After only one Full day in Bariloche, we boarded a bus to Puerto Varas, Chile. We traveled through a mountain pass over the Andes before stopping at the Chilean customs. Customs was strict about searching for certain food items, and anyone with dried snack fruit had their food confiscated. After a long wait while everyone’s bags were inspected, we got back on the bus and continued. Re-entry into Argentina the following week was much easier.
We had enough time that first afternoon in Puerto Varas to take a walk along the lakeside. We walked up a nearby hill for a better view, passing through a neighborhood where some care had been taken in many residents’ gardens. I later learned this city is known as the “Rose Capital” of Chile, and many neighborhood houses had rose bushes of various varieties. Leaving the streets, we continued up some trails until we got to the top of the hill, where there were the remains of a defunct zip-line amusement park.
Tiles on the Puerto Varas boardwalk
Iglesia del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus (Church of Sacred Heart of Jesus), Puerto Varas, Chile
The next day was a “free day” in the tour’s itinerary. The weather was supposed to be fairly cloudy obscuring views for some of the hiking and sightseeing options. Many of us between the two GAP Patagonia tours signed up for a day trip to Chiloe Island, the second biggest island in Chile, which was to involve a boat tour of a penguin colony. Given the choice of hiking in miserable weather or seeing penguins, most people opted for the penguins. After a 45-minute drive, we boarded a ferry to take us to the island. Our first stop on the island was the town square of Chacao, where there was many examples of local architecture of using wood shingles painted in bright colors.
We then drove to the town of Ancud, where we stopped for a short visit to see some local museums. The town square was filled with political posters for the elections that were coming up. Apparently, the town square was one of the few places candidates were allowed to post signs. The square also had a bunch of small mermaid-like statues commemorating local folk-lore. Unfortunately I have forgotten the story after a year.
When we re-boarded the mini-bus we drove to the seaside community where we were hoping to start the boat tour of the penguin colony, but the wind was whipping up the waves and it was not safe to launch the small boats that would take us to the smaller islands where the colony was located. So we went into the only restaurant for lunch hoping the weather would improve by the time we were done. After a long lunch, the sky had cleared some, but the waves were too strong to launch the boats. We walked up and down the beach past the local fishing community for a little sightseeing before returning to the bus for the trip back.
On the way back to Puerto Varas, we stopped at the city of Puerto Montt. We walked through the local fish market, and there were also a string of shops selling arts and crafts and other tourist fare. Puerto Varas was one of the stops where the extra day had been cut (explained in previous post), and so there was not the opportunity to explore elsewhere in this region before continuing to the next stop in southern Chile.
Related Links:
- Maps showing locations of stops on this tour: Google Maps, or Google Earth.
- Index to More Pictures and posts from stops on this tour.
- More pictures from this stop on the tour.
- More blog posts from this Patagonia Tour
great pics
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