Blogs from Puerto Montt, Los Lagos, Chile, South America - page 4

Santiago's day starts at 8am when the sun rises over the Andes Mountains. So when we got up to go to the airport at 7am the city was still sleeping. After checking in with the airline and avoiding paying hundreds of dollars of overweight fees we were ready to start our journey south. Our flight bound to Balmaceda had three scheduled stops before reaching our final destination. The view from the plane was amazing; the Andes, the Pacific, volcanoes and clouds. Before reaching the next to last stop, the pilot informed us that Aysen was covered in snow and that the airport was closed. Great! At least airlines down here are good and they have placed us in a four star hotel. Score! For now, we're enjoying Puerto Montt and waiting for our last leg of ... read more

January 30 to February 6, 2010 What a difference a week makes. I returned to ship from the “Machu Picchu Experience “ and woke Saturday morning cruising the Chilean coast en route to the Lake District and Chilean fjords. This part of the World is abundant in European influence…quite logical when one remembers that before the Panama Canal opened, this was the shipping lane for goods and people moving between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. It makes sense that many of these travellers would opt to remain in this gentle, abundant part of the world. First stop was Puerto Monte, Chile where we made a City tour before traveling about thirty miles to visit the village of Fruitiliar located on Lake Llanquihue, South America’s third-largest lake. We visited an open air museum which depicted the early ... read more

Puerto Montt seems to be the centre of a lot. Cruises around the cape. People going to Patagonia and Chiloe. Sunday was a quiet day. Could not bike. Shops apart from the Malls were closed. In the Malls they served good capuccino and torta so it felt like a Brabant sunday in Puerto Montt. After almost a day I found one libreria where they sold books. And it is strange if you find a book in an other language than Espanol. The Chileans do not seem to read a lot. Also papers are mostly the local lightweight free news and little ´real´papers. Lots of free walking dogs in the place. It doesn´t look too good but the locals do not matter and most of them have a sleepy character. Angelmo was nice to vist although every ... read more

Boottrip met de Navimag van Puerto Natales naar Puerto Montt. Langsheen orka's, walvissen en duizenden kleine eilandjes in de Pacifische oceaan (zuid chili) op een boot met het benedendek vol koeien.. Ideaal om helemaal te recupereren van onze 9 daagse bergtocht. Een paar hollanders die zich verveelden op de boot-trip hebben een fantastische Loveboat-versie (oude televisieserie) gemaakt van onze 4 dagen op de Navimag! Ziehier het filmpje.... read more

The Odd Couple - Puerto Varas and Puerto Montt Puerto Varas and Puerto Montt make unlikely neighbours. No more than twenty kilometres apart at the southern end of the Chilean lake district, these two port towns are strikingly different in character and appeal. Both towns owe their modern origins to the German colonisation of Chile in the 1850s. And both towns have monuments commemorating their European heritage. They also have a distinctive colonial architecture, conspicuously contrasting with the Spanish and Italian influences over the Andes in Argentina. The houses here look more like Alpine chalets than Mediterranean villas. There are pointed gothic frames, attic windows, expansive sloping tiled roofs, and neat picket fences and gates. The older buildings are made of wood and painted in bright eye-catching colours. While newer constructions may no longer be wooden, ... read more