Digital Nomad Life: Month 128

Month 128 was a mixed month where the lows were unfortunately more prominent than the highs, but I did still have some wonderful highs.

I started the month in Villa La Angostura, a beautiful mountain village in Argentina’s Lake District, where we had one more half day to explore before taking the bus to another beautiful mountain town, San Martin de los Andes. We had two nights there over a busy weekend and then it was time to leave Argentina for Chile.

Our first stop in the Chilean Lake District was in Pucon, an adventure capital on another scenic lake, where we spent four nights relaxing more than adventuring. From there, we took a bus and an Uber to Puerto Montt Airport to pick up our rental car for the last week of our trip.

We stayed three nights in the lakeside town of Puerto Varas which we enjoyed despite mostly cloudy and rainy weather, then the last four nights of our trip was spent exploring the Chiloé Island Archipelago.

After a very long travel day (and night) back to Denver, we spent three nights staying with family and catching up with my brother-in-law who was also in town. I was so excited to see Joni again and she forgave us a lot quicker than usual – I even got some good cuddles in before I had to leave again.

Then I had another long day and night of travel to get to Auckland, where I spent the rest of the month. The weather hasn’t been great and half my time here so far has been in constant pain but it has been really nice to see friends and family, and I am looking forward to doing some fun stuff once I am feeling better.

Now onto the stats!

Countries Visited: Argentina, Chile, USA, New Zealand

Places Visited:

• Argentina: Villa La Angostura, San Martin de los Andes.
• Chile: Pucon, Puerto Varas, Frutillar, Puerto Octay, Chiloé Island (Dalcahue, Chonchi, Cucao, Ancud, Puñihuil, Castro), Quinchao Island (Achao, Curaco de Velez), Lemuy Island (Puqueldon, Arachildu, and San Agustin).
• Colorado: Broomfield, Brighton.
• New Zealand: Auckland.

National and State Parks, Monuments, and UNESCO Sites: Los Arrayanes National Park in Villa La Angostura, Chiloé National Park, Churches of Chiloé UNESCO World Heritage Site, and Islotes de Puñihuil Natural Monument on Chiloé Island.

Islands Visited: La Isleta in San Martin de los Andes, Chiloé Island, Lemuy Island, Quinchao Island, North Island of New Zealand.

Days on the Road: 17 days.

Best Meals: Pumpkin sorrentinos with creamy walnut sauce and parmesan, and garlic and chili prawns from Trawen in Pucon; Smoked salmon and goat cheese toast with arugula and cherry tomatoes from Cancagua Spa in Frutillar; Falafel sandwich from Amalgamar in Chonchi; Chicken gyoza and tempura shrimp, avocado and spicy tuna foll from Wabi Sabi Sushi in Ancud; Matzo ball soup, latkes with apple sauce, and banoffee pie from Federal Deli in Auckland; Prawns with garlic and chilli oil and Greek fries with aioli, feta and tomato from Lokanta in Auckland.

Hikes/Walks:

• Miradores de Quetrihue Trail in Los Arrayanes National Park in Argentina 1.95 miles
• Mirador Bandurrias and La Isleta Trail in San Martin de los Andes in Argentina 6.4 miles
• Sendero El Tepual, beach and dunes trails in Chiloé National Park in Chile 3.5 miles

Watching: The Penguin Lessons, Eden, About Time, One Battle After Another, Bugonia, Sentimental Value, Good Fortune, My Kitchen Rules, Below Deck, Poker Face.

Reading: Holly by Stephen King, Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy.

New Posts: I wrote one new post this month, Everything You Need To Know About the Refugio Otto Meiling Hike – one of my favorite experiences from our six-week Patagonia trip.

Highlights

Swimming and Hiking in Villa La Angostura

We saw a lot of beautiful lakes and lakeside towns during our two weeks in the Chilean and Argentinean Lake District, but Villa La Angostura was the prettiest. We only spent one night here but we just loved this charming lake village.

We spent a few hours down by the port and explored the beaches there, I hiked to a mirador overlooking te lake and surrounding mountains, and we did some souvenir shopping in town. The color of the lake here is stunning and I wish I had gone swimming while we were there too.

Exploring San Martin de los Andes

San Martin de los Andes was another lovely lakeside town that we visited in Argentina, and although it is bigger than Villa La Angostura, it is a beautiful town and it still has a small-town feel. We were there over the weekend, so there was a large craft market on the main square and a free concert with food trucks set up by the lake. 

On my one full day there, I hiked to a mirador with gorgeous lake views and down to a beach with a small island that you can swim to. The water was super clear and I enjoyed swimming to the island and sitting out in the sun.

