It has been about a month since we embarked on the ship and the time is flying by. And soon we will be seeing the last of Chile. Over the last few days we visited both Puerto Montt, Chile and Castro, Chile. The last place we plan on visiting in Chile will be Punta Arenas and then it is on to Argentina.
On the 5th of February we went to Puerto Montt which is a gateway to the Andes mountains and the Patagonian fjords. It turns out that substantial numbers of German immigrants settled there several hundred years ago. So among other things we got to visit a (relentlessly) cute Alpine village (named Frutillar) which the town maintained in the traditional style.
Among other things, it featured Germanic restaurants and a German museum complex with several buildings, exhibits and gardens.
After spending some time in and around the museum grounds we then made our way to Puerto Varas, which as it turned out was a resort area that had rental cabins, big name hotels and beachfront properties. In other words it was a big vacation spot, in spite of the fact that it rains there—a lot. Nevertheless the lake district was definitely worth a look.
The next day it was off to do a walking tour of Castro Chile. The town is famous for it colorful houses and for its houses built on stilts—to shield the houses from high tide. It is also famous for its plethora of churches made with wood, of which Iglesia de San Francisco (which we visited) was one.
I should also mention that the church was aptly named inasmuch as the city, like San Francisco California, was extremely hilly. So the walking tour turned out to be quite a hike.
That said we will wind up in Punta Arenas on Monday, and then we take off for Ushuaia, Argentina where we expect to land on Wednesday.
JFB