1-25 Puerto Montt, Chile

1-25 Day 20 Puerto Montt, Chile

We did not have a tour planned for this port since we had been here before, so we decided to wing it. Usually we find another couple or two to rent a van and explore, but today, lots of people had not been here, so they went to see what we saw the last time we were here. So, we ended up with a van just for the two of us. Our driver was a young woman (Jeannette) who has lived here all her life. She speaks not only Spanish, but English and Portuguese (so she can tour the Brazilians when they come for holiday.) She owns her own agency, so she could afford to take just the two of us around for a good price (for us!)

We drove out of Puerto Montt since there is not much to see here – mainly just a big port city, which we had seen before. There is a strong German influence in this area due to the many German immigrants who came and settled here in the mid 19th century. The country side is pretty with wonderful views of the two inactive volcanoes in this area – the larger one is Osorno and dominates the horizon; the closer but smaller one is Calbuco. Osorno reminded us of Mt. Fuji with its shape and snow on top.

We wanted to go back to the little town of Puerto Varas, which is on the 2nd largest lake in Chile – Lake Llanquihue. We were only able to spend a short time here before, so we wanted to spend a bit more time here this visit. We thought we would have lunch here, but Jeannette convinced us that the the next town we wanted to see would be a better spot (and she was right.) So, we saw the square in Puerto Varas with its beautiful roses (Plaza de Armas), heard a flute (pan) player again, and walked around the little shops. We also walked back out on the pier of the beautiful lake. It is a stunning view with the volcanoes on both sides of this huge lake.

Our next stop was about 12 or so more miles further out into the country, but still along the lake. We saw lots of fields and farm land on the way. - again with both volcanoes always in sight. The town we had not been to before was called Frutillar, another popular lakeside resort. This town is divided into two parts: higher up on the hill is the business district. Down below is the resort area on the lake. It was a darling little town. We strolled up the lakefront with the shops and restaurants on the other side of the street. There were lots of vacationers out enjoying the day - lying out on the sandy beach and swimming (in cold water!) There was a pier here as well that we walked out on and at the end was a great view of the Osorno Volcano. There were beautiful and bountiful flowers everywhere. We went in and out of the little shops, and then met our guide for lunch.

She suggested the “Guten-Appetit” restaurant for lunch. The tables outside were taken, so we ate inside, but had a great view of the lake and volcano. They had luncheon specials, so Doug tried the pork and I had the salmon. We started with a little chicken salad (just fair), and then came the main course with really good bread. Doug really liked his pork, and my salmon was the best I've had in ages. No fancy sauces, just really fresh grilled salmon from this area (it is the major export from this area.) Dessert was included and was fruit in a light pastry (kuchen). It was sweet and good. We also tried the Pisco Sours here, but they were so strong, we could hardly drink them. Jeannette had lunch with us, so we had time to talk with her about Chile, her family, etc. It was very interesting.

After lunch, we headed back to the ship. It took about 30 minutes to get back. We had taken the more scenic route on the way out of town, and the highway going back. It was a delightful way to spend the day in this area.

After dinner with our regular group of 8, we went to the ship's entertainment. Dan Bennett was the guest, and he had a special blend of comedy and juggling. His semantics were the most entertaining as he described mundane things in a very sophisticated way.

The ship was really rocking a lot tonight as we headed back to our cabin. No problem letting it rock us right to sleep.