Friday Nov. 23
I woke up with just enough time to grab some breakfast at the hostel. (Not every hostel has breakfast, but when they do, it’s the fantastic). I talked to Gloria, who worked at the hostel and was from the area, while I made my toast on hallulla with butter and marmalade. Right before breakfast was supposed to end, two British guys came down – Sam and Matt (don’t remember). They were fun to talk to as well. They had just graduated university and they were backpacking around South America, heading south on a boat to Patagonia so that they could do the W trail.
After breakfast, I checked out, paid and talked to Perla. She recommended that I check out Angelmo, a fish market, in Puerto Montt before heading up to Puerto Varas. She also gave me recommendations for how to get around, which was helpful.
I got a little lost on my way to Angelmo – I realized that the fish market should be down by the sea, and I seemed to be walking the opposite direction. I finally got to it after asking for directions. Right before the fish market, was an artisanal market (my favorite) where I noticed an excess of sheep themed souvenirs and items in wool. I got a sense for the prices – cheaper than San Pedro de Atacama, but not as cheap as the market I encountered in Bellavista. Overall, well priced.
The actual fish market was interesting – a lot of things that were… out in the open. Wheels of cheese and cups of ceviche in addition to the usual produce and fish. A little wary of food that had been sitting out for some time, I settled for salmon empanada and it was great. I found more artisanal stands with even better prices inside of the market itself. I even found bowls made of clay from Pomaire – for which I had been searching about a week in Santiago, I was excited. However, I knew that carrying pottery around for 3 days would be a bad idea, so I resolved to come back on the day I was leaving.
I spent a lot more time at the fish market than I anticipated, but it was fine with me because I had a free day. Susi was also flying in from Santiago, but not until later that day – arriving at 3. So I took my time, finding a bus to take me up to Puerto Varas. (All of these places were nearby in the region, accessible by regular buses that ran in the area.
I got to Puerto Varas by bus and found the hostel. It was in the perfect location – not in the center of town, but a short walk from it. And this hostel was incredible – organized, well kept, nice facilities, no shortage of bathrooms and a couch by the fire. The best hostel I had ever seen in my life (granted I had only been in them while here in Chile).
I headed back into town to walk around and get familiar with the town while waiting for Susi to arrive.
I loved Puerto Varas. It is a town on the lake, smaller than the city of Puerto Montt on the ocean, but nearby by. The architecture and culture was all shaped heavily by German immigrants – colorful wooden houses and churches line the shores of Lake Llanquihue. The lake is beautiful, surrounded by greenery, but what really took my breath away was the view of Volcán Osorno. It sat on the other side of the lake, but it was visible from everywhere we went in the lakes region. It was the perfect shape – sloping and conical, snowcapped, blue from a distance. Next to it sat Volcán Calbuco, also blue and snowcapped. I absolutely love the views of Osorno. As the weekend continued, we would see it from almost all vantage points, traveling around the lakes.
I waited for Susi while in the town, but it took a little longer for her to get there than I thought because she had taken a bus from the airport to Puerto Montt and not Puerto Varas. When she arrived, we returned back to the hostel, then back to the shores of the lake.
That night we did a little bit of grocery shopping, since we were cooking most of our meals, and headed back to the hostel. Eggs, mushrooms, zucchini squash, a little bit of chicken and some rice.
Met a guy named Johannes (Jojo for short) from Germany doing an apprenticeship. He was pretty cool.
Finished off that night by sitting on the couch by the fireplace. Incredible.
