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Lago Llanquihue Lake, to Argentina
Oct. 30th - The most beautiful lake in the world
 The bus station was only a couple blocks
from our hotel, the Raysan. We were lucky that it wasn't
raining for the short walk. The bus trip went east of Puerto
Montt into the lake district. We picked up extra passengers in
Puerto Varas on the shore of Lago Llanquihue. This lake is one
of the most beautifully set in the world (Teddy Roosevelt even
said so in 1900). It is dominated by the snow capped Volcan
Osomo. The lake is Chile's largest. The bus continued into a
national park and stopped at Saltos del Petrohue, a waterfall
and then to Petrohue for our catamaran pickup. We visited this
area 4 years ago and fell in love with it. Another time we
want to come and stay at the hotel for a few days.
The catamaran ride was for over an hour across Lago Todos los
Santos to Peulla. We were blessed with a sunny day. The two
volcanoes were both free of clouds. This section of the Andes
is
 especially wet and receives rain 280 days a year. The boat
was big enough to have two decks, a gift shop and snack bar.
At Puella a large hotel is placed. There was a 2 hour stop for
lunch and a hike through the virgin southern rain forests. The
trees were huge and a native bamboo grew amongst huge ferns as
an undergrowth vegetation. We were surprised by an hour bus
ride to the next lake and ferry. Argentine customs awaited the
end of the ride. It took an hour to process all the passengers
from the boat. A short ferry ride on Lago Frias to a bus which
took us to yet another lake. Puerto Blest had a solitary hotel
and the ferry dock with no ferry waiting. The day was lots
longer than expected.
 Dusk was approaching as we cruised speedily on Lago Nahuel
Haupi a huge Argentine Lake in northern Patagonia. The
elevation changed the forests lining the lake. There were more
native conifers and no bamboo. It was dark as we boarded yet
another bus to take us to Bariloche, a large resort city. The
Hotel Las Infantes de Lara was the first stop. YEA. We had
managed last place through customs! It was 10 PM as we went
out for dinner. Argentina is still dirt cheap after the
collapse of their economy 3 years ago. We found a favorite
soda pop, Paso Toros at a little market. It is a carbonated
grapefruit soda. YUMMY.
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When we got to Puerto Montt I was
surprised at all the green because we came from several
weeks in the dust and desert. That day it poured and
that night the rain woke me up because I was not used to
it. We have not seen rain in almost two months. I went
running through the rain and it felt very good.
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Alpine resort...» |
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especially wet and receives rain 280 days a year. The boat
was big enough to have two decks, a gift shop and snack bar.
At Puella a large hotel is placed. There was a 2 hour stop for
lunch and a hike through the virgin southern rain forests. The
trees were huge and a native bamboo grew amongst huge ferns as
an undergrowth vegetation. We were surprised by an hour bus
ride to the next lake and ferry. Argentine customs awaited the
end of the ride. It took an hour to process all the passengers
from the boat. A short ferry ride on Lago Frias to a bus which
took us to yet another lake. Puerto Blest had a solitary hotel
and the ferry dock with no ferry waiting. The day was lots
longer than expected.
Dusk was approaching as we cruised speedily on Lago Nahuel
Haupi a huge Argentine Lake in northern Patagonia. The
elevation changed the forests lining the lake. There were more
native conifers and no bamboo. It was dark as we boarded yet
another bus to take us to Bariloche, a large resort city. The
Hotel Las Infantes de Lara was the first stop. YEA. We had
managed last place through customs! It was 10 PM as we went
out for dinner. Argentina is still dirt cheap after the
collapse of their economy 3 years ago. We found a favorite
soda pop, Paso Toros at a little market. It is a carbonated
grapefruit soda. YUMMY. 
