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We leave Puerto Varas tonight on a bus heading north to Santiago, another overnight bus ride.
We flew out of Ushuaiai up to Puerto Montt a few days ago now.The flight itself was very cool. Through breaks in the cloud we could follow the line of the Andes, looking to be not so far below us. We could make out a myriad of glaciers and see some of the national parks we had been trekking in. Lakes of steel and blue, glaciers cascading through the valleys. We could see what must have been part of the massive Patagonian ice field winding between soaring mountains, grinding away all in its path.
This ice field is the largest source of locked up water in the world, outside of the polar ice caps themselves and is key to worlds eco system. At a basic level the field of ice is so large it cools the winds that determine temperatures, it supplies rivers with water and the minerals that wash into the flat lands and seas below...in short it has a huge influence on the climate, vegetation and animals on surrounding land and sea.
So, from Puerto Montt we hired a car and got ourselves to a nearby town of Puerto Varas for three nights, on the shores of lago Llaquihue. This is the gateway to the Chile part of Patagonia, marked out by volcanoes, lakes and mountains. Across the lake, you see three snow capped volcanoes, with Osorno in the classic cone shape, capped in ice and snow.
Puerto Varas was a lovely stop for us. With one day spent driving around the lake and another day reaching deep into the heart of the Andes, 1st by car, and then further still across Lago Todos Los Santos (Lake of All Saints) by boat where we got a totally different viewpoint. Finally after two hours crossing the lake we reached Puella (population 129) to pick up a 4 wheel drive along the international highway, Ruta 225, that links Chile with Argentina in this area.
The ´highway´ is a gravel road that fords streams and rivers and connects this area of Chile to Bariloche in Argentina, with three ferries, two roads and fourteen hours to cross through this pass in the Andes. It is very picturesque to say the least.Today we drove to a wee place called Frutilla Bajo on the shores of our lake. A beautiful spot with beach and cafes looking directly across the lake to Osorno, the perfect volcano. The major influence in this area is German, so most of the houses and other buildings as well as much of the food is in a country German style.
It seems many of the early settlers here and in Argentina Patagonia, were German.The sky is a brilliant blue today with wisps of cloud around the three volcanoes on the lakes far shore. As I sit in the cafe, overlooking this scene drinking the locally brewed beer called Volcano, I notice that the same view of Osorno is exactly replicated on the label of my beer...and it tasted better for it too!
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