Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
I left Pucon using a cheaper bus company and as of course I had to realise the savings I made when, suddenly the bus caught fire. Smoke came from the backseats filling the whole bus just about two hours into the journey. Their evacuation procedure was optional as you could decide for yourself if you like to inhale the smoke or stand outside in the rain until they sorted out the problem. After a while we all boarded again and changed bus in the next town. This I guess was for the better as we have got a much nicer and more modern bus which also had blankets on board. It got colder the further south you went!
Anyway, after another 4 hours of a much more comfortable ride, we arrived at a very lovely town called Puerto Varas. It was based directly on Lago Llanquihue and it's church was a copy of a German "Marienkirche". Actually there were lots of similarities to Germany such as the wooden houses and some restaurants which serve lovely German cake and food. So I must say I felt quite homely there.
The first day I arrived, in tow with Chi - a guy I met at the last place, we were looking for a hostel to stay at. Not long and we found a really lovely one, but only to realise after a night that they couldn't start a fire to heat up the house. So we had a very cold night waking up in room temperature of 8 degree Celsius. You could see your breath in the room.
In the morning I took the bus around the lake and visited a waterfall and rapid Saltos de Petrohue, which also provided great views onto a beautiful snow capped Vulcano Orsano. Afterwards I walked 6km to the Village Petrohue which was right at a lovely big lake called Lagos Todos los Santos. It is famous for travellers ferry crossings for entering Argentina but it was very quiet there at the time. I had a very lonely picnic there which was very special. So quiet and tranquil - it's difficult to describe. I really enjoyed that day, it was very nice!
Initially I planned to go to the island Chileo just south of Puerto Varas but I figured it was too rushed and I could enjoy the place I am at a lot more. So I went out with people from the hostel that night to a local bar which was nice but missed that extra kick to make it happen, if you know what I mean. Nevertheless I met an older German guy who immigrated long time to Chile because he felt controlled and ripped off in Germany. He thought living here is much more relaxed and free.
The next day I visited Fruitillar a town north on the same lake but this one was even more German. From "Frau Holle" hotel to "Lecker kuchen" bakeries it felt even more like home. I went into one restaurant not being able to decide if I should have apple strudel or bratwurst with sauerkraut. I decided for the kuchen despite having had already far too much in Puerto Varas, It was quite nice and I started talking to an other older man who also moved here from Germany a few years back. He told me all about the advantages living in Chile and why he moved here, including an intensive description on how his wife left him and took everything he had. Ja, ja those German woman - nasty volk! J
- comments