Bit of a travel filled day today. I got up around 9ish and had breakfast. Jumped on the net and went off to video the view over Lake Llanquehue in Puerto Varas while the day was clear.
Noalys helped me to get money changed and provisions for my bus journey. The bus was a little basic but comfortable. The Green Mile in Spanish is actually a very entertaining watch....
The scenery we passed on the 7 hour bus ride is just idyllic. Mountains meet lakes with magnificent proud trees scattered between. A real joy to behold.
I met Jon and Carly from Brighton on the bus and we went for some food and a couple of Quilmes (Argentinian beer). The Hostel Inn in Bariloche is nice, clean and has excellent views over the lake to the mountains on the far side.
It´s about 70 steps to get up to reception but should keep me fit.
Today, we hire a car and drive to the black glacier. The sound of the ice cracking is supposed to resemble thunder. I´ll try and get it recorded for you guys. Can´t wait.....
Oh, I managed to lock myself in the toilet this morning. Great start to the day.
Showing posts with label Puerto Varas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Puerto Varas. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Day 20 - Puerto Varas
Last night, Rob and I went out for a bite to eat. We ended up going to Taberna Pirata on the lake front in Puerto Varas. We intended to stay for a couple of Cerveza`s and ended up chatting to the owner Noalys Hernandez who is 29 and originally from Cuba.
We were practicing our Spanish on her and before we knew it.... Buena Vista Social Club was playing in the background and we were settling down to a sumptuous dish of Cuban Pork and Rice.
The pork is cooked for 6 hours and has to be up there with the best food i´ve had on this trip. It was amazing. Noalys agreed to show us around Puerto Varas in the morning so Rob and I went off to the casino.
To say I had the anti midas touch was probably an understatement..... We put 10 pounds 50p in each and I sat down to play blackjack. at 3 pounds a hand, I lasted for exactly seven hands losing every single one. For those with a penchant for maths, you´ll figure out that I actually lost all of our money in seven hands..... Not to cut our losses, we put in another 5 pounds each. Rob then played and managed to win all of our money back... I decided to give gambling another go but this time opted for the Roulette table. I changed 10 pounds worth of chips and played two pounds a turn. After the fifth turn, of coming up without so much as a number near my bets, I again lost all my stake.... That was the end of my gambling night. Me and casino´s are not happy bedfellows.
This morning we met with Noalys in town and she gave us a bit of a tour.
I also purchased some hiking boots ahead of my trip up the Osorno Volcano. We then had lunch and Noalys introduced us to some authentic Chilean Empinadas (kind of like Cornish Pasties).
So, onto the volcano. The weather today was rubbish. It´s been the rainiest, foggiest day i´ve had since beginning my travels. Visibility is worse than poor..... How apt considering my decision to climb the volcano. The tour went ahead anyway and we took the hour long drive up to the ski centre midway up the impressive Osorno Volcano. We saw some Llamas.
I embarrassed myself royally on the minibus to my Spanish tour guide who asked me...
"How long have you been in Australia?"
to which I replied....
"tres anu´s." For three years... thinking I was being all clever speaking Spanish and that. It didn´t take me long by the way the tour guide was cracking up to realise that tres anu´s actually means three arses.... ano´s obviously being years.
When we got to the ski centre, it looked as though I wasn´t going to be able to climb as visibility was pretty poor, like a couple of metres only. I managed to pursuade one of the centre guides to let me walk up for 30mins. I pointed out i´d bought some new hiking boots today and needed to tell my friends i´d climbed a volcano... He agreed but said if I wasn´t back in 30mins he would send out a search party and I had to stick to the flagged route.
It didn´t matter to me, 30 minutes on the Osorno Volcano was such a gift for me. I´ve never experienced a thrill or a feeling quite like it. Setting off, I was literally the only person trekking the volcamno. I was walking off into a wilderness i´d never before experienced without the ability to see what was in front of me so every turn, every undulation presented a surprise.
