the night. The park is indeed beautiful and remote. We took a great 5 hour hike up to 2 pristine lakes, surrounded by lush forest and snow capped mountains, and protected by a long trail of mud due to recent rains. The mud was pretty intense but we pushed through!

As much as we enjoyed the hike, the real winner in Huerquehue turned out to be the Refugio, Refugio Tinquilco, and our wonderful host, Patricio. From the moment we arrived, he was excited to talk to us and to also plan dinner based around our dietary desires. When we first met him we were both thinking, is this Jerry (Garcia)? Actually, it was Patricio Lanfranco, a well known newscaster for BBC in Chile, a musician, an economist, a documentary film maker, a cookbook writer and all around really interesting dude. He built the all wood lodge with an architect friend, including a self-sustaining hydro power turbine, and has spent the last 15 years building his refugio business up from only word of mouth, no paid advertising. He has some strong opinions on the advertising industry, among other topics, well actually every topic.

We were the only 2 guests in a lodge that can hold up to 14, super lucky! I asked if I could help him cook dinner, and learn from him, since he is in the process of writing a cookbook, and he obliged. He taught me how to make arepas, which he thought would be a great addition to our travel cooking repertoire. Arepas are corn cakes that can be used as gluten free sandwich bread, and they only require 1 ingredient, corn flour, which is readily available at Chilean super markets.

*** Update, since this experience, we have successfully made arepas on our own! First try was a complete fail as we accidentally bought corn starch instead of corn flour. Although we did stumble upon a natural recipe for glue. Second try was much better, success!

Patricio cooked us the best meal we have had so far on our travels. Most of the veggies came straight from his garden and the slow cooked beef that he and Danny ate was from his neighbor’s farm. We talked with him for quite a long time over dinner and wine, learning about his life and what brought him to live in such a remote area, all alone. After a very sound and quiet night’s sleep, we talked to him again for a while over breakfast. He made a selection of 5 jams/spreads for freshly cooked bread and arepas for me, topped off with freshly ground and brewed french press coffee.

We spent the morning high on caffeine, enjoying the warm sun from his deck and staring out at mountains beyond. I even got some good hula hoop time in. In the early afternoon we said our good-byes and took the bus back to Pucon. I am definitely going to stay in touch with Patricio so I can find out when his cookbook comes out. He inspired me, and we share many similar opinions on the sad state of the food industry, obesity and food-related disease.

Next on our journey, a short bus ride to Puerto Varas, further south towards Chilean Patagonia. Blog post coming soon. In the meantime, bellow are our best pics from Huerquehue. All the pictures can be seen here on our Flickr stream.