Cocktail Total: 1 grey goose vodka tonic with lime in the hot tub
Sunburn Status: None
Sleep: 8 hours… up early to meet our tender boat!
Puerto Montt was a whirlwind.
This morning we arrived in Puerto Montt, Chile - a fishing port at the end of Chile's famous Southern Lakes District which is comprised mainly of summer resort towns. Puerto Montt was founded in 1853 and named Montt after the Chilean president of that time. It wasn't until 1912, however, when the town was connected by rail, and later in the1950's when it was connected to the Pan-American Highway that it became the contact point for most of the southern ports we've recently such as Punta Arenas and Ushuaia. In fact, Puerto Montt is known to many as the southernmost end of the Pan-American Highway - the only continuous road system that links Alaska with Puerto Montt Chile and all the places in between. (Except Panama - you have to take a boat across that country from one side of the Pan-American Highway to the other - there is no portion of the highway through Panama because the government did not want to destroy the forrest to create a highway.) When we were in Ushuaia, we found a sign in Tierra Del Fuego National Park marking the official "end" of the Pan-American Highway - but you have to take a boat to get your car to Ushuaia, Argentina to drive on that highway - so Puerto Montt feels more like the official driving "end of the Pan-American highway" in our opinion. Anyway - Puerto Montt is certainly the "end of the line" for southern travel in Chile whether traveling by railway, dirt road, or highway. Puerto Montt is also the starting point for many visitors who arrive to visit the lake district towns like Puerto Varas and Frutillar - which offer nice beaches and stunning views of a volcanic mountain range - including Volcan Orsono. These towns are set at the edge of Lago Llanquihue (pronounced like Yan-kee-way) and feature a unique Bavarian flavor in the craftsmanship of many of their buildings - as the towns were originally settled by German immigrants . Delicious fruit filled german pastry can still be found in these towns today. The towns of Puerto Varas and Frutillar also have beautiful flowers such as brightly colored begonias and large orange tropical looking flowers that flourish because of the acidic volcanic soils.
We began our day with a bus tour that was intended to take us from Puerto Montt a few miles north to visit the resort towns of Frutillar and Puerto Varas. It was a beautiful blue bird day and warm too! We were scheduled to spend one hour in each town with time to walk around the main streets and explore. After that, the plan was to return to Puerto Montt with a few hours to spend looking around the artist neighborhood and fish market -- However, that plan was simply not meant to be on this particular day. I hate to point fingers… I know that one day if I am lucky enough to live as long as you, I too will be unable to walk, and too grouchy to care -- but old people, you really must know - you ruined our day.
So- crammed on a bus with 40 senior citizens, we ended up only getting to spend 45 minutes in Frutillar, and by the time we made it to the town of Puerto Varas, our guide announced that we were only allowed 20 minutes to enjoy the town. That was just about the most ridiculous thing we had heard all day. Lets do the math… 40 grandparents + one bus door + Katie and Nathan stuck at the back of the bus (because old people who cant wall very well sit up front… of course!) = 7 to 8 minutes just to get off the bus, leaving about 10 minutes to be in Puerto Varas before we have to get back on the bus. What is the point of even stopping in Puerto Varas for 10 minutes? Why not just tell us how wonderful it is and keep driving? It would have been the same as giving us "20" minutes to see it. Good grief people. Get your act together!!
Anyway… Nathan and I lost our patients with our tour and told the bus driver we weren't coming back and that we would find our own way back to Puerto Montt and our ship. Things were immeasurably better after making that decision. After that… we spent a lovely afternoon strolling around Puerto Varas. We enjoyed lunch at a delicious German restaurant near the lake and then spent an hour wandering the main square (which had beautiful roses in bloom) and shopping in the artisans market. We had absolutely no problem locating a taxi to take us all the way back to Puerto Montt (about 12 miles) for less than 10 US dollars, and it was the best $10 we spent all day.
Once back in Puerto Montt, we walked around in the sun some more and even had time to visit a few local galleries near the port before making our way, with time to spare, back to the ship. Oh - and I forgot to mention that Frutillar, the first town we stopped in was picturesque and I would highly suggest visiting if you ever get the chance. The town is small - only a few thousand people live there year round - but the population swells in the summer. It has a bavarian charm in its architecture and gardens. There is a lovely building called the "Tratro del Lago" or "Theatre of the Lake" which is set on the shore of lake Llanquihue and actually sits in the water - supported by piers. I can only imagine that sitting inside, watching a performance with Volcan Osorno and Lago Llanquihue as the backdrop must be an amazing experience. The exterior of the building is quite interesting as well, as it is clad in different colored sections of copper and wood - which catch the light and reflect off the water in really interesting ways.
So, the day started out rocky - but ended very well.
Oh - and Nathan gave me a beautiful gold pendant for Valentines day… and I have him some authentic Chilean Gaucho (Cowboy) Spurs made of silver. Read into that what you will…
Happy Valentines Day! We hope yours was as great as ours!
Tomorrow, we have one more sea day… and then we will end our cruise in our last port of call - Valparaiso, Chile.
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