It took us 2 days of driving to reach Puerto Varas. While it could take less than a day to drive it from Pucon, we took the scenic route instead. The area that we are driving through is known as the “Lake District” due to it many many lakes. It could also be called the “Volcano District” cause throughout our whole drive we nearly always had at least one volcano in sight.
We first drove round Lake Calafquen, dipping our toes. It was surprisingly warm. Then we drove towards Lake Panguipull, where we stopped for lunch. It was a lovely little cafe with a little stream running next to the deck where we ate our pizzas. We are learning that bread based products taste a bit different than back at home. This is a part of travelling that we love, as each place is unique it is own ways…
Along the way we stoped at a lodge in El Taique, just south of Lake Puyehue. A fantastic lodge located on a hillside over looking a lake and 2 volcanoes. We enjoyed a fantastic dinner with Chilean wine whilst the sun set over the lake.
The next day we headed further south, winding round more lakes and volcanos. The day started with lots of low cloud cover and mist. It was not promising until we started up Volcano Osorno. With each turn of the road, more and more sun started to shine through! Then suddenly we broke through and were above the cloud cover. The view was stunning!
We kept going up until we got to the chair lifts, took 2 chair lift and then hiked the last few hundred meters up! So far up that we ended up touching the glaciers on the volcano. It was a spectacular experience with incredible views.
Eventually we returned to ground level, and drove up the valley to the Petrohue falls (Santos del Petrohue). Whilst they were pretty, they were not the most amazing ones we have seen whilst travelling, and the throngs of local tourists were rude and rather annoying.
During our drive Robyn spotted a fox at a car rest stop. It was completely non-phased by the cars or people, so we have a great opportunity to watch it up close. While we were watching, a friend who was far more skittish joined him momentarily. These are South American Grey foxes.
Later on in the evening we did get to the hotel, and Mish found a local hot dog restaurant (known as Completo). Hot dogs seem to be a thing here. And whilst you can get a simple Hot Dog, most of them are quite elaborate (with avo or mushrooms, or egg…). Needless to say, they were delicious, and very filling!
Puerto Varas is a quiet little town. We spent a bit of time walking round and exploring, finding one of the most bizarre museums ever, The Museum of Pablo Fierro that is run by Pablo Fierro himself. He is an artist that was donated a house right on the beach front, and then proceeded to made artistic additions to it. These included a school bus, half a boat and a house sized koo-koo clock. Inside is an eclectic collection of “stuff”, and due to the alterations there are passages all over the place leading to various nooks and crannies. The place is filled with Pablo’s paintings, which are mainly of buildings/architecture and wildlife. An interesting experience…
We tried going to the beach and for a swim, but unfortunately the sun hid behind some big clouds and the wind made the water very choppy and unpleasant. The weather actually turned on us and started to rain whilst we were exploring the downtown section of Puerto Varas. But still the rain did not sour our mood and we kept on exploring. We just hope that the weather will be better when we are in Punta Arenas, our next stop.
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