Chile, Puerto Montt

On our way to San Rafael Glacier we had a stopover in Puerto Montt. When we looked out of the window, the view from the plane was simply astonishing. Volcanos as far as the eye could see.

We stayed in the Holiday Inn right at the water’s edge of lake Llanquihue,  in the middle of town. We had 2 days in Puerto Montt and were planning a sight seeing trip in the area. But first we explored town, tasted some delicious chilean food and tried the local beer.  All very,  very good.
The next morning we caught the local bus – quite an adventure in itself, but perfectly safe – to Puerto Varas. This is another quaint little village with the most gorgeous view of two volcanos, Osorno and Calbuco. They are on either side of me.

We walked around town, had a look inside the Casino and were on our way back to the bus, when we were approached by 2 young men. They offered to take us to the Petrehue waterfalls and also right up to the snowline of Osorno.
We came to an arrangement and set off. It was quite a ride around the lake and we stopped often for photographs. We did not stay long near the snow line as it was freezing cold. We pressed on and when we arrived at the Petrehue waterfalls, they were closed because of a political situation. Our 2 young men did not give up and found an opening for us to go through. They were determined to show us the waterfalls and they were spectacular indeed. Osorno was the backdrop, and it was here that my camera played up. This is a very bad photograph, no colour at all. Maybe it was punishment for our illegal entry!

                           

Our next stop was for a boat ride on the lake Todos Los Santos, and it was from the boat that we had a magnificent view of Osorno and a few other volcanos in the distance.

We arrived back at Puerto Montt at 8pm and fell into bed exhausted. What a wonderful day it had been.

When we woke up the next morning, the lake looked grey and a little while later it started to pour.
We had to be at the cruise terminal at 5pm that day, so with nothing else to do, we started packing. We were so thankful that we did have that exciting day in and around Puerto Varas.

Next trip San Rafael Glacier.