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The South American Odyssey
  • The Craze for Travelling
  • The Craze for Travelling

The South American Odyssey

A 147-day adventure by The Craze for Travelling Read more
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    To the ferry harbor

    December 25, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    We walked all the way along the promenade, past the bus terminal, to the ferry harbor. Near the bus terminal, there were old steam engines displayed in the open area around. From the ferry terminal, we walked towards the viewpoints on the hill overlooking the coast. The views were amazing and we could only imagine how much better they would have been if it were sunny.Read more

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    Back to the hotel

    December 25, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    We walked around the town for a while more. We found a nice hotel with a pool on the top floor. The views were lovely but the restaurant was a bit expensive. We went around the town but couldn't find anything open so we just went back to the hotel and had our dinner and slept.Read more

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    Morning of planning

    December 26, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    For the 1st time in 3 days it wasn't raining when we had our breakfast and went out to research about the tours and car rentals in this area. We visited the tourist information center where we got some basic information about the transport and tour options. After that, we went to the bus terminal to the various tour companies we had seen there a day before. We gathered more information about the itineraries and the schedules.
    Overall, we found that since we were 4 of us, it would be cheaper to rent a car and drive to the places instead of paying per head to the tour operators.

    Then we decided to check out the car rental options but these were at the other end of the town. We managed to check Econorental but they didn't have any vehicles available for another 10 days. By the time we came out, the other 2 rental companies Europcar and West were closed for lunch and would open at 3 pm.
    We too decided to take this opportunity and have some food. I went and had a haircut and joined the others just when they had finished checking the other 2 companies. Even Europcar was fully booked but West had one small car available.

    We had a look and felt we would be fine with the size. We needed the vehicle for 5 days but were told that the office would be closed on 31st Dec and 1st Jan so we would have to drop it at the airport office which was 20 kms away. We decided to rent it for 7 days instead and return it to the city office near the hotels etc.
    We had been stuck already for 3 days in Puerto Montt so we decided to take the car immediately and head our somewhere. The car rental was from hour to hour i.e. We return the car same time as we take it.    Read more

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    Chiquihue beach

    December 26, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    We took the car at around 4 pm. They had a buffer time of +3 hours so we would have to return it before 7 pm on the 2nd Jan. The plan was to drive to Puerto Varas but we had given our clothes for washing and we had to collect them at 6 pm. So, we had 2 hours before we could start further so we decided to drive South along the coast for a while amd try and go to the island opposite the port.
    We could not find the place to take the ferry across and it was raining as well, so we decided to drive further for 30-40 minutes.
    The stop was at Chiquihue beach. It was a stone beach indicating it to be relatively new. We parked the car next to the beach and went for a walk.    Read more

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    Huge shells on the beach

    December 26, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    One special thing about the Chiquihue beach, was the size of the some of the shells. They were really big. Some of them were more than the size of the palm. We walked from one end of the beach to the other and found many interesting and colorful shells. After spending about 30 min at the beach, we went back to Puerto Montt, picked up our bags from the hotel, laundry from the cleaning shop just as it was about to close and then set off towards Puerto Varas.Read more

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    Puerto Varas

    December 26, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    We reached Puerto Varas just before 8 pm and parked near the waterfront. Its a lovely lakeside town with a lot of German immigrants. A lot of houses had Chilean and German flags in their courtyards. We walked along the promenade on the Lago Llanquihue. The lake is one of the biggest freshwater lake in South America and is about 850 sqkms.Read more

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    City of Roses

    December 26, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    The volcanoes Osorno and Cabulco are on the shores of the lake Llanquihue but it was a bit cloudy so we couldn't see either of them clearly.
    Puerto Varas is sometimes know as the city of roses and ot because obvious quite quickly why it was so. It had the feel of a bavarian village with beautiful wooden houses and clean and flower filled gardens.Read more

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    2Gruta de LourdesCorazón de Jesús church1Volcano Calbuco2Volcano Osorno

    Night at Puerto Varas

    December 26, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    We decided to spend the night at Puerto Varas. The hotels were quite expensive near the beach so we decided to check some of them away from the coast. On the way to one of them, we passed the Gruta de Lourdes just next to the main church, Corazón de Jesús. Its a small grotto in a park with the statue of Mary there. People had decorated it with flowers and lit candles. We couldn't really find any information board regarding the special significance of the place. The church was closed by the time we reached there but we found a nice cabaña just next to it at a decent price of 50000 CLP for the 4 of us. After checking in, we walked down to the town center again to fetch our car and later for dinner as well. The skies had cleared by then and we could see both the volcanoes along the lake shore.Read more

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    Off along Llanquihue lake

