Cheong day!!!!!

Jamie, Alex, a volcano and our new friend
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we headed off down the highway in an excited mood because this was the day we had to pick up Jamie from the airport in Puerto montt.  She is joining for the next three weeks of our trip, this gives us an excuse not to use the tent and treat ourselves more.  we picked her up no probs and drove to puerto varas on lago llanqhihue (apparently the "next Pucon").  It was all a bit grey du to low cloud and everywhere being shut, so not a lot like Pucon.  next day we went on a "tour pr la zona" - 30 quid in the tourist brochures but free to those with their own 4x4.  We looked at some waterfalls (salto de Petrohue) and a lake (Lago Petrohue) met a nice labrador whilst eating our picnic, drove partway up Volcan Osorno and had a hot chocolate in a ski chalet whilst wearing our shorts -a little surreal - and saw a terrorist getting off the chairlift.  Then we stopped for ONCES and bella vista near ensenada.  Onces are a chilean tradition, they are not elevenses as the name suggests but afternoon tea.  we expected to have a coffee and a slice of cake.  The waitress just said "Onces?" we said yes and she asked for how many and we looked at each other and said "tres".  she went off and came back with soooo much food we didn´t eat again that day.  two large slices of cake each, one walnut, one raspberry, four slices of bread each, jam, cream, butter, salami, cheese, potted salmon, coleslaw, egg and as much hot chocolate as we could drink - which after all that food wasn´t much.  the experience was all the better for the place having a pet puma, lots of dogs and llamas and ñandus (a sort of ostrich) and a zip line for us to play on.

a "tour pr la zona" - 30 quid in the tourist brochures but free to those with their own 4x4.