Puerto Varas

Puerto Varas 04/04/13 to 07/04/13

Puerto Varas is set on the west shore of Lago Llanquihue, and we were supposed to see great views of the Osorno volcano across the lake. Unfortunately the weather had turned and in between the rain showers there was thick cloud obscuring the views.

We visited nearby Fruitillar, which was a quiet town with traditional German architecture and a nice concert hall right on the lake. It was cold and we realised we would need to add to our wardrobe quickly as we headed further south (our minds now made up, we were off to Patagonia as we weren't sure we'd get another chance). We stopped for an artisanal German style beer and some lunch, before heading back to our hostel in Puerto Varas.

Due to the bad weather the hostel was full of people most of the day, and it turned into quite a sociable place. The host organised some snacks and drinks to help everyone feel at home, which was a nice touch. The dog had his own chair which he rarely vacated.

 

Despite more rain and cloud the following day we hired a car to see some dried up lava rivers, the Saltos de Puyehue (where we saw giant salmon/trout leaping out of the water) and we then went for a walk along the beach at Puyehue. We marvelled at how clear and green the water was despite the poor light, and the pebbles were a mix of grey and red. We caught glimpses of what it must be like on a clear day, but we still couldn't see the volcano.

We drove up to 1,200 metres on Volcan Osorno, where it was windy and freezing, and we got to throw our first snowball of the year. There was a ski-lift, but it was closed. We drove back down stopping to see a good rainbow in the valley below, before heading back to Puerto Varas, where we got an early night as we had our flight to Punta Arenas the next morning.

The flight from Puerto Montt to Punta Arenas was very scenic, passing over the Chilean Fjords, several salt lakes and river systems. Populations were scarce and the very few roads we could see were as straight as you can get. We still didn't see the volcano after takeoff, except for maybe a tiny peak poking up through the clouds. Luckily the weather cleared as we went south and we landed into a rather isolated Punta Arenas from over the sea.