Chile & Argentina: Andes To Patagonia Day 7

Day 07 - Sunday, March 22, 2015 - Overland to Puerto Varas, Chile; Lunch En Route; Puerto Varas Orientation Drive

Our wake up alarm was at 6:30 am as we had to have our luggage out at 7:00. We left the hotel at 8:00 just as the first light was coming up over the lake.

As we left Bariloche, most of the town was asleep this Sunday morning. Because the drive is long and we are crossing the border, we have two drivers Osvaldo and Victor who will take turns taking us across the Andes.

During the first part of our drive around the lake, Esse told us about the transition of sleepy Bariloche into a thriving university and light industry city. We took time to put our Argentinian Pesos away and we got out the Chilean Pesos we had left over from Santiago.

We passed through the small exclusive town of La Villa Angostura, the Aspen of Patagonia. About 40 miles away was the 2011 eruption of Puyehue Volcano. The volcano dumped about two feet of ash on the town. Rocks of lightweight pumice floated and clogged the river. People were able to walk on the lake the ash was so thick.

The town has recovered and people in the tourist trades worked to clean the town. We made an emergency stop for restrooms and then continued on to the border. In twenty minutes we approached the border of Argentina.

The true border was at the highest point of the pass. There are few highways crossing the Andes and when this road was closed because of the eruption, truck drivers had to detour over 600 miles.

There was a long line of trucks and cars waiting to go through the procedure to get out of Argentina. Our wait was about 60 minutes but much longer than usual because of a truck accident.

The actual passport check only took 30 seconds for the agent to look at each individual passport, look at our faces, make sure our entrance stamp was correct, and then he added an exit stamp. The drivers had to produce the paperwork for the bus and get those permits approved as well.

In 17 more kilometers, we crossed into Chile. The two check points are not on the actual physical borders because of the difficult terrain.

We took photos of the core or piton of the Cerro Pantoja Volcano. At the actual border we stopped for a photo of our group straddling the line with one foot in Chile and one in Argentina. Christian and Esse arranged another surprise for us.

The national drink of Chile is "Piscola", pisco and coke. We had Coca Cola from Argentina with the Fernandez name for President Christina and a famous brand of Pisco, called Mistral. We toasted the continuation of the trip and crossing back into Chile for the next seven days.

Victor, our driver allowed us to take a photo of Puyehue Volcano that did all of the damage with the ash. Not active today, it was hard to believe the destruction of Mother Nature.

At 12:10 we arrived at the Chilean checkpoint. Again, there was a line so Esse took time to tell us of the procedures. Much more formal and official than crossing in to or out of Argentina, we had two papers to show. One was an immigration form and another, the customs declaration.

The official drill was to get out of the bus with all of our belongings. We had to present our papers and then line up all of our carry-ons for inspection. Dogs were patrolling the area to sniff any fruits, meats, raisins, or other fresh food products.

Everyone was paranoid about bringing a forbidden item, as the fines were very heavy for any violations. The entire luggage bay was examined and the paperwork was checked. The process took another 60 minutes.

At 1:30 pm we were finally back on the road and heading for lunch. The remainder of the drive took about 45 minutes. Christian thanked us for being flexible.

We passed through Puyehue National Park with views of Puyehue Lake. We had great views of the Osorno Volcano. Christian told us it rains here 250 days of the year so it was uncommon to have such great weather. Seeing the top of the volcanoes was very unusual.

Our lunch was at Cafeteria del Museo. We said goodbye to our Argentinean guide Esse and our bus crew who were turning around to drive back home. Our Chilean driver was James and our new local guide was Pillar.

After a simple meal of a salad of lettuce and carrots, a piece of chicken, and a boiled potato we had ice cream for dessert. Christian had another surprise activity for us.

We went to one of largest Studebaker car museums in the world. In addition to all of the cars and trucks, there were antique medical equipment, photography supplies and cameras, sewing machines, and typewriters.

At 3:45 we hopped on to our new bus and continued on to Puerto Varas. Pillar told us more about the region and the history of the Chilean Patagonian region.

We arrived at the hotel at 5:30 and had a delicious welcome drink. Again we had pisco sours, but the nonalcoholic choice was fresh black raspberry juice.

Our hotel was only a few blocks from the Main Street and overlooked the beautiful Catholic Church. At 7:00 we went with Christian to a fantastic seafood restaurant called Fogón - Las Buenas Brasas.

Because we are so close to the ocean, the seafood was wonderful and a specialty of the area. We chose the King Crab salad for two for a starter and shared the King Crab Crepe with cream crab sauce. Yummy!

We walked back to the hotel and Vic took a few photos of the beautiful church bathed in the evening lights. It was10:00 when we finished our work for the journal. It was another beautiful day in the Southern Hemisphere.

Accommodations: Solace Hotel - - - Meal: B & L

I totally agree with Carol Larson - the border crossing reflection is outstanding

Enjoyed the trip over the Andes....what beautiful pictures. Do you two ever tire....like the energizer rabbit?

Beautiful scenery again and pisco sours, and the lovely bell flower. What a gorgeous thing.

Wow! The border reflection shot is outstanding and so sharp!! We stopped at Puerto Montt on our cruise, but it was raining so hard we did to get to Vargas. Your trip seems wonderful!

WOW That Studebaker museum -- that would be interesting for sue. Even though the terrain is rugged, it is beautiful, especially at the border!

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