City of Volcanoes
“It was night for 24 hours. The skies were masked in smoke and the supermarkets were flooded with people buying water. I found a hill to enjoy the spectacle.”
Our tour guide for the day was Mauro, a friendly ecologist who also happened to be our hostel owner. His recollection of Volcano Calbuco’s eruption in 2015 managed to somehow sound both terrifying and nonchalant at once. But that attitude probably serves him well in Puerto Varas, a small Chilean lake town flanked by 2 active volcanoes, Calbuco and Osorno, that have had a profound impact on the region. In fact, the black ash from the eruption 4 years ago still covers the park trails and roads today (and still haven’t left our shoes a few weeks later!).
Volcano Osorno peering over the shores of Lake Llanquihué in Puerto Varas
As luck would have it, our final stop in Patagonia greeted us with brutal weather the day we visited Volcano Osorno, a short drive from Puerto Varas. Mauro drove us to the visitor’s center where we found the chair lift closed due to heavy winds and rain. So, we outfitted ourselves with rain gear head-to-toe and opted to hike up instead. Mother Nature won that day. Our vision was mostly blinded from the wind and the only sound we could hear was the machine gun recoil of rain pounding against our hoods. Luckily it was a short hike, and the clouds broke for a few minutes allowing us to catch some great (and very blurry) views of Osorno’s snow-capped summit.
Hiking up Volcano Osorno aka Mount Doom
We found better weather afterwards during our visit to the Petrohué Waterfalls, popular for its pristine waters. Honestly, they were nice but underwhelming after the false anticipation built from walking through the park with hoards of other tourists. The waterfalls deserve a quick visit at most. Afterwards, Mauro drove us back to the hostel, Compass del Sur, which has been our favorite hostel stay so far. It’s got an excellent morning spread, helpful staff, and a bed-and-breakfast atmosphere that tends to attract people who like cooking more than partying.
Crystal blue waters of Petrohué Waterfalls
The highlight of our time in Puerto Varas was rafting down the Petrohué River. We ended up being the only two people in the raft! Maybe the bad weather forecast scared everyone else off? Regardless, the skies were clear in the morning and we both took the front seats for a hour-long, private ride down Class 3 rapids. The rapids threw around our light raft with ease, sending us some major waves and airtime. And when we caught breaks in calmer waters, we stopped along some boulders for a few jumps into the river. Overall, a really fun experience. Our guides at Ko’Kayak were an experienced group of badass rafters and kayakers (and spoke excellent English), can’t recommend them enough.
Catching flight on and off the raft
And, unbelievably, that ends our time in Patagonia :( A bittersweet ending for sure, as we still have much to look forward to in South America. Never in my life did I spend as much time trekking or outdoors as I did in the last 3 weeks. Patagonia surpassed my expectations, and I can see why people gravitate towards the outdoors as not only a frequent activity but also an entire lifestyle. It’s brings a simple happiness, clarity of mind, and deep appreciation for the insanely beautiful world around us.
Next up, a “break” from nature (and for our bodies, ha) in Santiago.
