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| Hike around Volcano Villarica |
This is our first trip with just the two us since Covid and we wanted to do a trip where we were spending the majority of the time hiking outdoors. So Shawna went to the Backroads website to see where they go during the winter and we landed on going to the Lake District of Chile.
Accommodations:
Tierra Chiloe - We had stayed in a Tierra hotel in Atacama and really enjoyed it. This hotel is located on Chiloe island, a beautiful hilly island with many smaller islands surrounding it. The hotel is very nice - modern architecture with gorgeous furnishings and a wonderful view of the bay. Our room was also nice with a big window to overlook the water. It is all inclusive so all meals, drinks and activities were included. We stayed here three nights.
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| Tierra Chiloe |
Hotel Awa - We stayed here five nights along Lake Llanquihue about 25k from Puerto Varas. Nice, modern hotel right on the lake. Our room was in a separate building only steps away from the main building - large room with views of the lake and the volcano, large balcony and a seating area. We had the bed and breakfast rate so ate breakfast here each morning - typical buffet with eggs made to order. A few nights we just had cheese and crackers and wine in our room for dinner, enjoying the views.
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| Hotel Awa |
Futangue Hotel and Spa - We stayed here for three nights near Lake Ranco - the hotel is located in a nature preserve tucked into a valley surrounded by mountains. The lodge is rustic but nice - we were in one of the smaller, cheaper rooms in the building next to the main lodge - so no great views but it was clean and comfortable. The hotel offers guided excursions but we did our own. The hotel also has its own restaurant and spa which we did use - the town nearby is really small so we had all of our meals here.
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| Futangue Hotel and Spa |
Maki Hotel - We originally had booked another place in Pucon but found out the rooms did not have air conditioning so we canceled last minute and booked this place instead - Keith was ecstatic because it was a cheaper place!! We stayed here for four nights. It's a small, modern hotel a few blocks away from the main restaurants and shops in town. When we checked in, they gave us a sheet of paper with evacuation instructions in case the volcano erupted - it said we had 5 minutes to leave the hotel and they would give us water, a snack and a face mask to take with us!! Then we looked out the window to see that steam was coming out of the top of the volcano!!! The room was small but clean and comfortable. Breakfast was included and had the usual items. In general, the staff was friendly - although we had an incident with the front desk person who was not happy that we took our towels out of the hotel to bring to the hot springs and said she would have to charge us for that - even though we brought them back and they were in great condition! They ended up not charging us!
Activities:
Getting There
We flew into Dallas on Thursday night and stayed at Keith's parents, working from their house on Friday. We left Friday evening, flying coach to Santiago - about a nine-hour flight. We managed to get some sleep on the plane and had decent legroom since we were in the 'main cabin extra' section. We had a five-hour layover in Santiago so we got a day pass to one of the lounges - the food in the lounge was not great but we did have comfy seats and wifi. We grabbed a quick bite at Starbucks before we boarded the domestic flight which then took us to Puerto Montt. From there, we rented a car and drove three hours to our hotel in Chiloe - part of this time was on a thirty-minute car ferry to get to the island. We arrived around 7:30 pm - a long day of travel!
During our first full day, we did a day tour of the area via boat. The hotel has its own boat which is nicely appointed and seats about 15 or so people. We rode in the bay, seeing dolphins, sea lions, and plenty of birds including some penguins. We stopped at a small island (Isla de Chelin) to see one of the churches (there are over 150 churches on Chiloe all built in a similar style) and the cemetery where they bury people with a small house-type structure on top of the grave. We also walked to a hilltop to see the views. We then boarded our boat again and went to another island where we docked in the bay. From there, we went kayaking for about an hour. Once aboard the boat again, we had lunch - a buffet of salad, potatoes, fish, and steak - along with some wine. Back at the hotel, we both had an amazing massage followed by a dip in their warm pool.
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| On the boat |
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| Church on Isla de Chenin |
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| Kayaking |
During the second full day, we drove two hours to the west coast of the island to Parque Tepuhueico and did a 7km hike called the Tre Colore hike. The first part was in thick bushes so thankfully we had gators on to protect our legs. Then the hike started to open up as we got close to the ocean - much of the hike from that point was along the cliffs with beautiful views of the ocean. Some of the hike was on sand making it a little challenging but not too difficult. When we got back to the parking area, the driver had a table set up with cookies, cheese, wine, and beer! Staying at fancy hotels does have its benefits! We then drove back, taking a nap along the way.
