Chile Fjords-Patagonia Day 5

OAT Day 05 - Tuesday, December 4, 2007 - Flight to Puerto Varas - Visit Puerto Montt, Gateway to the Lakes District - Rodeo Demonstration

Our wake up call came at 5:15 and our alarm went off a few minutes later. The hotel had arranged for coffee, juice, and some light breakfast sandwiches.

We identified our luggage, got on the bus, and went directly to the airport at 6:30. On the bus María Elena explained the procedures for checking in for our short flight to Puerto Montt.

Our flight left at 8:20, right on time and we had an easy trip. At 10 AM we landed in Puerto Montt, in a region know as the Lake District. It is 720 miles south of Santiago or an 11 hour bus ride for those who go the land route.

It started to sprinkle just as we got on the smaller bus. Our group leader told us they have 240 days of rain a year and the rest of the days were bad weather.

Our new driver Rolando, and because this is María Elena’s home, she will be our local guide for the next few days here in the lake region.

The soil is black and fertile with much glacial sediment. The latitude is 42 degrees south comparable to our Portland, Oregon.

The main business of this area is salmon farming. Agriculture is the second with the most prosperous being potatos, garlic, and carrots as well as raspberries, strawberries and cherries. There is also a big timber industry with trees grown for paper pulp.

As we drove from the airport to the city and the local fish market, María Elena gave us a running commentary of the life here now as well as a brief history of this region.

German émigrés founded the town, envisioning a seaport hub that would bring them and the region unprecedented prosperity. It took 60 years and the arrival of the railroad, but their vision would finally become reality.

Puerto Montt displays a distinctly European character, in this case German, which we saw in the pitched roofs, carved balcony woodwork and weather-beaten shingles of its residences.

We made a brief photo stop at the city’s scenic overlook where we saw the Holland America Rotterdam, the same ship we sailed on in the Summer of 2005 in the North Atlantic.

We stopped for 20 minutes for the seaside central plaza where saw the church, a beautiful water fountain, and the local Catholic girl’s school performing. It was the last day of school before their summer vacation so they were all smiles as they danced and sang in celebration.

Our next stop was the city fish market. We were divided into teams of six and given an assignment of buying an item at the market. Our task was to find “cachoyuyo” or kelp.

After delivering our prize to María Elena we had a chance to explore Angelmo fish market, on the shores of Reloncavi Sound.

We strolled through the bustling market stalls and saw the vast array of freshly-caught seafood—including salmon, sea urchin, giant mussels, and barnacles that were on sale.

We decided to have a light lunch and found a tiny seafood café that specialized in curanto, a hearty seafood and meat stew. Our platter of clams, mussels, chicken, sausage, and pork was very generous. Gennie and I shared with María Elena and we even had leftovers.

We left Puerto Montt at 1:15 and drove Punta Varas. This is María Elena’s home town and her family was at the hotel to greet us. Punta Varas is called the city of roses and is also know for Llanquihue Lake, the second largest in Chile.

We checked in to the Hotel Cabanas del Lago and found our room on the 8th floor with a beautiful view of the lake and volcanoes in the background.

There is not a WiFi in our room but an open network in the lobby so we will be able to have internet access for the next two nights. The more remote the hotels, the less chance of access and on the ship in the fjords we will not have a chance to post our journals for GarciaTrips.com.

At 3:30 we went out to explore Punta Varas. It was a beautiful afternoon with scattered clouds with 59˚ and 57% humidity. We walked around the town enjoying the quaint shops and talking to the local people.

This small town, whose architecture reflects the influence of the German expatriates who settled here more than a century and a half ago has beautiful homes, parks and shops.

We have found the people of Chile to be so friendly, always willing to pose for pictures and very helpful as we give our best attempt at speaking Chilean Spanish. Even in the big city of Santiago everyone smiled and responded when we greeted them on the street.

At 5:30 we met in the lobby for our evening meal at a Chilean horse-breeding ranch. We drove on the Pan-American Highway to the home of Nelson Garcia about 30 minutes south of the city. We were greeted by Nelson’s son, Tatia and saw a demonstration of the Huaso, the Chilean Cowboys.

The family competes in the very popular Chilean sport of rodeo, but as the competition and raising the horses is very expensive, they raise beef cattle to actually support the ranch.

In their rodeo arena we saw the rodeo demonstration and marveled at the strength and agility of these fine horses, bred from original Spanish stock.

After the rodeo demo and a glass of pisco sour, we sat down in their guest house for a wonderful dinner of Chilean beef, vegetables, and of course, wine. All of the menu items in our meal were products of their ranch.

After dinner, Nelson talked to us and told us about his conservation project of saving the remaining redwoods on his lands. Nelson and María Elena treated us to a traditional folk dance the Cueca, and we enjoyed a few more minutes with this unique and generous family.

On our drive back to our hotel, we saw a beautiful sunset and the Osorno Volcano, which had been covered with clouds all day, was as clear as a bell with the reflection of the setting sun. What a wonderful ending to a day of discoveries in the Lake Region of Chile.

Accommodations: Hotel Cabanas del Lago - - - Meals: B, D

If you wish to travel with OAT Click Here.

To receive $50 per person off your first reservation with OAT, mention the following information when reserving your Overseas Adventure Travel Trip: Mr. Victor Garcia Customer #673062

Trip sounds wonderful! When we were in Puerto Montt there was a "red sea", or something like that. As a result, we could not eat any fish! We felt so bad for all the fishermen and restaurants in the fish market. Puerto Montt was the city where we boarded the ship that took us to Puerto Natales. (we loved the Pisco Sour drinks!) Enjoy .... Kathy

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