30 March – 4 April, 2018
Although our time in Chaiten was mostly rainy, it may have been a blessing, as I had fought off what I thought was a sinus infection for days, and although I didn’t feel bad, I knew my body would respond better with a little rest. That can be challenging to do on this type of trip, as Mother Nature and her moods tend to dictate when you do your exploring.
Travel day arrived and the sun made a rare appearance. This was to be a long travel day, three ferry rides and stretches of bus excursions that took us around and across many of the lakes dotting this area. When we saw the extent of the road construction during this phase of our journey, we were thankful we didn’t rent a car. The trench right outside my bus window was so wide and deep, one false move and it would have swallowed our bus whole. However, the scenery on the water was captivating and relaxing, and there was no holding onto the rail for dear life in fear of being blown off the deck. 🙂
Although our final destination was Puerto Varas, the bus station is in nearby Puerto Montt and this is where we spent the night, right next to the station at the Ibis Hotel. The next morning, we hopped into a taxi for a ride to the airport, where we rented a car for our stay in Puerto Varas.
Puerto Varas, dubbed the “City of Roses”, is a lively city of 38,000, in the Chilean Lakes District. It sits on the southwestern shore of Lake Llanquihue and holds commanding views of Osorno and Calbuco Volcanoes, both still considered active. It is also the gateway to Parque Nacional Vicente Perez Rosales.
View from our bedroom window at Hotel Solace.
German colonial architecture has made Puerto Varas one of the most beautiful cities in southern Chile. We enjoyed walks along the lake and discovered during one of our wanderings a larger than life metal sculpture of a woman with outstretched arms, as if paying homage to the majestic, snow-capped volcanoes.
This is also the city where we finally found some restaurants that featured salads instead of the typical “heavy on the meat and cheese” dishes. It was a delightful change. La Gringa was one of our favorite places for lunch, feeling more like a Pacific Northwest café (including the rainy day) than anything else.
As I am slightly obsessed with national parks we decided to take a ride to Parque Nacional Vicente Perez Rosales, Chile’s first national park, and where we knew we would find some picturesque falls, the Saltos del Petrohué. This isn’t your typical waterfall, instead more a chute of crashing whitewater, a relentless pummeling cascade over basalt columns, polished shiny and smooth by volcanic runoff. It is also where some of the best views of Osorno Volcano, can be found. Although it hasn’t erupted since the mid-19thcentury, it still has some active fumaroles.
A drive around Lake Llanquihue was also recommended, promising interesting little towns along the way – Llanquihue, Frutillar, and Villa Ensanada.
On the southeastern shore of Lake Llanquihue, Llanquihue also has a noted German influence and celebrates “Bierfest” each January. One of the town’s main attractions are the many wooden sculptures sprinkled around town, created by both national and international artists.
Frutillar sits on the western shore of Lake Llanquihue and is well-known for its German architecture, its landscape, and beautiful gardens. The main attraction is Teatro del Lago (Lake Theater) and the annual summer music festival, “Semanas Musicales”, when several worldwide philharmonic and symphonic orchestras come together. Frutillar also boasts the best cake shops in the whole nation.
Villa Ensanada is a small, peaceful village on the southwest shore of the lake, where, on a clear day, you can see splendid views of Osorno and Calbuco volcanoes. It is also a hotspot for outdoor activities. We had a clear day!!!
I had seen photos of the “palafitos” on Chiloé Island, colorful fishermen bungalows balanced on stilts, in the city of Castro, so this was the destination for our final day of touring. Many of these palafitos have been converted to cafes, hostels, and boutique shops.
Chiloé, which means “seagull’s place” in Mapuche, the indigenous language, is where Magellanic and Humboldt penguins cohabit, the only place where this occurs. Since we had already taken two tours to penguin colonies, we didn’t feel we were missing out by not taking this tour.
Castro, the largest city on the island, is also where two of the four UNESCO World Heritage Site wooden churches can be found.
