We stopped for a rest at a junction in the road. Our route led straight ahead to our destination of Mehuín, where we planned to camp for the night. The other fork in the road led to a small fishing town called Queule, on the coast of Chile.
Jeff suggested, “Why don’t we see if we can get some lunch in Queule?” After all, that detour will still get us back to our route further down; no time or effort will be lost. We all concurred.
As we biked through town, curious onlookers gawked at the odd lot of five cyclists slowly oozing through town. Lori spotted a black food truck with a picture of a hamburger on it.
“Hambuguesas,” Lori called. (Hambuguesas is the Spanish word for hamburgers, as you might have guessed.) We all headed there.
We found out that it was a mother and daughter’s first day at running a food cart and we were their first customers. It was fun ordering a lot of food from their cart. They were so happy to have such delighted customers on their first day. We were happy to oblige.
Then we headed off. We were originally headed for Camp Rewe Lafquen in the town of Mehuín several miles away. But we saw there was a camp here in Queule, less than a mile away. So we headed there instead. So glad we did.
The camp was called Camping Mapulafquen. What a beautiful spot to set up a tent: just inches away from the Pacific Ocean. We had not planned to go here, but we couldn’t have ended up in a more refreshing place.
We met Dario, the owner, who was full-blooded Mapuche. He said his camp was once ancestral Mapuche land, and he named his camp Mapulafquen, from the Mapuche words Mapu (Earth) and Lafquen (Sea)– where the earth meets the sea. It truly was breathtaking, to be in Mapuche land, drinking in the beauty of the landscape.
Besides, next to the camp was a small restaurant, run by a sole humble guy who just loves to cook. To him, making money was not the issue; he just loves to cook for the love of it. And we were able to benefit. What more can one ask for.
A perfect day on the coast of Chile. Simply because we decided to head off-route.
What a sweet story of serendipitous meetings be it humans or the sea. Looks inviting!
Although this was one of our longest and hardest days, it was also one of my favorites. This is where mi Nuevo novio pushed me up the steepest incline yet! I just loved my new Mapuche friend Dario! 🥰