    December 27, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    We woke up around 10 am and had the breakfast at the cabaña. By the time we we ready to leave, it was 12:15 pm. We walked over to the church next door, spent some time there and then drove off from Puerto Varas. It was a nice and sunny day. There were few clouds in the sky and we could see the Osorno volcano in all its glory. We drove East along the South shore of the Llanquihue lake towards the volcano.Read more

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    Playa Ensenada

    December 27, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Our next stop was Playa Ensenada. Its a beach on the shores of the lake Llanquihue with views of the Osorno and the Puntiagudo volcanoes. By the time we reached there, Osorno was fully covered with clouds but we could see Puntiagudo a bit far on the horizon.Read more

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    Laguna Verde

    December 27, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    After the beach, we drove about 2 kms to the Laguna Verde at the base of the Osorno volcano. Near the parking lot, we saw the resident family of red foxes. There were 2 small ones and the mom and dad. They seemed very comfortable with the presence of humams around them.
    The walk to the lake was a short one of about 500 mts. The lake was a beautiful emerald green color due to minerales and micro organisms. It looked beautiful with the greenery around of a totally different shade.    Read more

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    Trek around Laguna Verde

    December 27, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    On the way back to the parking lot, there is a side walkway one can take for a short trek of about 1.5 kms. The path goes around to the other side of the Laguna Verde, then reaches a lookout point towards the Llanquihue lake and then passes through the lava fields of the Osorno volcano. The volcano is visible behind the lava fields. The trek loops back across the lava field to the Laguna Verde from where we walked back to the parking lot.Read more

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    Crater La Burbuja

    Crater La Burbuja

    December 27, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    After Laguna Verde, we continued further up the Osorno volcano. The sky was clear and we could see the volcano top clearly. The road up was a narrow track through the dense vegetation. Our 1st stop was the viewpoint for the Crater La Burbuja. From here we could see the crater and the Llanquihue lake.Read more

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    Mirador Bosque

    December 27, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    On the way up, there is a nice view point overlooking the Llanquihue lake. We stopped there for a while. We reached the top after driving for almost 12 kms along the volcano side. At the top there are 2 levels of chaircars that go almost all the way up to the top. Out of the 2,only one was functioning when we were there. The other one was closed due to the weather conditions. By now, it was very cloudy and windy near the base station. We took a the chaircar up and were informed that the last one dow would be at 6 pm. That gave is 1.5 hrs at the top.Read more

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    Top of Osorno

    December 27, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    At the end of the 1st chaircar, there was still snow there. It was quite windy and cold. We walked around and played on the snow for a while.

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    Osorno volcanoCrater Rojo

    Crater Rojo

    December 27, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    After spending some time on the snow, we walked to the ridge nearby. From the ridge, there were amazing views of the Osorno volcano (now totally covered by clouds), the valley beyond and the Llanquihue lake. The Red Crater (Crater Rojo) is just below the ridge and looked more like a psuedo volcano. The soil around is rich in iron and copper, giving it a reddish shade that gave the crater its name.Read more

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    Food time

    December 27, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    We drove down from Osorno and started looking for a place to eat. We had started late in the morning and to avoid missing the last chaircars up to Osorno, we had skipped the meal and decided to go for it when we come down. Luckily, just at the base of the volcano, we found a nice and cozy, small restaurant overlooking a lovely emerald green lake. We had our lunch here and then drove to Ensenada village, nearby, to find a place to stay.Read more

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    Reception of the cabañasSitout of our cabinOur cabañaThe living room

    Cabaña Barlovento

    December 27, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    At Ensenada, just at the start of the village, right on the shores of the Llanquihue lake, we found a lovely place to stay. Cabañas Barlovento had a very nice and cozy feel. Everything was made from wood. Each cabaña had a parking space outside and the cost for a cabaña for 4 people was 50000 CLP. The place was very neat and clean. It had its own fireplace and a sitout. There was a kitchen to cook as well.
    By now, it had started raining and the whole sky was dark and gray.    Read more

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    Nice and cozy evening

    December 27, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    It was almost 9 pm and starting to turn dark. The girls went to the grocery shop nearby to buy some food stuff and drinks while Hristo and I got busy lighting up the fireplace. After struggling with the wet wood for a while, we managed to get a roaring fire go by the time the girls were back. After that, we cooked some pasta and had some drinks and then settled down on the couches in the living room for some nice movies on the cable TV. We didn't manage to switch the language to English so we saw the movies in Spanish 😁😁
    It was a fantastic evening in a cottage by the lake shore with the fireplace heating up the whole cabin in the constant pitter patter of the rain falling on the roof.    Read more