our first night in puerto varas was spent at the casa azul which came with a japanese garden...
a weimeraner...
and carp!
in the bathroom was this sign above the toilet. the girl at the front desk couldn't say whether they were serious
then we moved to erika's...
and took a bright and cheerful corner room that was spotlessly clean
erika served up coffee, kuchen and great conversation
then we went for broke... our own cabana!
with a living room,
3 bedrooms, the other two smaller bedrooms, we used as walk-in closets
a kitchen where we ”prepared“ most of our meals, like this store-bought roasted chicken
a view of volcan osorno from the hill
a pretty park next to the church
the church looked like something from a fairytale
the street of the lazy dogs
as the sun was setting, the sky had a pink glow
everywhere you looked there were beautiful views of the lake llanquihue
and a beach full of sun-worshipers
erik spent a day “canyoning”
an austrian friend from the trip.
and his belgian friend.
eveyone getting ready - wow it was gorgeous. what a hot hike up there in the wetsuits, though.
here we go!
and they're off. this was just a shorter jump, but great fun.
woohoo...
wait, we slide down this on ourr backsides?
yes we do!
Tomas had a great time.
or updside down, if you like...
we rented the dustiest car we could find to explore the sights around the lake
volcan osorno looming ahead
the grand ensenada hotel
had a strange collection of things old outside...
and inside
the friendly staff gave us a tour of the hotel
then it was time to sit down to a kuchen a fruit juice
before leaving, had to try out the swing
at the petrohue park, cross the bridge...
and a short hike takes you to pools of water...
then waterfalls
picknicked on a deserted black sand beach with amazing views
then a gorgeous drive along the bottom of the volcano
for breathtaking views of the lake
there was a ski lift taking folks up
can you see the duck?
uh oh, cows on the road
in the town of las cascadas, there was another beautiful black sand beach, also deserted
lovely scenery everywhere
a cute house that, by the way, sells eggs
we went in search of more waterfalls
crossed bridges
and logs
but all we found were giant tarantulas wanting to feed on erik's toe
passed through a couple of colonial towns with german architecture
then saw a fantastic sunset on our drive back
then dinner at la olla was the perfect ending to a lovely day
there were also lazy dogs at the beach
all the houses had beautiful gardens
stopped to smell the roses
that were everywhere
this friendly snack man had the best mote (a refreshing drink made from sun-dried peaches)
a small creative art/antiques museum created by pable fierro
pablo fierro
puerto varas is doing well. everywhere we looked there were huge fancy hotels under construction