It felt like I would imagine being on the moon would be like. The silence was audible and the landscape absolutely barren. I felt so priveliged for having been able to do that. It was a once in a lifetime experience.
I then got to see three secondary craters on the way back down the volcano. That was pretty impressive also.
Finally, I had some Murta which is a wild berry that grows in this part of Chile. They use it to make wine and to survive on Volcanos apparently. All in all, a great day even though the weather was against me. Tonight, we dine like kings at Noalys´restaurant. Can´t wait...
Speak to you next from Bariloche, Argentina....
Andy
 |
| From Andy´s Travels Mid April to Early May |
We were practicing our Spanish on her and before we knew it.... Buena Vista Social Club was playing in the background and we were settling down to a sumptuous dish of Cuban Pork and Rice.
 |
| From Andy´s Travels Mid April to Early May |
The pork is cooked for 6 hours and has to be up there with the best food i´ve had on this trip. It was amazing. Noalys agreed to show us around Puerto Varas in the morning so Rob and I went off to the casino.
To say I had the anti midas touch was probably an understatement..... We put 10 pounds 50p in each and I sat down to play blackjack. at 3 pounds a hand, I lasted for exactly seven hands losing every single one. For those with a penchant for maths, you´ll figure out that I actually lost all of our money in seven hands..... Not to cut our losses, we put in another 5 pounds each. Rob then played and managed to win all of our money back... I decided to give gambling another go but this time opted for the Roulette table. I changed 10 pounds worth of chips and played two pounds a turn. After the fifth turn, of coming up without so much as a number near my bets, I again lost all my stake.... That was the end of my gambling night. Me and casino´s are not happy bedfellows.
This morning we met with Noalys in town and she gave us a bit of a tour.
I also purchased some hiking boots ahead of my trip up the Osorno Volcano. We then had lunch and Noalys introduced us to some authentic Chilean Empinadas (kind of like Cornish Pasties).
So, onto the volcano. The weather today was rubbish. It´s been the rainiest, foggiest day i´ve had since beginning my travels. Visibility is worse than poor..... How apt considering my decision to climb the volcano. The tour went ahead anyway and we took the hour long drive up to the ski centre midway up the impressive Osorno Volcano. We saw some Llamas.
I embarrassed myself royally on the minibus to my Spanish tour guide who asked me...
"How long have you been in Australia?"
to which I replied....
"tres anu´s." For three years... thinking I was being all clever speaking Spanish and that. It didn´t take me long by the way the tour guide was cracking up to realise that tres anu´s actually means three arses.... ano´s obviously being years.
When we got to the ski centre, it looked as though I wasn´t going to be able to climb as visibility was pretty poor, like a couple of metres only. I managed to pursuade one of the centre guides to let me walk up for 30mins. I pointed out i´d bought some new hiking boots today and needed to tell my friends i´d climbed a volcano... He agreed but said if I wasn´t back in 30mins he would send out a search party and I had to stick to the flagged route.
It didn´t matter to me, 30 minutes on the Osorno Volcano was such a gift for me. I´ve never experienced a thrill or a feeling quite like it. Setting off, I was literally the only person trekking the volcamno. I was walking off into a wilderness i´d never before experienced without the ability to see what was in front of me so every turn, every undulation presented a surprise.
It felt like I would imagine being on the moon would be like. The silence was audible and the landscape absolutely barren. I felt so priveliged for having been able to do that. It was a once in a lifetime experience.
I then got to see three secondary craters on the way back down the volcano. That was pretty impressive also.
Finally, I had some Murta which is a wild berry that grows in this part of Chile. They use it to make wine and to survive on Volcanos apparently. All in all, a great day even though the weather was against me. Tonight, we dine like kings at Noalys´restaurant. Can´t wait...
Speak to you next from Bariloche, Argentina....
Andy
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Day 19 - Puerto Varas
I made my way down to Puerto Varas last night by coach. The coach was suprisingly comfortable. I opted for Premium class which is the top notch business. It meant I got a fully flat bed. I managed about 4 or 5 hours sleep which was pretty handy.
