Puerto Montt-Frutillar

Puerto Montt was settled by German immigrants in the mid-19th century. I had a half day to spend before moving on to Frutillar just 50 km north, on the shore of Lago Llanquihue, facing Osorno volcano. I wanted to visit the fish markets at Angelmó (page in Spanish). So I left my backpack in storage and caught the bus.

Angelmó is separated by a narrow strait from the island of Tenglo (page in Spanish), where the large cross I saw the day before is located. There is a casual rowboat ferry to the island.

The cross was erected after a visit by the pope. There is a small chapel too. But mainly I wanted to have a panoramic view of the city and the hinterland. The day was clear and I could see Osorno in the distance. I was very lucky as it rains a lot in this region.

The island was not used for any other purpose and there were large clumps of yellow gorse.

At the fish market there were many stalls and restaurants on palafitos. It was extremely competitive with vendors trying to outshout each other. I had a small meal of crab which wasn't cheap but not horribly expensive either. It was served with an aji sauce containing tomatoes, cilantro (coriander), aji peppers, onions and water. I was to encounter cilantro often in Chile.

Back at the centre, I had some ice cream in a shopping centre, and walked through a department store. I noted that fruit was ridiculously cheap, for example, a 3 kg bunch of bananas sold for 500 pesos, about 1.25 USD at the time.

Municipal slogan: No confunda su ciudad con suciedad (don't mess up your city with rubbish).

The bus dropped me off at Frutillar Alto and I walked the 2 km downhill to Frutillar Bajo. There were pretty vistas from the roadside.

I found the Hospedaje Trayén. The room was ok but there was no hot water, so I reported that. It was still the off-season and quiet in the town.

Sunset was about 2030, so at about 2015 I took a walk to the esplanade and on the jetty. The beach was of dark volcanic sand. There were only two couples around besides me. It's not often you get to overnight in a place with a volcano at your doorstep, well, across the lake. The rays of the dying sun illuminated the snow cone and when the sun dropped below the horizon it was as if a switch had been snapped off. I was half expecting floodlights to come on at the volcano.

Dinner at the Club Alemán was excellent which was fortunate because I didn't have much choice as it looked like the only eatery open. I started with a cazuela de ave (chicken soup/stew) and for the main I had congrio frito (fried eel) with papas fritas (potato fries). It was filling because of the soup.