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.