Lake District

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I was again saying goodbye to my friends and heading even more south - to the Lake District, a lovely region sprinkled with lakes and volcanoes. This time I traveled alone. I took an overnight bus to Puerto Montt (14 hrs from Santiago), at the southernmost point of this region, and the same day transferred to Puerto Varas, a small touristy town sitting on the edge of the largest lake in Chile, sharing the shore with the Volcan Osorno. I had three days to explore the oldest national park in Chile, rich in wildlife and home to the oldest standing trees in South America. I hired a local guide and with couple of horses we headed up the valley to the base of one of the volcanoes. I felt like a lazy gringo tourist - on a horse hiking on the road that I could have taken on my own. But the trip proved to be worthwhile. We walked through sheep pastures and soon we broke into the woods. From early on, it was apparent that the trail was made for short people, with branches often reaching way below by head, and I wondered when I would finally fall of the horse. Fortunately, the horse had an understanding for the lack of my skill and, as if it knew my fear, it always slowed down when we came close to an obstacle. Her name was Mielda, or Honey. Finally we came to the point where there was no way for the horses - we headed up the valley in the river gorge - to the waterfalls and a laguna. After a three-hour ride a swim in the lake was a welcomed treat! I made one major mistake, though. I failed to take off my underwear (not aware if the culture allowed it here or whether the cowboy would take it the wrong way), a mistake that I later paid for by absolutely damaged buttocks. 3 more hours on a running horse, with wet underpants, ouch!!! On the way down, we sampled local berries, and I completely forgot about my original apprehension of being a gringo here, and the pain in my private parts.

Second day I headed to the base of Volcan Osorno. The season was already over (most Chileans come here in January and early February) and thus I was awarded a striking solitude. The only people I met here were two Brazilian girls with a guide and a group of Czech climbers that were just coming from an expedition in Andes. On one side the volcano, and on the other one views on the Lago Todos Los Santos, an emerald-colored lake that serves as the crossing between Chile and Argentina. This is where Che and the chubby crossed over the mountains in the movie Motorcycle Diaries. The views were quite surreal - the massive body of the lake in the valley, snow on the top of the volcano, yet the land around me was absolutely arid, with small to no sign of life. True to my tradition, I later took a dive in the lake and washed the volcanic ash from my hair. There was lots of it!

The last day I wanted to take it easy, considering the state of my buttocks, and I took the boat across the lake - to a small village accessible only by a boat. What a change in vegetation! The land receives much more rain here, and the desert changes into a temperate rainforest. When I saw the forests, I imagined the mushrooms, flowers, and the monkeys that would be hiding inside, and I found myself climbing up the mountains, again. I had just four hours there and so I literally raced to the top. The speed and the fact I was looking more for the mushrooms and flowers then where the trail was made me get lost several times, but not for too long fortunately. I did not see the monkeys, but the mushrooms and stunningly high trees, many of them covered in white flowers (smelling like vanilla), were plentiful. Again, I did not meet a single person on the trail, which made the experience that much more intense and rewarding.

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