Longing for sun in the Lake District

Next Stop: Puerto Varas, Chile and Bariloche, Argentina (April16-21, 2011). We bused from Puerto Natales to Punta Arenas, then caught a flight to Puerto Montt and then a quick cab ride to Puerto Varas to explore the lake district of Chile.

Saw: Unfortunately, the weather was cloudy and rainy and we didn´t see much of anything, including the main attraction of this area, the several volcanoes that loom over the picturesque lakeside towns. In truth, I should say that we actually did catch a glimpse of Volcan Osorno, for about 10 minutes at sunset one day. We also spent a relaxing day in Frutillar, a German influenced town, reading and sipping coffee in a nice cafe.

 

Cafe in Frutillar

Piano skills?

After waiting out the rain and clouds for several days with no respite, we decided to move on to Bariloche, Argentina for hopes of better weather in the Argentinian lake district. No such luck. The town of Bariloche itself was really nice, it had a Swiss alps feel. The whole lake district is definitely a place I´d like to go back to in the future, when the weather is more cooperative. Not letting the weather get us down, Erin and I decided to rent bikes to cycle the 25km Circuito Chico, the short circuit of the lake district. It was a hard ride, similar to biking in the Gatineau hills, with heart pounding uphill slogs and free-wheeling downhill thrills.

Plaza in Bariloche

One of the views on the Circuito Chico

Stayed: Casa Margouya in Puerto Varas, Chile. This was a really sweet little hostel with super friendly staff and excellent breakfast that changed daily (a welcome surprise!).

Hostel-Inn Bariloche in Bariloche, Argentina. A good hostel with great views of the lake in Bariloche and it provides free breakfast and dinner.

Casa Margouya, Puerto Varas, Chile

Ate: What do you do when the weather is bad? EAT! We had some awesome seafood at Donde El Gordito in Puerto Varas, Chile.

Avocado stuffed with crab meat (REAL crab meat)

Congria (eel) with a shrimp sauce

Awesome coffee Frutillar

Kuchen (a kind of German custard pie) in Frutillar

Of course, after a few days of seafood in Chile, we had to go back to steak in Argentina...another good find was Parilla de Tony in Bariloche. Sorry, no photo...I was hungry!