Happy 2021!!!! And a few bits and pieces of our 2020

The year that is going to be remembered for the Covid-19 Pandemic has come to an end, and although we have been trying to make the best of a difficult situation, it was clearly not the time for epic treks, travel and other adventures. Which explains why our blog has been semi-abandoned of late, though a little update is now in order.

Since our last posts in August we haven't ventured very far from our little hideout in the La Araucanía Region of Chile. With very few people living in our neck of the woods, we were quite lucky to have pretty much skipped the first wave of the Pandemic, until it caught up with us in the middle of November when a local super-spreading event lead to around a hundred confirmed cases (at a total population of about 8000 in the entire District) within the course of a few days and full-on lockdown for about a month.

But Covid-19 news aside, we can report that we've enjoyed a beautiful spring, that has given way to early summer now. Throughout September and October, the Patagonian Oaks (nothofagus obliqua) near our cabin sprouted plenty of Digueñes (an edible fungus, also known as Pinatras) that we harvested and were very happy to supplemented our meals with. They can be eaten raw (best when the "holes" with the spores have not opened yet) in salads or in stir fries. They taste earthy, like most mushrooms, and a bit sweet.

Digueñes growing on the tree

Ready to be added to our lunch

Among our closest neighbours we count andean ibises, parakeets, long-tailed medow larks, southern lapwings, just to name a few of the prettiest ones. The lapwings, locally known as Queltehues, nest on the ground and with varying degrees of success. Some of the babies we saw waddling around from September onwards near our cabin ended up as supper for the fox (or falcons) that comes and visits every now and then, but others managed to get through the worst and are now almost grown-ups.

One of our Queltehue neighbours...

...and one of their chicks

After 2019's spectacular total solar eclipse which we were fortunate enough to observe under perfect conditions in the Coquimbo Region of Chile we were also looking forward to catching a glimpse of another one which was due on the 14th of December 2020. By chance (or strategic planning and foresight) our cabin was bang on in the total eclipse path, so we were in the right place and even Covid-19 lockdown at the time couldn't mess this up. Alas, the day started with rain and clouds...

Waiting for the total eclipse

Just before the totality the sun (or what was left uncovered of it) appeared through a veil of clouds and the twilight descended upon us for a couple of minutes, causing goose bumps, howling dogs and confused cockerels in our neighbourhood. After the eclipse, the sky was mysteriously clear...

The eclipse seen through the clouds

Another astronomic showpiece, the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn followed a few days later, which we enjoyed watching with better visibility. Later that same night, our landlord also saw some mysterious moving lights in the sky (UFO???), though we missed those as we had gone to bed...

30-second exposure of the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn above Villarrica Volcano

Other activities in the last few weeks included a couple of local hikes through magnificent Araucaria Forests and a visit to the Rio Blanco hot springs, of which a few photos are included in below slideshow (high-res here). Considering how bad 2020 has been for so many people, we count ourselves lucky to be healthy and happy in this beautiful part of Chile. Happy 2021 everyone!