Saturday, March 7, 2009

Post Number 7: Puerto Montt

Day 12 – Our last stop is Puerto Montt, Chile. Along with 12 others from the ship, we hire a tour van for 6 hours. But to David, it feels less like a sightseeing excursion and more like one continuous shopping trip. Needless to say, he’s bored and very restless. Luckily, the other guys in the van sympathize with him, make him laugh at the situation and, somehow, he gets through the day. Lucky for me! A bored David is not a pretty sight!

From the port, we drive to Frutillar on Lake Llanquihue (pronounced Yankee Way). Not your typical Chilean town, it was settled by Germans and has a distinct Germanic flavor to it.





















Other stops include Puerto Varas and Petrohue Falls, where the handicraft stalls attract the potential buyers among us. On the way to the falls there are so many people that we actually never make it all the way to see them....that however presents a buying opportunity for Carol.

















In the distance, we see Volcano Osorno, which is shrowded in mist. It's one of two active volcanoes in the region.





While waiting on line (for over 45 minutes) to board the tender, an unfamiliar "guest" walks by:





On the way to the ship and also as we pull away from the dock many locals come out in their boats to wave good-bye.








Day 13 – At Sea
We spend our final evening with friends:





Day 14 – We arrive at our final destination – Valparaiso, Chile. We disembark and take the bus to Santiago for our flight back to Buenos Aires. David wanted the adventure of taking a local bus …I, on the other hand, wanted “easy”… we end up on an NCL luxury tour bus (at NCL prices). “Easy” won the day!


Next stop BA...Stay tuned.