We are now over 42deg south – I actually dressed in trousers rather than shorts for my tour. For the second time on my cruise we needed to use tenders to get to the shore. This time we used the ship’s tenders rather than a local. It was only about five minutes to the pier.
My exciting, artsy shot of the tender back to the ship. Sorry, I was in line and folks were behind me.
I took the “Scenic Puerto Varas” tour, which was a 30-minute bus ride to the north. It only takes about a five-minute drive to crest the ridge that contains Puerto Montt and *boom* you are in the Chilean lake district. The ecology suddenly changes. The big, local lake is Lake Llanquihue, pronounced “yankee-way”. The Osorno volcano / mountain is right behind it, and the views were stunning. Our guide called it a “mini Mt. Fuji”.
Driving back to Varas the guide showed us a postcard that had pictures of the last volcanic eruption in 2015. There are four local volcanoes, with more along Chile.
The town and region are beautiful. There’s a large German influence due to immigrants after WW1, so many buildings look like there was taken from Bavaria. We didn’t have much time to wander, so I didn’t set up the kind of “look at this cool town” pictures I should have. There’s a ski-resort-town feel here.
It’s a two-day trip to Punta Arenas. We’re getting very close to Cape Horn.