Lost in Lamas.

QUINTAY, CHILE, 2 March, 2023.

Breakfast is delivered a little later this morning so we're already packed and leave about 11am. Satnav is programmed to avoid tolls and we choose the option nearer to the coast. Within ten minutes, we're on private land and having to do a "U" turn. We're not the only one, a pick-up truck in front is doing the same. Back on track, we discover a hardware store in the middle of nowhere. In truth, it's more of a builder's merchant. RJ Spends the princely sum of £2.50 on a padlock. Large signs say "no cash" but they're willing to make an exception for such a purchase!

Further along the road, we discover a nature reserve at Humeral de Tunquen. A path leads to the beach on the Pacific Ocean, it's PGs first siting. We spend an hour there, including a short conversation with a Chileno. He's across from Santiago for three days. The massive beach has no more than twenty people on it. A colourful array of birds are on display.

We carry on along the coast road until we arrive at Quintay. We aimed for the lighthouse but there is very little to see. Move on to the port but the car park is full. Finally, we settle on La Playa Grande. A nice stretch of beach but red flags are flying so no swimming today. We sit and enjoy an ice cream before walking the full length of the beach. There is a cave at the cliff edge which boasts of magical happenings with sea creatures many centuries ago.

Not knowing what tonight's area is going to be like, only that it's near to the airport, we decide to eat before leaving. The first restaurant looks good so we pull in. El Tatito offers free parking! We're the only couple in beside the family. A young boy with social problems wants a hug but then tries to bite me. His mother is called Sabrina. She tells us that she visited Manchester in 2015 because she likes Oasis and Manchester City. She took the tour of the Etihad. A large family arrive. Sabrina's son sneaks up on one of the men slaps him hard on the back. Much to the merriment of the rest of the group, but not the victim. Later, he smacks a couple more so the original victim gets to laugh back.

Satnav doesn't recognise the address of the hotel, so we program something similar. Without tolls, it's going to take 3 hours. A quick reset and we're on our way. We pay at the first toll but then notice a gadget on the windscreen, is this the tag? We stop at the second toll and the attendant confirms that it is. So we're no longer worried about missing one on Tuesday, more now annoyed that we wasted £10! Later, near to the airport, we see the benefit as we pass toll point after toll point.

And that's where our nightmare begins. Traffic is horrendous around roadworks leading to a couple of false moves before finding open road. We turn off towards Colin's and Lamas and hit more traffic. Satnav runs out at a gated community. Obviously, not the intended destination. RJ asks a shopkeeper for directions and ultimately he rings the landlord on our phone. We're still thirty minutes away. He draws us a map to a third petrol station where we will need to ask again.

Traffic crawls towards a crossroads on the outskirts of Lamas. We pass a recent accident which looks like a man has fallen, or been knocked off, a tractor. We find the petrol station and ask two attendants . Again the landlord is called and again a rough map is drawn. Unfortunately, it's not clear if we go over a bridge or under it. In hindsight, it's a speed bump. So we miss the turning altogether. Traffic in the opposite direction is at a standstill. It's now after 7pm. Stressed and tired, we decide to give up. We call the landlord to try to explain but we can't get through.

We've booked a Marriott for next week so we head for there. RJ negotiates the same rate so we book in. With WiFi, we senda note to the landlord apologising for the no show. At check-in, RJ discovers that she has lost her immigration paperwork. They accept PG's. We fancy a drink after the trauma of the journey so we wander down to the bar. We quickly wander back again after discovering that a glass of wine will set us back £16 each!