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| Tre Colore Hike |
Lake District - Lake Llanquihue
This is the second largest lake in Chile with towns surrounding the lake that have German architecture and influence as it was initially mostly settled by Germans. The lake was quite rough with plenty of waves so we never went on the lake itself. The area has several parks nearby and of course Volcano Orsono that stands out at over 8k feet. The main town on the lake is Puerto Varas - cute town with plenty of hotels and restaurants. We stayed in this area for five nights. While here, we did the following:
Alerce Andino National Park - This park is located about 1.5 hours from our hotel with the last 7km on a dirt road but manageable with a 4WD. The park is a rainforest with rivers and lakes - it is known for the alerce tree - there is one tree in the park that is over 3k years old. There are two areas of the park - we visited the one where you enter near Chaica and did the 12km hike to Saltos Rio Chaicas (the waterfall) and on to the first lake - Lake Chaiquenes, taking about three hours in total to do. We wanted to hike to the last lake but we ran out of time. The hike was gradual uphill to the falls and then a bit steeper after that to the lake. At one point, we had to cross a river by stepping over some rocks as there was not a bridge. While there were no majestic views, the hike was nice and the waterfall was beautiful. We did have to swat a few of those horrible, large horse flies at times - apparently, they are all over the Lake District this time of year.
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| Alerce Andino National Park |
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| Beer and pizza at Mesa Trooper |
Petrohue Waterfall - We walked around this area for about 30 minutes - a really nice waterfall that runs through the lava field of the nearby volcano.
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| Petrohue Waterfall |
Mirador La Picada - A great hike that is about 8km and took us about 4 hours to finish. We mostly walked up a river bed that brought us to beautiful views of the volcano and the Todo Los Santos lakes with all of the mountains that surround them. There were hardly any other people on the trail! The last part of the hike along the lake was a bit buggy with the horrible horse flies but the rest of the hike was really nice.
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| Mirador La Picada Hike |
Volcano Osorno - We lucked out with a really nice day to do this activity. Not a cloud in the sky and it was the warmest day so far. We drove to the activity center and then got lift tickets that took us up two chair lifts to the highest point. We walked around this area for about 30 min and then took the chair lift down to the first stop where we walked around for about 45 min - got to see one of the calderas. Really nice views from here.
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| Hike on Volcano Osorno |
Lake District - Lake Ranco
The lake is smaller and the area is a lot more mountainous than the previous lake. While here, we did all of our activities in Futangue Park which is where our hotel was located. In particular, we did the following two hikes:
Cumbre Cerro Mayo - This was a steep hike to the top of a mountain at about 1300 meters with amazing views of the lake and surrounding mountains. The hike was 6 km in total and took us three hours. The last part had about 800 steps to the top. It was definitely worth it as the views were amazing! The road to get to this hike is a bit rough so definitely need a 4x4 vehicle which we had.
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| Cumbre Cerro Mayo Hike |
Laguna Pichi - This was a really nice hike to a lake along a rushing river and then we hiked beyond the lake gaining some altitude but surrounded by a beautiful forest. While the views were not as spectacular on this hike, it was still great - we did 16 km in four hours. The only downside is that for part of the hike we were plagued by the stupid horse flies so had to do some swatting to keep them away!
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| Laguna Pichi |
After our hike on the second day, we each got an 80 min massage at the spa at the hotel - Shawna got the hot stone while Keith got a relaxation massage. Both were very good and very much needed!
Lake District - Lake Villerrica
We stayed in this area in the town of Pucon for four nights. While not as mountainous as the last place, it still was more mountainous than the first lake. There is a large volcano, Villarrica, that is near the town and is an active one with steam coming out of the top! There are signs everywhere to tell you what the evacuation route is in case it erupts! The town is cute with lots of restaurants, hotels, and shops. It was nice being in town so we could walk to dinner each night. While here, we did the following:
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| Pucon |
Termas Geometricas - There are several hot springs in the area and this one is one of the most popular ones. We had to drive about 1.5 hours to get there and it was worth it. There are 18 hot springs and two waterfalls nestled in a canyon with lush plants all around. It was very pretty and serene. We attempted to go in each pool but a few were too hot and one was way too cold! At each pool, they put what temperature the pool is supposed to be - ranging from 6 degrees celsius (the one cold pool) to 45 degrees celsius! It was not too crowded so we were able to enjoy the place. They offer changing rooms and lockers to store your stuff. We stayed here for about two hours and then had a pizza at the cafeteria which was quite good before we drove back to town.
