Chilly in Chile

I admired the stunning lake views as I enjoyed breakfast before heading out on today's excursion. I had booked a tour the day before to see some of the major sites around Puerto Varas.

Today's excursion included hotel pick up. There were about six people from my hotel also going on this tour. The first three were all Spanish speaking - oh no! (I really need to speak Spanish). But then a couple from the U.K. got in the mini-bus as well (Tom & Lucy). The tour guide, Antonio's English was fantastic. He would speak in Spanish and then immediately switch over and say it all again in English. We picked up a few more people in town before heading out, including two more people from the U.K. (Ash & Row). The five of us English speaking tourists stuck together. But it is always a good idea to try and speak in the dominant language - however little it may be. Did I mention I really wish I spoke Spanish? haha. I say this every time I travel to a Spanish speaking country.

We drove around the south end of Lake Llanquihue (pronounced yankee-way) to our first stop with an unobstructed view of the Osorno Volcano. It is 2600 m high and completely dormant. The last eruption was in 1835...so no worries there! There are actually over 3000 volcanoes in Chile. With each stop, we got closer and closer to the volcano and the views got better and better. I took a ton of photos...shocking, I know!

Next stop was the Petrohue Waterfall. This place was in a National Park, so there was an extra entrance fee of about $8 to enter. It was optional in case one wanted to opt out. I could not imagine anyone not paying the entry fee...you booked a tour to see the waterfalls...go and see the waterfalls!

Time for lunch. The five of us all sat together at the restaurant and shared travel stories. Most people that come to Chile and the Patagonia region all have the same places in mind that they want to see. I may even run into them at another destination in Patagonia.

Our next stop was next to another lake - Lago Todos Los Santos - where we took a boat cruise all while having the volcano in our sights! We totally lucked out with amazing weather!

After the boat cruise, it was time to drive up the volcano. Yes! UP!!! We drove up half way and then there was an option of going on a hike or taking the chairlift even higher. Of course there wasn't any doubt what my choice would be. Chairlift. The temperature certainly was much chillier than when we were at the bottom...and rather windy at times. The cost was about $18. I was surprised that I was the only one in our group of 12 that ventured up. How many people can say they were on a chairlift on a volcano in Chile? The life experiences are all worth it!!!

What a day!