Today we went to Mr. Schneider's car workshop. They immediately started to work. First, they checked the front wheel brakes. They found a problem there. We need new brake pads and the disks should be rectified. But since Mr. Schneider's mechanic who does this work is sick he recommended going to another company to do this work. This other company is in Osorno, which is 250 km in the south. Since we anyway want to drive south we just drove there (250 km). When we arrived at the company, it has another German name namely Fuchslocher, they told us that they can't do the job today because they have a lot to do. But we got an appointment for tomorrow morning. Since they are specialists for brakes and steering, we went to another workshop to change all the filters. Now our RV has new filters and oil. The motor sound much better. The filters and the oil were very dirty. Then we went to the campground in Osorno, but it was closed. The next best place to stay overnight is at a gas station on the highway. We drove there and parked behind the building together with another RV and a car where people are sleeping. The gas station has electricity, Wifi, a restaurant, and hot showers. Everything we need to have a good night. The weather today started with nice sunshine. Then it became gray and it started to rain. But in the evening the sun came out again. And I saw these nice trees in autumn colors which the picture shows. Later on, it rained again.

Today we traveled from Chillán to Temuco (294 km). Today the landscape was different to the last days. We drove mostly through woods. In the beginning, the woods were not very tight but became tighter the further we came (see picture). It reminded me of Canada. But we are not as far south as Canada is in the north. Our latitude is now 38°. This is in the northern hemisphere a bit north of San Francisco. There is still a long way to the extreme south! When we arrived at the car workshop it was not a Fiat but a Ford dealer. The French couple gave us the wrong address! But the Ford dealer told us where the Fiat dealer is. We went there. It is a very big company with many different car brands. I stood 15 minutes in the service office and nobody wanted to sell me anything. Therefore I left. I remembered having read about a German-speaking workshop owner. We went there. Mr. Schneider's grandparents came in 1895 from Switzerland to Chile. He went to a German school. Therefore he speaks German like a German. He gave us an appointment for tomorrow.

Today we stayed at the campground in Chillán. We want to see the car workshop for maintenance of our RV tomorrow in Temuco. Since we have here everything we need and the campground in Temuco seems not to be as good as this one, we decided to stay here. We are here in a big park the only guests. It is silent and secure. We have good WIFI, clean bathroom, and hot showers. We had a lazy day. I had to change a lamp at the headlights and planed our further trip through Chile. The picture shows the sunset behind the trees of the campground.

Today we traveled from outside of Santiago de Chile (El Melocotón) to outside of Chillán (439 km). Today we drove through the wine or at least through one of the wine regions of Chile. There are vineyards for kilometers (see picture). Different to Europe here the vineyards are on flat land. I think everyone knows Chilean wines. Here in Chile, the wines are quite affordable. Therefore we are back to drinking wine. We are now trying the different types of wines. I bought some good bottles for about 8 dollars each.

Today we took a bus from the campground to Santiago de Chile and there the Metro to the center of the town (60 km). This took us about two hours. Here we visited some of the important places like the Plaza de Armas, some government buildings, the Presidents Office and the Central Market. The picture shows the cathedral at the Plaza de Armas. Then we took a bus out to a very modern part of the town. Here are the big malls. We needed some coffee we could only get there. Then we were heading back to the campground which we reached just when the sun went down. Santiago is the most modern town we saw in South America until now. There are no traditional things to see. The town could be everywhere in Europe. The Metro system is the biggest in South America.

Today we stayed on the campground in El Melocotón. We wanted to do two things today. First, to find a laundry to wash our clothes. This task was easy because the campground took it over to wash our clothes. Second, I wanted to do maintenance on our RV. But I couldn't find a car workshop which I liked. But I had some addresses from a French couple we met in Mexiko. There is an address here in Chile too. It is in a town some 700 km in the south. Since we will drive through there anyway we will do the maintenance there. I had some time to walk up and town the only street which leads through this village. It is called the Road to the Volcano. There I made the attached picture. It shows Rio Maipo and the mountains here. Some kilometers further there is the volcano San José.

Today we traveled from Viña del Mar to Santiago (195 km). The day started gray as it was yesterday. It was very humid in order we had like raindrops on our windshield. Only when we arrived at our destination the sky got clear and the sun came out. I didn't take any pictures today. But since the way led through Valparaiso I attach here a picture I made there yesterday. We are about 60 km outside of Santiago on a campground. It is in a beautiful valley. It seems to be silent and secure. And the owner with which we only spoke on the phone until now speaks German.

Today we traveled by bus to Valparaiso and Viña del Mar to visit these two cities (28 km). We could take the bus just outside the campground. Unfortunately the weather today was very gray. Therefore the pictures are not colorful enough. The only picture with good color is the one from the flower clock in Viña del Mar which is attached here. Valparaiso is a vibrant city. It is a bit old and many buildings are run down. Viña del Mar is more modern and glamorous. In the end, we visited the fish market in Valparaiso and had a delicious fish meal there. Then we took the bus back to the campground. When we arrived there another Swiss couple just parked next to our RV. They travel from south to north. This led to a lot of exchange of experiences which took half the night.

Today we stayed at the campground and organized our further travels. And I had to count the money and pay bills. In the evening I made a little photo safari at the campground and shot the attached picture.