Chile's Lake District |
We recently spent a week touring the spectacular Chilean Lake District. We flew to Puerto Montt, picked up an Avis rental car, drove 175 miles up the Pan American Highway (a first-class, divided, limited-access toll road) to reach the Lake District in a bit over three hours. We spent most of the next week wending our way back to Puerto Montt through lakes, volcanoes and thermal springs.
Frommer's "Chile & Argentina" guidebook was a terrific help. It convinced us that a trip on our own in this area would be not only possible but fun, and provided great recommendations. The roads aren't always quite like those in the United States -- a fair number are "dirt paved" or gravel -- but there was nothing very challenging for a San Francisco driver. There are plenty of good restaurants and pleasant places to stay, as long as you plan ahead a bit. And though English is a long way from universal, we had no real problems even though our Spanish is nearly nonexistent.
We spent our first night at Hosteria de la Colina in Villarrica, a delightful inn on a hill overlooking lakes and volcanoes. Our newish cottage, which had a view and queen bed, was very reasonable at $87 US, including breakfast (low season rate -- high season a bit more). There is a wood-fired hot tub for guests to use.
The owners, Americans Glen and Beverly Aldrich, are extremely knowledgeable about the Lake District and very willing to answer questions and make suggestions. Add in the pleasant dinner we had in the Hosteria's dining room, and it was a perfect transition from San Francisco to Chile.
BEV and PHIL HEINECKE
San Anselmo
Cottage hospitality
in Yorkshire Dales
Travelers who intend to visit England's Yorkshire Dales should not miss the village of Preston-Under-Scar, which boasts many old picturesque cottages, a village hall and unparalleled views of the Dales.
We stayed at Hawthorne Cottage, a bed and breakfast run by Helen Francis. The interior of the beautiful, 17th century cottage has been completely remodeled. She keeps chickens and bees, and she produced the best English breakfast I have ever tasted. Her pet chickens all have names, and guests can choose which hen they would prefer to lay their egg.
The cottage has one double and one twin-bedded room, each with its own bath. Each room costs 55 British pounds (abut $100 US) per night . Preston-Under-Scar is close to Leyburn, and the dining is superb at the Wyvill Arms or The Sandpiper Inn.
More information visit www.pucon.com
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