Not quite everybody in the group, but most.
This day’s walk started out in the rain forest on Osorno’s
flank (Big image;
small), and occasional openings
in the forest cover gave us a good view of:
Osorno! Unfortunately, the forest brush was
so dark in comparison to the bright snow on the mountain that it doesn’t
show at all in the picture, and I cropped most of it out. Big image;
small.
We emerged from the forest onto a lahar,
all tumbled volcanic boulders, stones, gravel, and sand. That’s Olga
Scharninghausen and Stan Sussman there. Big image;
small.
I seem to be expert at taking pictures of people’s backs, even when I
don’t have the excuse that I’m in the rearguard of the march!
That’s Charlie Gauntt explaining the geological details to us, then
Sandy Mowrer, Maria Allo, Jan Sussman, Eileen Hultin, Russ Mowrer, and Olga.
Big image; small.
Bill Scharninghausen in the foreground, and in the back Olivier Jeannier
and Cecilia Horne. Also plenty of boulders. Big image;
small.
Olga, Bill, Eileen, Stan, Olivier, Russ, and Jan. Big image;
small.
A bus ride took us within a short walk to the falls of the River Petrohué in the Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park. Spectacular! It was cloudy in the park, but sunny on Osorno, which made getting simultaneous photos of the falls and the volcano almost impossible. Not that we didn’t try! Here, Eileen, Stan, and Jan are on one of the walkways giving access to great views of the falls. Big image; small.
That’s a lot of water! (Left thumbnail: big image,
small; middle thumbnail: big image,
small; right thumbnail: big image,
small.)
The walkways permitted lots of different and interesting views.
(Left thumbnail: big image, small;
middle thumbnail: big image, small;
right thumbnail: big image, small.)
Another bus ride and we were on the beautiful and idyllic farm and forest
land of Rodrigo and Barbara Escobar, proprietors
of Quinta del Lago, a Bed and Breakfast in
Los Riscos, outside Puerto Varas, that offers lots of other opportunities than merely living in
elegant surroundings. (Left thumbnail: big image,
small; right thumbnail: big image,
small.)
We walked through a narrow path in the forest, coming out again in the farmland, and here we’re
all resting and relaxing for a bit. Just right of center, you see Olga Scharninghausen
sharing a joke with Dario Urrutia, in the orange vest. It was he who had hacked
out the path through the forest, just using his machete, I believe; and he
was the one who gave us the afternoon’s guided tour. Big image,
small.
The Escobars’ properties have views onto both Llanquihue and Osorno.
And beautiful skies, of course! (Left thumbnail: big image,
small; right thumbnail: big image,
small.)
We walked back to the main house on the Escobars’ property, to sit down to a sumptuous
and delicious tea prepared by Barbara Escobar and Liliana Urrutia,
Dario’s wife. Most of us exclaimed over the
rich and fragrant “Miel de Ulmo”, honey from the blossoms of a tree
(Eucryphia cordifolia) native to the region.
Big image, small.
But not before stopping to admire the llamas in a barnyard. I especially like
the one with white forequarters, but brown in the rear. Even though I know better,
I sometimes think of these animals as some kind of strange herbivorous cross between
a giraffe and a bear.
Big image, small.
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