Puerto Varas was where we were on Easter Sunday. Both Terry and I remarked that this most holy of days was not celebrated in the reverent manner we had seen when we lived in Mexico and how we had read it is celebrated in Spain. It seemed to be just another day in the life of Chileans, which we found a bit odd.
Our time in Puerto Varas had come to an end. Although not one of the more physically active pieces of our journey, it was a lovely stop that I would highly recommend if you find yourself in Patagonia.
Next Up: Back to Argentina
Paint Your Landscape 
Beautiful scenery and architecture. Glad you were able to enjoy the boat ride without fears of blowing overboard.
Puerta Varas was a great place to do some sightseeing.
Great mix of photos from natural scenery to man-made structures. Thanks for sharing with us.
My pleasure!
Another wonderful job Lu.Love all your descriptions and locations so we can follow along. Nothing but pickleball, golf,hiking and yard work here. Be safe Frank
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Thanks Frank. Pickleball, golf, hiking, and even yard work sound pretty sweet to me!
It looks beautiful, what amazing things you see. Travel safe!
Thanks so much Ute!
So amazing! This is the one place I truly want to see in chile. It is just as beautiful as I had imagined
The park is beautiful, as are all the little villages around Lake Llanquihue.
Wonderful pictures, as usual. I really love the one of the volcano, with the snow on top! I haven’t looked this up, yet, but I am guessing that all of the German influences are since World War II, when some of the German people were trying to escape what was going on in their own country. I know that some of the Italian people escaped from Italy, and settled in Brazil. Fascinating! And thank you so much for sharing. Oh, I just noticed your map of the U.S., showing where all you have traveled, I guess you’ll have to find a map of the world to get caught up.
Thanks Joan! I don’t know about a map of the world, but it is fun collecting national parks around the world. The US map was started when we started full-timing. Hope you are doing well.
What a delight to see so much blue sky! You have certainly had your share of grey skies. You deserved a break:) How nice that the break came while doing ferry crossings. Your header is spectacular! Turquoise water, rapids, and a snow capped mountain…Wow! Love the mosaic steps! Beautiful carvings. The fishing shacks are so colorful. Great wooden churches. Hope you have time to get rid of your sinus infection. They can linger. Safe travels!
Thanks Pam! and yes, although we have still marveled at everything we have seen through the raindrops, it is amazing how the sun can change your perspective. It has been decades since I have been sick with anything that resembles a cold or a sinus infection, not to mention the flu. I believe standing on deck during that particularly cold, blustery ferry crossing may have been the culprit.
Now that is one spectacular ferry ride! And I thought ferrying through the San Juan Islands was beautiful. 🙂 So glad you had such gorgeous weather for your visit to Puerto Varas. The combination of outdoor adventures and exploring interesting towns is exactly the kind of travel that we find most appealing. I’d love to see that colorful fishing village on stilts! I hope you’re feeling better, Lu.
That ferry ride was our favorite and no wind. My sinuses don’t respond well to lots of wind, which Patagonia has, so I guess it’s not surprising that I had some issues. The palafitos were co colorful.
I especially liked the mosaic-lined steps. So much art and architecture; fascinating.
There seems to be artists in even the smallest of villages…color and creativity everywhere.
It’s good to have some less strenuous travel days to take stock and experience things differently. That sky looks beautiful and clean. That mountain looks like it needs a climb though…
That mountain does need a climb. And I do agree with you, with international travel, it is good to balance physical activities with a little culture.
And sometimes the odd guilty nap.
My hubby subscribes to them almost daily. Sadly I have never been a good napper. 😦
Great post! Chile is amazing! Have been living in Santiago for two years and love exploring the South 🇨🇱
We had a fabulous time in Chile! Enjoy your time in Santiago.
The view from your hotel room is jaw dropping. I hope they have that one on the hotel website. Such a mixture of beautiful scenery and gorgeous man made art. looks like a spot well worth visiting.
Solace Hotel was really lovely and our view from our bed, literally, could not have been better! Puerto Varas is a great stop when in Patagonia.