When we woke up this morning the ship was already arriving at the Chilean port of Puerto Montt, where we were anchoring at sea for the day. We got ready and had a quick look on deck but the main sea front didn't look hugely exciting! Our trip today wasn't in the main town though so we weren't too concerned! Instead we were heading into the beautiful area which is known as the Chilean Lake District. We had breakfast and then went to the theatre at 7.50 to meet for our tour - Petrohue Falls and Esmeralda Lake.
We had to get a tender boat for 10-15 minutes, and then climb the very steep ramp which had been erected at the quayside to get ashore. The tour then started with a brief drive through the town of Puerto Montt, mainly famous for being the biggest salmon producer in Chile (and you could smell it in the air!). The city is full of new buildings because it was completely decimated by the 1960 mega-earthquake and tsunami which hit southern Chile. A short drive from here is Puerto Varas - a quaint town which is full of traditional German style buildings created by the German settlers to the area in the 1854. There is a beautiful church which we drove past, and we got our first views of Lake Llanquihue which is South America's third largest natural lake. We continued driving around the lake for about an hour before arriving at our first stop within the Vicente Perez Rosales National Park. Rosales was the founder of Puerto Montt and this national park is the oldest in Chile and spreads over 1000 square miles. The first part of the tour was a 45 minute boat ride around another lake - Lago Todos Los Santos. This is also known as the emerald (Esmeralda) lake due to the striking colour of its water. The boat ride gave us incredible views of the enormous snow capped Osorno volcano, as well as the rugged hills all around.
After this we drove to the Petrohue Falls, also in the national park. This area is completely sculpted by volcanic rock and solidified lava flow, which has caused a dam and created the waterfall. To access it you walk across various walkways so you get incredible views from different angles. After we had taken lots of pictures of the gushing water, the rapids below, and the towering mountains and volcano in the background, we went for a short walk down the Sendero Los Enamorados (Lovers' Walk!) through the forest to see a small lagoon. A very pretty area.
It was now time for lunch which was at a restaurant in an amazing setting at the foothill of the volcano - the views were absolutely incredible. The grounds of the restaurant were full of animals - llamas (including some babies!), deer, dogs, and different sorts of birds. We had a 3 course meal with drinks included, and even I had plenty to eat! The pudding was scrummy - a sort of German Apple cake. After lunch there was a little time to admire the llamas and the views before setting off again.
In the afternoon we went back to Puerto Varas, the German style town that we had driven through briefly in the morning, but this time we were able to get out and have a look around. There was an extensive handicrafts market, a pretty square with a band playing, and some interesting buildings to look at. The highlight however was the lakeside waterfront with its views back to the volcano and small beach area - it had warmed up a lot by now and some people were even swimming! (It looked very cold though!)
Sadly it was eventually time to go back to the ship after one of the best excursions we had done so far! We got back to the terminal at 4.30, exhausted, along with about 10 other coach loads of people, to find that one of the tender boats had broken down and there was already a large queue building up. We eventually got back on board about 6.00 (and finally about 7.00pm they got everyone else back!) A cup of tea, some biscuits, and a chat to a lovely friend soon got me feeling normal again however!
We went along to dinner later than normal, and then went to just one show this evening - the opera singer who I had met at breakfast the other day, Jon Christos. He had an amazing voice, and sang a lovely range of songs, including 'Empty Chairs at Empty Tables' and 'Stars' from Les Miserables, You'll Never Walk Alone, On the Street Where You Live, and My Way. Wow.
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