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| Termas Geométricas |
Hike Around Volcano Villarrica - This hike was five miles and took 2.5 hours. Most was through a covered lush forest. The views at the end were great of the surrounding mountains and we got to walk on part of the lava field. Really enjoyable hike.
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| Hike around Volcano Villarica |
On our last day, we ended up taking it easy and just relaxing as Shawna was sick the night before so was still recovering the next day. That evening was New Year's Eve so we walked around the town, ate dinner and went to bed - no big celebration!
The flight home was uneventful. The connection in Santiago was good, and we transferred fast enough from DFW airport to Love Field that we jumped on an earlier Southwest flight to get home by noon.
Restaurants:
Chiloe
Tierra Chiloe - Since all of our meals were included we ate here each day. Breakfast was a small but nice buffet of the usual eggs and bacon, fruit, yogurt, and bread. We had lunch out with our activities. Dinner each night was a choice of three appetizers, three entrees, and a few desserts. The food was quite good!
Lake Llanquihue / Puerto Varas
Hotel Awa - We had dinner here a couple of nights. The restaurant is nice with a large balcony where you can sit outside when the weather is nice. The portions were large so we shared dishes the first night. The second night (on Christmas Eve) was a six-course tasting menu with wine pairing for about $75 per person which was a great deal! The food was much better the second night.
Mesa Tropera - A great, casual pizza and beer restaurant in Puerto Varas right on the lake with views of the volcano. We had a late lunch here after one of our hikes - we split a pizza which was tasty and each had a couple of beers.
Estragon Restaurant - Modern decor restaurant about halfway in between our hotel and town. We had lunch here one day - sharing an osso bucco dish and falafel. The food was just OK.
Petrohue Lodge - We stopped here for a couple of beers after a hike - had a nice deck with views of the lake!
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| Petrohue Lodge |
Casa Valdes - A nice restaurant in Puerto Varas known for its seafood. Rustic but nice interior with views of the lake. We shared shrimp in garlic sauce and salmon ceviche for appetizers and then split the Chilean sea bass along with potatoes and mushrooms for our entree. Everything was delicious and probably one of the best meals of the trip!
Volcano Osorno Cafe - We had a beer here after walking around the volcano, sitting out on the deck overlooking the lake below.
Restaurant Bordelago - We stopped here for a couple of beers and a light lunch of shrimp in spicy sauce and French fries. The food was just OK but they have a very nice large deck overlooking the lake with views of the volcano.
Lake Ranco - Futangue Park
Futangue Hotel and Spa - Given that the nearby town was small and didn't offer much, we had all of our meals at the hotel. Breakfast was included and it had the usual items. We skipped lunch each day and then had dinner - they offered a changing menu each day along with some constant items like pizza and sandwiches. One night they did a barbecue with a buffet. The food was pretty good. The restaurant has nice views of the mountains.
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| Bar-b-cue at Futangua Hotel and Spa |
Lake Villerrica - Pucon
Beerhouse Pucon - We stopped here for a beer and shared some French fries for lunch. The beer was OK but not the best.
Andiamo - A nice Italian restaurant - we had dinner here. We shared the shrimp pil pil and spaghetti bolognese with a mojito and a bottle of wine. The food was very good!
Caravan Resto Beer - We stopped here for a beer in the afternoon and sat outside. The beer was pretty good.
D'Toros - A steak restaurant - we had dinner here. We shared the shrimp pil pil (this time it was in a more mushroom-based sauce) and a three-meat plate (ribs, chicken, and steak). Little did we know, even though the waitress tried to explain this to us but it was in Spanish so we did not understand, that the meat plate came with a side of potatoes and a large salad. So we ordered a separate side of potatoes and a creamy mushroom dish. Needless to say, we had way too much food! We did our best to make a dent and ate until we couldn't anymore and still had lots left. Unfortunately, we couldn't take it with us. We also had a mojito and a bottle of wine. Everything was very tasty!
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| Food extravaganza at D'Toros |
Pizza Cala - We had lunch here, sharing a pizza and drinking a beer. The pizza was pretty tasty!
Raices - We had dinner here on New Year's Eve. We had not booked anything in advance so just walked around and went into a restaurant that had availability. All of the restaurants were offering a fixed menu which we were not excited about. Our meal included a drink, scallops for the appetizer, and lamb with risotto for an entree with a dessert. The food was just OK but the service was really good.
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| New Year's Eve on the beach in town |
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