Once in Puerto Montt we searched for our guide. We found Andrés quickly and the our driver Jorge. Jorge has been a police officer for 25 years in Puerto Montt. Jorge is a great guy and was working on his english.
Andrés and his wife run the tour service but she was unavailable to drive today. Andrés lives in Puerto Varas, German community between Puerto Montt and the Orsano volcano.
We had a little anxiety about our day as a marine layer obscured our view of most things. Andrés reassures is it would all work out. With the 17 pack in the van we were off.
There is a little blue in that gray sky. Come on Puerto Montt don’t let me down. That is a tender boat in the bottom right. Not a Tinder boat, that one was getting hosed down with Purel sanitizer. Still funny 😁
This is a giant cross over looking the port in Puerto Montt. It was dedicated to Pope John Paul II who came to Puerto Montt in the 80s
Bienvenidos Puerto Montt. The lakes region of Chile look at to be full of adventure.
From the port we boarded our bus and Jorge jammed on the gas. Let’s get out in front of the masses and see the sites of Puerto Montt.
First stop was Llama ranch/farm. I think ranch is the right term. Watch a couple of llamas get sheared. Some were charged 1 dollar to use the bathroom. I was a nice little stop while we waited for the sun to burn off.
Llama
Llamas
This one is roped and ready for shearing
The clouds are starting to burn off. Next stop Petrohué Falls. It is the upper portion of Petrohué river which arises from Todos los Santos Lake (All Saints Lake). The waterfall is inside the Vincente Peréz Rosales National Park. There are towering Chilean cedar trees. It is a beautiful park with many vistas. Unfortunately we only had a short time so we keep our visit focused on the falls.
The falls lie between the Osorno volcano, the Puntiagudo volcano (pointed one)and the Tronador volcano. The Tronador volcano is thought to be extinct.
The Osorno volcano dominates the skyline on a clear day because it is essentially a perfect cone. It is consider iconic along with Mount Fuji in Japan with regards to its shape.
The region is not free of volcanic activity. On our tour all the signs were green indicating essentially no risk. Andrés our guide say sometimes the signs are yellow. The Calbuco volcano near Puerto Varas erupted in 2015 very dramatically. Check the web for pictures.
Lara as our park ranger
Welcome to the park.
The falls
Grandma 🎩, Lance, Mary and the girls by the falls
Petrohué Falls is amazing.
The sky had cleared and we could now see the Osorno volcano 🌋 and it was worth the wait . Good god it was amazing. I have about 100 pictures of it so brace yourselves.
Anseth family at the Osorno Volcano 🌋
17 pack in front of the Osorno volcano 🌋
Scott and Kari in front of the Osorno volcano 🌋
TB, LB and the girls in front of volcano 🌋
The volcano and the falls
The volcano is far away
More falls and the volcano 🌋
The girls with Grandma 🎩
Seriously, we have a lot of pictures of the volcano and all are AMAZING!! Andrés our guide was killing it. We had good light and relatively small crowds because we got to the park right as the clouds burned off.
The park logo
Now on the way out Katie wants to be a park ranger.
From the falls we traveled to Todos los Santos like for a boat cruise. It is amazing how the German settlers in the region influenced the architecture of the region. On Todos los Santos there was a very German/Austrian looking lodge by the lake.
The Osorno Volcano from Todos los Santos
Anseth women on the boat. Life jackets are the new 2020 accessory.
The crew on the boat
Osorno volcano 🌋
17 pack on the boat. Remember things at the edges of the lens are distorted more, like the size of my head
Give me more volcano 🌋
From the Todos los Santos we traveled to the emerald lagoon. It is a dense green due to the minerals coming from the volcano. I am not sure my photos do it justice.
Emerald Lagoon.
Grandma 🎩 and her posse
From the lagoon we head to Puerto Varas for lunch. Lunch in South America often means EMPANADAS!!!!
Car selfie Is everyone awake. Andrès bottom left
The cool row!!!
17 pack in front of the Osorno volcano 🌋
Casey Butner make sure you get the volcano 🌋 in this picture..???
Once we got to Puerto Varas it was time for empanadas. Queso/shrimp, queso/chicken, beef (onions), vegetarian and queso. There was something for almost everyone.
We destroyed this empanada shop
Lance and Katie were jonesing for some cheez-its. This was as close as they could get.
🎩 by the lake with the volcano in the back
OG Butners in front of a volcano
From Puerto Varas we traveled to the fish market in Puerto Montt. The group was in for a surprise.
The market
Walking through the market. I am pretty sure a fish market is better in the morning than at 3 PM. I would advice not eating the mussels, calamari or smoked salmon at 3 PM
Seals in the harbor by the fish market.
Are you looking at me because we weigh the same after this cruise. #iamnitfatyourfat
On the tender boat back
Let’s get to the martini 🍸 bar
We returned and enjoyed a great dinner. Some enjoyed the show. I enjoyed this sunset over the Pacific.
Now that is a sunset.
Tomorrow a a sea day as we try to wrap this up!!
