Puerto Montt

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After a day and a half at sea Discovery docked at Puerto Montt for 6 hours. Instead of taking the excursions offered by the ship we made our own way into town. An easy decision due to the cost of the excursions and the fact that we will be passing back through Puerto Montt on the way back up. It was also a perfect opportunity to do some research into the activities and places around the town. After all it is one of the gateways to the Chilean lake district!

After a quick look at the tourist office and excursions on offer we made our way down to the concrete jetty from where it is possible to catch a local boat over the water to Isla Tenglo. We had heard about the views and the local restaurants offering local delicacies. After the short journey to the Island we walked from the water's edge and into the island's village, expecting to stumble across the restaurant. After meandering through the village we arrived at another beach. Here we found local islanders building a sea-front house, a father and son building a boat while the mother was running a makeshift food shack. So we decided to give up on the restaurant and ate by the beach. She didn't quite serve the rumoured delicacies we were hunting out but she made for an interesting hour!

Before we returned to the ship we climbed the hill next to the makeshift wooden jetty. As we climbed to reach the summit the grassy verges slowly disappeared to reveal a vast expanse of pure blue ocean, lakes and snow-capped peaks. Quite a contradicting scene as it was around 27 degrees!

After the descent we waited for the return boat, slightly concerned as the tide had come in and the wooden jetty had 'drowned'. To ensuring another boat would be along to return us in time to get back onto the ship, we asked the kind people at the restaurant behind us if there were more boats. So there it was, the restaurant we had been looking for, in front of us, at the jetty where we had first disembarked.........another triumph for team gringo!!

While we peered over the hilltop of Isla Tenglo we realised that we had already spent 7 days in Chile. Although we have just over seven months to go, we had that feeling that it will just fly by. We also know that seven months just isn't enough to take in all that South America has to throw at you.

Full Photos on Flickr

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