Argentina and Chile Slide Show

Look in the column on the right side of the page. See an item called "Slideshow." Click on the photo there to go to my Picasa slideshow of 500 photos (and a few videos). You can pause or stop the slideshow by passing your cursor over the lower part of the screen to see the controls. I hope you enjoy the photos!

Valparaiso and Home

Ascensor ArtilleriaMural Art

From sunset at Puerto Montt, it's two nights and a full day at sea heading north with the current to Valparaiso. At dawn on the second day we are at rest on the dock and, after one last lovely breakfast, we disembark. It's Easter Sunday and the weather holds.

A taxi ride to our prearranged lodging, Casa 199, and we are off to explore the city. Many businesses are closed, so we walk down the hill to buy water and to have lunch. Henry is convinced the area is not safe, Beth thinks we're being followed, and we climb the hill again. Our immediate area, next to the Ascensor Artilleria, has arts and crafts booths along a promenade, and a couple of eateries. When we walk beyond, we see old beautiful mansions in need of repair, much more modest housing and businesses in between, and a beautiful old church. We stop by a bakery and sample some empanadas. While we are walking back, three policemen on motorcycles follow us, then warn us to keep our cameras out of sight and to guard our bags. Our room has a view at Casa 199. Our seafood dinner close by is delightful. Arrangements are made for an all day walking tour the next day with Michael.

Breakfast includes fresh orange juice on the patio. We see men and women riding the old funicular down to the buses and to work. Michael meets us with several other tour participants and we begin our tour through the neighborhoods we walked the day before, and then beyond. He convinces us that a knowledgeable guide can offer much insight and history to what we see. And, we experience much more than we would have on our own--lunch at the German volunteer fire department, the old stock exchange, and buildings, businesses, houses, and people. We encounter his friend, a church caretaker, who plays us an impromptu tune on his horn right there in the street. Mural artworks painted on building walls were the most fun.

The following morning Henry and I depart for the Santiago airport, having missed seeing Pablo Neruda's famous house. That is left for Beth and Allen, as well as all the other places they will see as they continue north, and we fly home.

Of Lakes and Volcanoes

Our last stop before Valparaiso is Puerto Montt. We have reserved space for the Lake Esmeralda and Petrohue Falls 8-hour bus tour.

The bus leaves town immediately in the misty morning. We hope that the weather clears, and it does. The hilly lush green region was settled in 1853 when the Chilean government invited German colonists to come here. The style of the older homes, churches, and farms we pass certainly reflect that influence. When we reach Lake Esmeralda (or Lake Todos Los Santos) in the Perez Rosales National Park, we spend an hour in the sunshine on a large catamaran tour boat. As the clouds gradually reveal the peaks of the Osorno Volcano, another spectacular peak, and the Calbuco Volcano, we soak up as much of the scenery as we can in that brief period with our minds and our cameras.

Then it's on to the Petrohue River and Falls. We believe that another tour will raft a section of that class 3-4 river. From the road, it looks like it would be quite an exciting ride. At the Petrohue Falls area, we have another too brief period of time to walk amid scores of other tourists to see the wild rushing water from Esmeralda Lake fall into the Petrohue River. It is a beautiful sight, but difficult to enjoy such a limited area with so many others. Again, we rely on photographs to enjoy later. We have been instructed to return to the bus early so we can be the first bus to arrive for lunch at a farm overlooking Lake Llanquihue and the Osorno Volcano. There at the farm we sit down for a delightful lunch complete with white and red Chilean wine. We have plenty of time here to stroll, observe hummingbirds, rheas and llamas, and watch children playing.

Then it's on to Puerto Varas on Lake Llanquihue to do a little walking and shopping before returning to the ship. It's Good Friday, a local holiday, and all of Puerto Varas is out enjoying the weather. Roses are still blooming and kids are swimming in the lake, though it is fall. We never did see much of Puerto Montt.