Puerto Varas

We took a bus to Puerto Varas, an up-and-coming tourtist destination because of its access to mountains and close proximity to the ocean.  The bus dropped us off on the side of the highway, surrounded by fields.  We followed traffic signs 2 km, via an exit ramp, into town.  In part due to the rainy weather, and also because of the great hostel we found, we spent four nights in Puerto Varas and rented a car for 48 hrs to explore the surrounding area.  Puerto Varas is a fun town on the edge of the third largest lake in South America, Lago Llanquihue.  Apparently on a clear day, one can see seven volcanos from town, but we only ever got to see two.

 

A picture of Betsy with an Acanthus plant for Jeanie and Grandy!

We went to the Rio Pescado which is supposed to be a good river to fish, but found it brown due to all the rain.  Dan tried his luck fishing where the river enters Lago Llanquihue.  Unfortunately, big waves and strong winds kept the fish safe from Dan and the others who showed up to fish there too.

We drove our Chevy Corsa down to Hornopiren, which is pretty much the end of the ´´main´´ road south from Puerto Montt.  Getting there was slow... we drove for hours on dirt roads with incredibly big potholes every few feet.  The car took a beating but we made it.  The rain stopped after a tasteless lunch in Hornopiren and we walked down to the ocean water.  A few men were hand-line fishing for Roholo, a white fish Dan had tried in ceviche the day before. 

Chile is home to thousands of stray dogs... this one we had seen thrown into the ocean by a girl who appeared to be giving it a bath.  The poor little dog was later seen staring longingly at the mountains across the bay.

The road to Hornopiren involves a ferry ride across the mouth of a large fjord.  We thought we had missed the boat back and were planning to wait around for the next one, but to our surprise the ferry workers decided to squeeze us on.  Bets pulled some tight turns to squeeze in behind two large salmon-carrying fish trucks.  The whole coast from Puerto Montt to Hornopiren is lined with buoy grids which we assume are fish farms.

Here is Bets on the ferry.  The coast is lined with steep slopes, dense forest, and many waterfalls, some of which fall directly into the ocean.

Right behind us here is the fjord.  At the other end, the Rio Petrohue enters the fjord (pictured later).

Around 8 PM we stopped to walk out on the mudflats to watch the sun set (at 9.20!).  Dozens of people were out on the flats digging for razor clams in the mud, picking mussels off the rocks, and fishing with hand lines.  The low sun angle made for fun photographing of these silhouettes.  Dolphins jumping right off shore helped to make it a great evening.

People out on the mudflats at low tide

The next day we drove to the Rio Petrohue.  This is the river where it enters the fjord we had crossed the day before.

Here is Dan fishing in the middle of the Petrohue, which turns out to be a huge river.  Most people fish this river from boats.

After a little while with no fish, we were just about to leave and decided to walk upstream for a few last casts.  Bets spotted a group of big fish jumping in a large eddy and Dan cast right into them and hooked this fat Brown Trout!  A great end to the day.

 

One last photo from Puerto Varas... Suzy, this is one of their schools we drove by; what would you think of a new WHS looking like this!?