On the Road Again

Our time on Chiloe came to an end, and it was a good thing our head guide suggested and early transfer to our next location, otherwise we would have blown the whole day on the road.  We were up early and on the road by 8am, and heading north, our target was Puerto Varas, a 4 hour drive from Castro with a ferry ride thrown in to get off the island.  Our eventual destination was south to Patagonia, but it was just one of those things where "You just can't get there from here"........so even though Castro airport was closely, there were no flights going anywhere from Castro that could help us.  We would be in Puerto Varas for the night........... had an 8:30 flight the next morning from Puerto Montt just 45 minutes away, so everything seemed to make sense........I think!  What did make sense was getting to Puerto Varas in time for a whirlwind tour of the area orchestrated by our guide Philipe.

Our route

Ferry ride back to the mainland

Our driver made good time on the road, and we were in Puerto Varas by 12:30.......met up with our guide, and decided we would head out with him at 2pm following lunch.  The Hotel Awa was fantastic.  Built by a Swedish architect who lived next door in a fab house, and both were right on the shores of Lake Llanquihue.........this whole area is a very popular tourist and vacation home destination.....kinda Muskoka'ish in some ways, and Niagara Falls in others, but the whole scene here is dominated by the volcanoes.........most visible and the most popular being Osorno and Calbuco. 


Back of the hotel overlooking the lake and Osorno

Thats Osorno across the bay

Private dock, kayaks, sup's, etc......water too cold for this guy

Lunch spot

Artists conception of the area

She is a beauty......one of 100 picture I took of Osorno



Osorno is also home to a great ski area........multiple lifts, good vertical, and guaranteed great snow.......in summer months they do hiking, ziplines, cycling, etc.....
We hiked a forest trail, and the path was pretty much 3"deep of volcanic ash the whole way.
rapids leading downstream to Niagara

Amazed I was able to get this shot of Jutta with nobody else in it.......probably 100 people within 15 feet of me at this point

Tourista crap

There is some very impressive water in this neck of the woods



Our last stop on the tour was Lake Jo.....Chilean style........boat access  only to the many cottages on this lake.........gorgeous location but overrun by touristas...........like us!.

So that's it..........we're outa here in the morning and on a flight to Puerto Arenas........followed by a 4 hour ride to our next stop in the heart of Torres del Paine National Park at Explora Patagonia..........





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