Fantastic Frutillar

Not without complications, we have arrived at the regatta venue, a large lake with a stunning volcano backdrop. It’s funny to me that both of our excellent sailing adventures have had iconic volcano backdrops (Fuji and now Osorno)!

Lessons learned for future travels: if the custom agent gives you something, even a tiny slip that looks like a credit card receipt, DO NOT THROW IT AWAY. Turns out that little slip is the Immigration Ticket and though the Customs guy failed to mention it, is required for rental cars, hotels, and departure. Luckily I found mine in a pocket after rifling thru my suitcase, but Alex is pretty sure his went into the trash along with the used bag tickets. He’s going to have to make an appointment with the local police to get a replacement. Grrr…

The venue itself is a small boat lot with a lovely rustic clubhouse with good food and drink available for Chilean Pisco Sours (similar, but not the same as the more common Peruvian Pisco Sour!), good local beers, empanadas and hot lunches. Launching will be an interesting game of Tetris with one small launch ramp and 55 boats to get in the water. The Practice Race is today, so we will get a test run!

The AirBnB is a super cute log cabin style chalet in the town of Frutillar Bajo (Lower Frutillar) which is a beach town on the lake. This part of Chile has strong German roots from the late 1800’s so our first meal included schnitzel and spaetzle, though I opted for a local specialty of Salmon on a bed of corn mash (like a slightly sweetened polenta) that was delicious!Read more