Soaking at Termas Geometricas 

We weren’t sure if it would be worth traveling two hours each way from Pucon to visit Termas Geometricas but I am so glad that we did because it was probably the most beautiful hot springs I have ever been to. There are 18 natural thermal pools along a narrow river gorge with red wooden boardwalks that link them together, with a beautiful waterfall at the end. 

We booked a tour that included transport and had four hours at the pools which gave us enough time to pool hop between most of the pools and walk to the end of the boardwalk to the waterfall. 

Relaxing in Adventure Capital, Pucon

We didn’t intend on relaxing the whole time we were in Pucon but it ended up working out that way when we decided we didn’t want to spend hundreds to hike the volcano, and the National Park we wanted to visit was sold out. But I really enjoyed our time in Pucon anyway.

The town center is really nice with great restaurants and shopping. I swam at the black sand beach in town, walked along the lakeshore, and we took a bus to nearby Cabargua Lake and swam at Playa Blanca. We also loved the tiny house we stayed in on the outskirts of town.

It may not have been an adventurous time in Chile’s adventure capital, but it was a good time nonetheless.

Spa Morning in Frutillar

What’s better on a cloudy day than relaxing at a spa? That’s exactly what we did when we were staying in Puerto Varas. We drove to the nearby lakeside village of Frutillar to Cancagua Spa for a morning of relaxation. I had a wonderful massage then we spent a few hours relaxing in the lakeside hot pools and eating at their onsite cafe. It was the perfect way to spend a cloudy morning.

Village Visits on Lake Llanquihue

I enjoyed exploring the picturesque villages around Lake Llanquihue. We based ourselves in lovely Puerto Varas and visited the quirky Museo Pablo Fierro, which was like a low-budget Meow Wolf, walked along the lake, and admired the mosaic Ricke’s stairs. 

We also visited Puerto Octay, a relaxed small village with a handful of souvenir stores, cafes and restaurants and a lovely lakeside walkway, and Frutillar, the prettiest village we visited on the lake with German-style wooden buildings housing independent stores and restaurants lining the picturesque lake.

Exploring the Chiloé Archipelago

I love off-the-beaten-path islands and so I knew I wanted to spend some time in Chile’s Chiloé Archipelago. We spent four days based between the towns of Castro and Ancud and visited two of the smaller islands as well as the main island.

We stayed in a traditional palafito stilt house, saw Humboldt and Magellanic penguins (the only place in the world where they nest together!), visited UNESCO wooden churches, ate local seafood, hiked in Chiloé National Park, and shopped at local craft markets.

I really enjoyed our time exploring despite the mostly grey weather, which is pretty normal for the islands.

Hanging out With Family in Denver and Auckland

Family is so important and I am lucky to have a wonderful family in both the U.S. and New Zealand. After a busy past few months traveling, it has been so nice to spend time with both of my families this month.

Lowlights

The Murders in Minnesota and Everything Trump

It was absolutely horrifying to see America’s own Gestapo murder civilians on the street in Minneapolis, on camera and everything, while Trump’s puppets lied on TV about what actually happened. Absolutely disgusting and I hope they all end up on trial and in prison once this is over.

It was amazing to see Minnesotans fighting so hard to protect each other in their state, and that ICE was eventually driven out – it shows how strong we can be if we stand with each other against Trump’s authoritarianism.

Huerquehue National Park Selling Out

One of the things I really wanted to do while we were in Pucon was to spend a day hiking between the lakes of Huquequerqe National Park, but when I went to book it the day before it was sold out. Oh well, guess I will have to go back one day.  

Catherine O’Hara Dying

I love Catherine O’Hara and was so sad to hear of her sudden passing. I recently watched her in The Studio and marveled at how fucking magnificent she is, and so incredibly funny. What a talented and down-to-earth person she was. She will be missed.

Long, Long Flight Days

I really punished myself this month with two horrible and long flight days – number one involved three flights with long layovers from Puerto Montt to Santiago to Atlanta to Denver (24 hours total) and then three days later I did it again, flying from Denver to LA to Nadi to Auckland (26 hours). For someone that hates flying, this was a lowlight and I had to deal with exhaustion and some jetlag twice in less than a week.

Bad Weather in Auckland

New Zealand has been having a really shit summer this year, and after looking forward to beach time and swimming, I have so far only made it to the beach once. I really hope the next month will be nicer and that I will get my beach time.

Really Painful Wisdom Tooth Recovery

As someone who is reasonably scared of the dentist, and pain, this has been really tough. I had such a traumatic experience getting my other lower wisdom tooth removed that I put off getting this last one out. And I wish I had kept delaying it because the last week has been really, really shit.

