More Volcanoes!

Happy to say good-bye to hapless Valdivia, it was nice to arrive in the picturesque town of Puerto Varas, overlooked by the big daddy of all Chilean volcanoes - Osorno. No Stu we´re not doing the 12 hour scrabble one way - one volcanoe climb a month is enough! After a quick scurry around we realised that the Lonely Planet description of "sleepy" translates literally but we were both happy to have a couple of lazy days.

A short bus trip away was pretty Fruitillar where Kaz was hoping to find strawberry fields as Frutilla is the spanish word for strawberry. Not a strawb in sight we settled for some apfle strudel, a heritage passed on by the many German settlers who also influence the architecture in these parts of the wood. Very satisfying but not even close to a Nanna Stella original (even the dry ones-see Kaz digging in below) :-)

On return to Puerto Varas we watched the sunset over Orsono from the Casino and saw things liven up in the sleepy hollow with local celebrations seemingly using artillery shells instead of fireworks and overloading the music amps to the point of blackening the town. It was a novel experience to cook dinner in our rat run (not infested) hostel by headtorch.

Two days proved enough time to forget our recent saddle sores and get back on the gaucho trail taking an overnight ride along the Cochamo Trail leading up into a granite valley resembling Yosemite. This ride was nothing like our last derby experience, most of the steep trail following slippery clay trenches or rotting tree trunks. Unfortunately no photos of the main part of the trail as taking a picture on the back of a horse is hard enough on more level terrain. The horses amazed us with their ability to stay steady (mostly) and wade through two river crossings, but our canine companion impressed us the most. After 2 hours of following us and darting through the trees and horses hoofs we thought he would have had enough and head home but he was in for the long haul, only resting for lunch. Apparently he does this 4 times a week. Fit Mutt! Try getting Suzie to do that! (see dog tired picture above)

We stayed in a "rustic" refugio in the middle of the valley. Mum - you would have loved it! Pleasantly surprised to find our first reliable hot shower (powered by wood) in a while though! The family who run the refugio live there all year round, cut off in winter with only a dodgy cable car to cross the river (or to entertain visiting gringos). No one mentioned what a work out it was to get to the other side, but of course we found out for ourselves.

After 10 hours in the saddle we appreciated the swanky accom at the other end of the ride, complete with a four course meal, good company with a german and american couple and a wood fired sauna which was an adventure to find in the dark - aaaah!

Rather than heading back to Puerto Varas we decided to be adventurous and take the less travelled Southern route to reach our next destination, Chiloe. Our much thought out plan involved two ferries, four buses and a strong thumb but was thwarted by dodgy bus directions and left stranded in a one horse town. Luckily we got a lift back to civilisation in broken down bus which had also been stranded. They may have just been looking for extra muscle power in case they had to push it but the advantage of an unscheduled ride was one less hour on a gravel road. We were left to take the more conventional gringo route to the island of Chiloe by heading through Puerto Montt (no blog required) to catch the bus to Chiloe.

Kaz & Stu

Arse of the week: Rio Peulo tourist information (just wait for the bus at the white seats...hmmm)