Recently logged fields.
Just had a pleasant chat with Dennis and Lavon – and even managed to pay for my own drink.
This morning’s walk was through an area that was (and is) logged. The poverty was apparent with the slightly unkempt, rundown look of things. It is a look reminiscent of the valleys and hollows around Blacksburg VA and southwest Virginia pre-development, gentrification and sprawl. The tired looking houses, the litter and such reveals a populace less concerned about appearances and more about feeding and housing oneself and family. A reminder of how fortunate we are to be able to afford to run off to a different corner of the world for a vacation.
Recently logged fields.
Sue examines a monkeypuzzle tree (Araucaria araucana).
Silhouette of a monkeypuzzle.
Walking through the countryside.
Cecilia and Olivier (I think) are standing in front of an alerce stump (southern red wood, Fitzroya cupressoides).
Janice and Russ examine the cart of a wooden railway used to log the forest.
The track of the wooden railway back into the woods.
A carpet of ferns covering the banks of a stream.
Russ, Olivier, and Jonathan.
Boarding the bus for the afternoon's adventure.
The afternoon walk actually started before noon at a private park. One of the approaches the Chilean government is experimenting with is providing alternatives to logging to encourage private landowners to preserve the native rainforest on the lands they own. So they allow for these private parks that are concessions of the local park service so that the landowners get a financial benefit leaving the forest intact rather than logging it.
This hike was down a canyon on the flanks of the Calbuco volcano. A road had been cut (a switch-back actually) that we hiked down to get to the floor of the canyon. The bus had left us at the trailhead. Charlie and Ingrid had distributed our bag lunches before we started down the incline.
It was obvious that the creation of the switchback had dislodged a lot of vegetation as the banks were fairly barren going down the road, but the rest of the canyon walls was a carpet of green.
Once we reached the bottom, we plunged into that green, walking up the canyon along the creek. The path was a changing experience walking through airy bamboo to ducking under shadowy canopies with a rivulet running down the path.
Towards the end, stairways built from logs that allowed a steep climb up the canyon beside the falls. The water from the glaciers on the volcano had the blue-green color that we saw yesterday.
The path down into the canyon.
A patch of Gunnera - the leaves on these plants were about 2 - 3 feet across.
Ourisia ruelloides - Ourisia is a member of the snapdragon family (Scrophulariaceae) and comprises …
… about 35 different species of mostly herbaceous plants that are distributed throughout the South American Andes (from Venezuela to Tierra del Fuego), in the mountains of New Zealand, and in alpine regions of Tasmania.
Barberry ( Berberis sp.).
Gunnera up close with flower stalk.
Stopping for lunch.
Navigating the ferns.
Examining the ferns.
The view across the creek.
Johan pausing to take in the view.
Blue water off the glacier.
The wooden stairs that lead to the top of the falls.
More woods at the top of the stairs.
Some of the falls.
Looking down the falls.
More falls.
The path out of the canyon.
The real Osorno makes an appearance.
Both volcanos, Osorno on the left, Calbuco on the right.
Another shot taken a few hundred more yards down the lakefront.
Dinner at Merlin's: Russ, Len, Denis, Sue, Sandy, and Lavon enjoying the local cuisine.
After reaching the falls, we then hiked back out of the canyon and returned to the hotel. We had the option of going to Puerto Montt to a fish market and crafts market, but Jonathan wanted to nap and do laundry, so that’s what we did. We’ll go into town to browse and get pesos from the local ATM. We have dinner reservations at a local restaurant, Merlin’s , that is supposed to be the best in Puerto Varas. A number of folks are going there tonight.
At dinner last night, we sat adjacent to a couple we met on the trail in the canyon yesterday. A nice Jewish couple from Chicago, they apparently were staying at our hotel and found our itinerary that day to their liking. Charlie and Ingrid posted our schedule in the hotel lobby daily. So this couple and her 80+ year old father figured out how to get to the canyon on their own.
It was a lively and enjoyable conversation – one of those anonymous sharings with fellow travelers that imposes no burdens on either party.
Afterwards, we walked along the lakeside looking at the stars as this was the first clear night we had so far. Eventually we ended up right below the hotel where the shore extended slight into the lake and we could get the streetlights behind us. We spotted the Southern Cross, Alpha- and Beta-Centauri.