I woke up at about 6.15am and looked out of the window to see beautiful rolling countryside and the most amazing misty fog. There was about a metre gap between the ground and the start of the band of fog. It was hanging there like a banner. Never seen anything like it before. I tried to video it but I don´t think i did a good job.
Anyway, I got to Puerto Varas at about 8.15am. I got off the bus and looked around.
I saw dead bushes rolling past but that was about it. No sign of anything. I was tired, it was about 10 degrees and I wanted a shower.
So, stinky went off to seek comfort by the roadside and sure enough, a smiling Chilean man swung past in his taxi. I showed him the colour of my money and he agreed to take me to the hostel. About three laps of the city later,
and a very beautiful place it is too, the guy accepted defeat and asked a fellow cabbie where the address was.
I made it for the princely sum of 2 of her majesty´s finest pounds. Nice one.
Got in and I have to say the Compass Del Sur is a lovely bed and breakfast. I have my own room, as I still have the nagging cough going on and didn´t want to disturb anyone´s peaceful sleep. The receptionist is quite possibly the happiest person in the world. She literally skipped around the joint as she gave me the tour. This is actually a German influenced place so my conversational German has helped me a fair bit.
I met Rob from Brighton and we went to watch the FA Cup semi final between the mighty Everton and some bunch of wasters called Man Utd. Jay, you´re so lucky I don´t know you´re number off by heart otherwise you would have received a rude awakening of a phone call. Walking down into the town centre was a pleasure. Puerto Varas is situated on the south west corner of lake Llanquihue with a perfect view of the Osorno volcano and Calbuco volcano. Just stunning. I was staring in awe at the amazing sight. Tomorrow I climb Osorno and peer into a crater. Get in....
Plus, Man Utd crumbled to the mighty Toffees so the day has so far been a goodun. Rob and I are going out for a couple of beers this evening and have agreed to venture to the casino and spend a total of 10 pounds each.
Will tell you about it tomorrow.
Laters.
Andy
I woke up at about 6.15am and looked out of the window to see beautiful rolling countryside and the most amazing misty fog. There was about a metre gap between the ground and the start of the band of fog. It was hanging there like a banner. Never seen anything like it before. I tried to video it but I don´t think i did a good job.
Anyway, I got to Puerto Varas at about 8.15am. I got off the bus and looked around.
I saw dead bushes rolling past but that was about it. No sign of anything. I was tired, it was about 10 degrees and I wanted a shower.
So, stinky went off to seek comfort by the roadside and sure enough, a smiling Chilean man swung past in his taxi. I showed him the colour of my money and he agreed to take me to the hostel. About three laps of the city later,
and a very beautiful place it is too, the guy accepted defeat and asked a fellow cabbie where the address was.
I made it for the princely sum of 2 of her majesty´s finest pounds. Nice one.
Got in and I have to say the Compass Del Sur is a lovely bed and breakfast. I have my own room, as I still have the nagging cough going on and didn´t want to disturb anyone´s peaceful sleep. The receptionist is quite possibly the happiest person in the world. She literally skipped around the joint as she gave me the tour. This is actually a German influenced place so my conversational German has helped me a fair bit.
I met Rob from Brighton and we went to watch the FA Cup semi final between the mighty Everton and some bunch of wasters called Man Utd. Jay, you´re so lucky I don´t know you´re number off by heart otherwise you would have received a rude awakening of a phone call. Walking down into the town centre was a pleasure. Puerto Varas is situated on the south west corner of lake Llanquihue with a perfect view of the Osorno volcano and Calbuco volcano. Just stunning. I was staring in awe at the amazing sight. Tomorrow I climb Osorno and peer into a crater. Get in....
Plus, Man Utd crumbled to the mighty Toffees so the day has so far been a goodun. Rob and I are going out for a couple of beers this evening and have agreed to venture to the casino and spend a total of 10 pounds each.
Will tell you about it tomorrow.
Laters.
Andy
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