The pain has been so bad and I haven’t slept more than 2-3 hours at a time for a week because I wake up from the pain when the painkillers start to wear off. After a week of pain I went back to the dentist and it turns out I have the dreaded dry socket, where the blood clot was dislodged and the nerves have been exposed.

The dentist prescribed antibiotics and packed the wound with medicated gauze so it is already starting to feel a bit better. Hopefully in a few days I will be at least mostly back to normal.

I Have Skin Cancer, Again

This isn’t as big of a deal as it sounds but it’s still annoying. I have a basal cell carcinoma on the back of my neck, close to where my last one was, and I will need to eventually get it cut out although these cancers don’t spread below the skin so I am not at any risk of dying. I will wait till I am living back in New Zealand in a year – one surgery per visit (my wisdom tooth on this one) is enough for me.

Spending

I don’t include international flights in my recaps. Some of my costs are shared with Toby or other travel partners.

Total: USD$3981

Not a cheap month but $1000 of this is dental and medical so if you take that off it isn’t too bad. Next month will be a lot cheaper.

Accommodation $350

My 13 nights of paid accommodation for the month consisted of two nights in a private room at a hostel in San Martin de los Andes, four nights in a tiny home in Pucon, three nights in a private room in a hostel in Puerto Varas, three nights in a room in a traditional palafito stilt house in Castro, and one night in a private room in a hostel in Ancud.

My 18 nights of unpaid accommodation for the month consisted of one night on a plane between Santiago and Atlanta, three nights staying with family in Broomfield, one night on a plane between LA and Nadi, one day lost in transit, three nights at my Dad’s in Auckland, and nine nights housesitting for a friend in Auckland.

Food and Drink $958

Clothing/Shoes $85

• Socks $6.50
• Torres Del Paine Hat $25
• Denver T-Shirt $27.50
• Bike shorts $26

Transport $362.50

• Uber to Puerto Angostura from hostel $5
• Bus from Villa La Angostura to San Martin de los Andes $17.50
• Bus from San Martin de los Andes to Pucon $42
• Uber from bus station to tiny house in Pucon $3
• Bus from Pucon to Puerto Montt $18.50
• Uber from Puerto Montt bus station to airport $8.50
• Car hire for one week from Puerto Montt $105.50
• Road tolls in Chile $5.50
• Gas $43
• Chiloé Island Archipelago ferries $31
• Flight from Puerto Montt to Santiago $83

Activities $219

• Entry to Mirador Bandurrias and La Isleta Hikes $7.50
• Termas Geometricas Hot Springs Tour $86
• Return bus from Pucon to Playa Blanca $4
• 50-minute Deep Tissue Massage at Cancagua Spa in Frutillar $58
• Four-hour entry to bio hot pools at Cancagua Spa in Fruitillar $42
• Chiloé National Park entry fee $10.50
• Boat tour to Islotes de Puñihuil penguin colony $11

Other $1917

• U.S. Phone plan $35
• OneDrive monthly storage $2
• Garmin monthly subscription $14
• Netflix $9.50
• Toiletries $6
• Planned Parenthood $10
• Souvenirs $12
• Bag fees $65
• Joni cat sitter $325
• Trusted Housesitters Membership – One Year $99
• Laundry $19.50
• Travel adaptor $3.50
• Gift $40
• Beach umbrella rentals $9
• Flightless Bird Patreon One Year $48
• Donations/Tips $3.50
• Fanny pack $29
• Travel-size hairbrush $6
• Cat stuff $30
• Joni vet $110
• NZ eSiM $30
• Courier for Toby passport $5.50
• Wisdom tooth removal, sedation and teeth cleaning $862.50
• Enchantment lottery $6
• Mole mapping skin check $120
• Pain killers $17

Website Costs $18

• One-Year Pixlr Membership $18

Vehicle Costs $71.50

• RV and van insurance $71.50

What’s in Store For Next Month

I will be spending the entirety of next month in New Zealand. I’ll still be in Auckland for about a week, and I am hoping to spend more time catching up with friends and get to the beach when the sun comes out.

Depending on the weather, I might head to Rotorua to camp in my Dad’s van for 2-3 nights and if I do I will definitely be visiting a hot spring and I want to go to either Waiotapu Thermal Valley or Hell’s Gate Geothermal Reserve.

I will be spending about a week with my Mum and Stepdad in Papamoa, a couple of nights visiting one of my besties in Hamilton, and I’ve organized a short visit to Cambridge to visit my cousins.

Then I will be back in Auckland for a few nights and will be driving to Northland to visit another one of my besties who is living in her RV up there at the moment. I’m hoping we can either do the two-day Cape Brett track and stay in the hut or do a day hike like Dukes Nose.

It should be a pretty relaxed but pleasant month.

To read additional Monthly Recaps, you can find them here