Pretty Puerto Varas

After the amazing Torres del Paine we continued south to Punta Arenas for two nights then took a plane heading north to the large port of Puerto Montt. We then headed to the lakeside town of Puerto Varas. This charming town is the tourist centre of the Chilean Lake District and it’s easy to see why. Sitting on the shore of Lago Llanquihue with the perfect snow capped cone of Volcano Osorno dominatingthe town. The German influence left by the early settlers in the late 18th- and mid 19th- centuries can be seen in the wooden clad houses reminiscent of alpine chalets and the wonderful Küchen tempting taste buds in the numerous cafés.

The famous German church of Puerto Varas.

The silver lining of so much rain, rainbows!

Some striking graffiti/street art in town.

Our arrival coincided with late autumn and although the roses that decorate the streets and parks were still in bloom the sunshine had been replaced with rain. Luckily our hostel, Margouyen 2 was the perfect place to take shelter from the weather for the week.

The lovely old wooden house was built in 1930 and its wood burning stove, feather duvets, tea and coffee on tap, comfy sofa and large film collection made the rainy afternoons a real treat.

Oh to have a log burning stove…

When the rain stopped we ventured out to visit the local area. Further along the coast is the German town of Frutillar, home to a beautiful wooden theatre and cute cafes to watch the rain from.

Some friendly Patagonian gnomes.

Hmmmm, Küchen!

The Parque Nacional Vicente Perez Rosales sits at the far side of the lake and one day we took a local bus to visit the falls at Petrohué (Saltos del Rio Petrohué). Fortunately the sun was shining and we saw Orsono volcano in all its glory as well as the waterfalls.

The elusive Orsono Volcano.

A dusting of snow on the tree tops, Winter is coming.

As the water crashed into the river below we could see huge salmon swimming and splashing as they jumped through the churning water. They energy they must need to climb the ferocious water of the falls is extraordinary.

After seeing their exertion we headed back to town for a large piece of Küchen 🙂

Recommendations

Margouya2, Purísima 681, Puerto Varas

www.margouya2.com

The storm

The previous evening we saw a prelude to the kind of tropical thunder storms seen in Rio. It was exciting to watch dramatic lightning, especially from such an iconic setting as Sugarloaf mountain.

The storm tonight however took dramatic to a whole new level. That morning we visited Parque Lage, then the Botanical gardens. Afterwards we spent the late afternoon on Leblon beach.

We then walked along Ipanema (Praia do Ipenema) as the sun was setting behind the mountain and watched the locals playing football on the beach.

We stopped at a bar for a drink and some snacks. Unfortunately it was a football themed bar and was showing re-runs of Manchester United’s glory days. Images of Beckham and Rooney’s goals and hairstyles (or lack of in Rooney’s case) flickered on the TV screen in the corner. A local band killed a few American classics on the stage whilst we sipped our drinks.

After a while our attention was drawn to the rain that had started outside and the strange flashing lights in the sky. We peaked outside and saw the streets rapidly flooding with rain pouring down in sheets. People were wading through the waters trying to get somewhere dry.

Being quite a walk away from the Metro and seeing no buses, or knowing if they were headed towards our part of town we tried to hail a taxi. We sheltered under a canopy scanning the traffic for a welcoming yellow light to drive by. A local man, who by now was already soaked jumped into the dual carriageway and generously tried to hail us a taxi. After watching his valiant efforts for a couple of minutes we took the plunge and headed out into the rain ourselves.

The storm had gained in strength and by now huge forks of lightning were firing from the sky towards the beach. They were so bright that after the initial flash had passed a crackling impression of sparks was left like ghost echoing their outline. Each fork lit up the sky like an explosion of lights and we could momentarily see in the darkness.

Eventually a taxi came and we set off towards home. As we drove along the streets became more flooded until they turned into rivers and cars halted, unable to get through. Our gallant driver led the way through a water swollen crossroad, followed by more timid buses and cars. The traffic quickly came to a halt again and the taxi meter continued to climb. We saw a metro station and decided to try our luck again in the rain so we got out.

Running to the Metro we joined many drenched people seeking a dry route home. The train was full of soggy citizens and one asked where we were headed. He informed us that many of the stations further up the line were closed due to floods. Luckily we only had two stops to go.

Getting out at Glória we started to walk up the winding cobbled streets to Santa Teresa. I seemed much darker than before and we noticed that none of the lights were on. The storm had caused a power blackout.

Walked slowly up the winding streets through the driving rain, being careful not to slip on the cobbles in our flip flops we passed homes and bars lit by flickering candles. It was both an exciting and scary journey. The rain was so heavy and it was so dark we couldn’t check our map for directions. Relying on our memory we traced our way back. Other than the head lights of passing cars we were guided home by the flashes of lightening.

Arriving back at Casalegre in darkness we greeted the staff seated by candle light, found our head torches and retired for the night.