seekingmygreaterperhaps

After my adventures in the cities of Santiago and Valparaiso, I headed to soak in some nature in the lake district of Chile. Not quite Patagonia yet, this “southern” (cough, middle) area of Chile is where many travelers head to before they go trekking. I didn’t go to Patagonia this year, and I have never been to the Chilean side, but I did go to the Argentinian side last year, and it was gorgeous. With my research, I knew a little bit of what to expect from Puerto Varas and Castro (on Chiloe Island), but I was keeping my expectations in check.

I arrived in Puerto Varas on January 1st- to my chagrin because nothing was open. This is a tiny little mountain/lakeside town and upon arrival I dined on the ever tasty and highly sought after… gas station hot dog. Me and my closest 20 friends who were all also in line for something to eat. Shrug. Meh- it’s not the worst things I’ve ever eaten, and it’s not my last meal ever, but I had to laugh.

I walked into town and headed to the lake, and was not disappointed. I had perfect weather and the clearest skies. Across the lake you can see two volcanoes. What a fantastic way to start the new year. I spent my time walking around the lake until I wanted to sit down. I pretended I was really pondering life, you know the traveler who is really doing some soul-searching. It ended up being a really beautiful afternoon and nice to just chill, although I didn’t uncover any hidden crevices of my soul or anything.

The next day was my day of adventuring through the Christmas gift from my mom! I took a tour of the Saltos Petrohue (waterfalls) and the Osorno Volcano.

^ This is all from Rio Petrohue. It was a really beautiful glacier ice blue color of the water. The walkways are all paved and it is very accessible. I don’t really have any special information about these, we were kind of let loose and given a time to meet back up. I do know that the waters are runoff from the volcano, and they match my eyes, obviously.

What you can’t see from these pictures are the giant and I mean giant flies that you couldn’t escape from. Right by the fenced waterfall it was fine, and then if you ventured on the walking path, the flies begun. These flies would follow me/ everyone, I wasn’t that special- the whole day, even on the volcano hike. I turned into a madwomen trying to outrun them. If you look at my outfit, my skin was pretty well covered, but they would land on you and then not move. My sweatshirt was bulky, and I (thought I…?) felt them biting me through my clothes.

You can see the size comparison as it landed on my shoulder, and then my guide caught one to “show us” – psh as if we hadn’t noticed them. Yes, the flies were annoying, but they didn’t ruin the views. Only made me (unsuccessfully) attempt to outrun them. I asked my friend Katie who went a few weeks ago if she also got swarmed by flies and she said no. So maybe I was just lucky and in the right places at the right times.

Moving on- the Osorno Volcano was very scenic. I think this is my first time on a volcano. This one is dormant, so it’s very tourist friendly. I paid for a lift ticket up to the first waystation. I didn’t pack my winter coat on this trip, and I didn’t want to go all the way up in case I froze. The midway point was perfectly fine with me. The views were incredible.

The earth was a different texture than I thought- it was rocky and volcanic in some places and more sandy in others. I liked looking at the different colors of the dirt, which you can see in ^ this picture. Also you can see another volcano peeking it’s head out in the background too. Another beautiful weather day.

The next day, I went whitewater rafting! I ended up with a family from North Carolina and we chatted the whole boat ride. The fact that I live in Brazil is very cool, and that I knew what cities they were talking about in North Carolina because I also lived there was an easy connection.

The water was like an ice bucket to the face, and this experience was super fun. The company gave us wetsuits for optimal fun. I went with Ko’Kayak, and I would recommend them if anyone wants to join in the fun.

The next day was a travel day, but before I left, I found a tea house and spent some time drinking tea and reading, a perfect way to end my time in Puerto Varas. On to the next city!