Across the Andes in Twelve Hours

Stillness
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Eduardo, our tour guide for the Argentine leg of the lake crossing trip was a jovial and very experienced man who loved his job. He was fluent in both English and Spanish and communicated everything in both languages because of the high number of Australian, English and American guests.

The bus took us to Puerto Panuelo where we boarded a catamaran for a one hour trip on Lago Nahuel Huapi to Puerto Blest. The weather had turned colder and more grey making photos from the outer top deck a harrowing experience. Todd made a few quick jaunts up while I stayed inside bundled up with una chocolate caliente. :) The scenery is absolutely gorgeous.

Forgotten Boat
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After docking at Puerto Blest, we took a short bus ride to Puerto Alegre where we boarded another boat for a twenty minute ride to Puerto Frias. Immigration forms were filled out and our passports collected for the departure from Argentina. In Puerto Frias, we were handed over to our Chilean guide, Nelly. The bus heads out for an approximately four kilometer ascent into the Andes followed by and eight kilometer descent on a narrow, windy road towards the quaint town of Peulla (population 120 persons, 10 cats and 4 dogs). The Andes forests are dense with a melange of trees, shrubs, flowering vines and ferns. In Peulla, we passed through Chilean customs and then had lunch at the Hotel Natura before a quick ride to the port to board the final catamaran. It was a one and a half hour excursion across the waters of Lago Todos los Santos to Petrohue. The weather had warmed enough to make sitting on the small top deck manageable and even pleasant (especially when tempered with a bottle of wine). From the lake, we caught glimpses of two volcanoes, Osorno and Puntiagudo. We also chatted up an older British couple, snapped lots of photos and breathed in the natural splendor.

Leg to Petrohue
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In Petrohue, we boarded the final bus to Puerto Varas. The group stopped for a short trip into the national park to view some amazing waterfalls and rapids. It was by the grace and kindness of the bus driver and the park ranger that Todd and I were able to pass because we did not have enough Chilean pesos to pay the three dollar entrance fee (damn the wine!). Once back on the bus, Todd put on his headphones and snoozed for most of the two hour ride. I wrote, took a few photos out the bus window and admired the vastness of Lago Llanquihue. We arrived in Puerto Varas around 7pm, bid a fond farewell to Nelly and fumbled our way around town for a few blocks until we found an atm that worked with Visa (thanks to a helpful French couple) and a city map where we could locate the hostel.

Chile or Texas?!
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Dragging our suitcases along, we ascended one steep block and then a few normal ones to the doorstep of Casa Azul. The hostel is run by a German family and English is predominantly spoken. The grounds are beautiful and complete with a koi pond, flowering shrubs, a bonsai garden and homages to Buddha. The house is painted blue with orange trim and there are lovely handmade wood furnishings throughout. It is immaculately clean, the bed is comfy and it is a bit more quiet than the hostel in Bariloche (no doubt due to the older and more European guests). We haul our bags upstairs, shower and head out to peruse the town and find some grub.

Charming British Couple
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Most of the restaurants and cafes we pass by are fairly empty and just don't inspire that "this is the place" response. We eventually happen upon a fish market and that is closed for the night, but lift our eyes to spy the adjoining restaurant above. There are several tables full of seemingly contented folks and the waiter comes out as we hover around and invites us in. Adelante! Come in! Welcome. This is the place. We started with a lovely Chilean Carmenere and a divine Palta Victoria (avocado stuffed with king crab). For entrees, Todd had a simple filet of trout cooked in butter and herbs with pure de papas y espinaca con crema and I delved into a seafood crepe stuffed with a medley of pescados y mariscos and smothered in spinach. For dessert, we went with the recommended fresh strawberries (a Chilean specialty) and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Victory was ours! After a leisurely dinner, we made our way back to the hostel and passed out shortly thereafter, exhausted from our twelve hour lake crossing trip and with full, happy bellies.

Puerto Petrohue
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The next day was rainy and cold in Puerto Varas, which made it difficult to wander about and see the town. This had been our main objective after securing a bus ticket to Santiago leaving that night at 8pm. We splurged on the semi-cama section and hoped for the best. We popped over to a café to wait out the sudden downpour with a doble espresso and a hot chocolate. Half an hour or so later, things had cleared up enough to make it by the post office and atm until the rain began again. This time we decided to jump in a taxi for a quick ride back to the hostel and hung out there for a while until we were ready to brave the elements again (inspired by our hunger). We set off to find a Frommer’s recommended restaurant for lunch, Merlin or Imperial 605 as it had recently changed hands, to no avail and of course, it started to rain again. Resigning ourselves to accept the inevitable wetness, we decided to walk back to the wonderful place we had discovered the night before.

Turquoise Waters at the National Park
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For a late lunch hour, El Mercado (at La Charmaca Inn) was completely packed. Our waiter from the night before saw us approach and came out to welcome us back. There happened to be one table available and he set it up for us. Todd was insistent on trying the sea urchin and we added mussels baked in parmesan to the appetizer list. The mussles were great and the sea urchin, well, it was definitely unusual. Our waiter divulged that it was a very difficult dish and that he didn’t like it at all. Todd told him that it was not his new favorite either, but that we had to try it. For the main course, we went for the king crab casserole and conger eel with a crab and oyster sauce. Both were fantastic – so much so, that we took more than half of the crab casserole along with an order of palta Victoria to go for the over night bus ride. We picked up some fresh strawberries and cherries, a bottle of wine and some crackers to accompany them.

Perro a la Parque
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We took our leave of Casa Azul around 7:30 to make it to the bus pickup area before 7:50. An extremely frustrating twenty minutes later, we manage to get a straight answer about where the bus will actually pick us up and the double decker Bus Norte appears just before 8pm. The cama suite section is on the lower level with only six very spacious seats, its own door and headphones for the movies played on small tv screens. We received a small dinner plate on the bus and saved our yummy crabness for the hostel in Santiago. Around 11:00, the attendant came to turn down our seats and make them into beds. Swank! Sleeping on an overnight bus – what a concept. Morning came swiftly as did our arrival into Santiago just a little before 9am. We caught a taxi at the bus station to El Patio Suiza, said hello, dropped out bags and set out to wander the town until we could check in around noon.