Chile Fjords-Patagonia Day 6
Chile Fjords-Patagonia
OAT Day 06 - Wednesday, December 5, 2007 - Explore Osorno Volcano & Petrohue Falls - Home-Hosted Lunch
The sun comes up early here in Southern Chile! We woke up to a beautiful day and many of the early morning risers got photos of both of the volcanoes in the pink light of sunrise.
We were on our way to the South Shore of Llanquihue Lake at 9:00. The lake is glacial; it is over 1000 feet deep and 338 square miles. Along the coast line are beautiful expensive homes, sparsely scattered among the trees.
As there was road construction, with frequent delays Maria Elena had time to tell us about the real estate prices, the weather here in this area, and more about the means of income for this area. Surprisingly, tourism is not one of the big industries in this beautiful area yet! That is a good thing!
Our first stop was at the Bella Vista, a bed and breakfast with a gorgeous view of the Osorno Volcano and of the lake. It is a working farm with cows, chickens, sheep, llamas, and emus. The day was perfect; it was 54 degrees and 73% humidity.
At 11:00 we continued on our way through the small town of Ensenada, and Vicente Perez Rosales National Park, the center for all of the extreme sports which make this area famous. It is a haven for backpackers and ice climbers so there are many small cabins and hostels here.
We rode on the bus to the Osorno Volcano, a snow capped dormant cone that was last active in 1834. We had several stops for photos on our ascent; the weather was getting harsher as we got higher up the peak. About 1/3 the way to the top, it was 48 degrees, 76% humidity, and with winds gusting to 8 - 9 mph.
When we reached about half way up the caldron, there was a base camp with rest areas and a cafeteria. We hiked another 30 minutes around the base. The trek was gradual and we walked through the black lava and patches of white snow.
We had views of the whole valley and the lake below. Up here the wind had picked up to 14 mph, and the temperature was down to 39 degrees.
Back on the bus, we drove back down the steep hair pin turns and stopped at Emerald Lake. We boarded two small boats that took us across to our home hosted lunch.
Maria Elena introduced us to our host family, Alex and Rosita who explained how they cooked our delicious meal of fresh trout that he caught yesterday.
After saying goodbye, we took a short boat ride on the lake and then met the bus. We traveled along the river to the Saltos Rio Petrohue National Park.
We had 30 minutes to explore Petrohue Falls, where we took photos of the crystalline waters and the delightful scenic views of Osorno’s perpetually snow-capped summit.
At 4:40 we got back on the bus once more for our trip back to our hotel. We had a meeting with the group at 6:15 and Maria Elena explained the procedures for our flight tomorrow and the rest of our journey through Patagonia.
We spent the remainder of the evening preparing for tomorrow’s journey and posting the journal for our final day in the Lake District.
Accommodations: Hotel Cabanas del Lago - - - Meals: B, L
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Osorno Volcano
Llama
Walking on Osorno Volcano
Emerald Lake Going to Lunch
Petrohue Falls
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