PUERTO MONTT, CHILE

Wow! There's SO much to tell about our fabulous day with Liliana, our personal guide for the day (thank you Petti & Rich!).This beautiful city of 240,000 is located in the Lake District of south-central Chile and is built on 4 hills and 5 levels. The port was completely destroyed in an earthquake in 1960 so not much of the original architecture is left. It is an important fishing center and the seafood is famous -- our ship purchased fresh salmon and hake for a BBQ on deck, and it was delicious! Pope John Paul II came to Puerto Montt in 1987, and there are two large crosses and a small museum commemorating his visit.

We drove through the lush green countryside around Lake Llanquihue, Chile's second largest lake -- it reminded us of Lake Tahoe -- on our way to the Petrohue Falls. The area was created by lava from the snow capped volcano Mount Osorno, towering majestically in the distance (it last erupted in 1835), and Mt. Calbuco which erupted in 1961. Because the water was quite low at this time, we were able to see the lava formations clearly. Mt. Osorno is 8,500 feet high and has a ski resort for winter recreation.

Our destination was to visit the village of Frutillar which means wild strawberries, on the other side of the lake. Again we passed large pastures of sheep and cattle -- 70% of Chile's milk production comes from this area -- stopping for a delicious BBQ lunch. Chileans have their large meal in the middle of the day, and Liliana personally chose portions of lamb, pork and beef right off of the rotisserie for our lunch, along with a very good sauvignon blanc. The typical dish in Chile is curanto, a mix of mussels, smoked pork, chicken, sausage, potatoes and vegetables.

We drove through the village of Puerto Varas, City of Roses, and admired the beautiful roses blooming everywhere on the medians, in the parks and in people's gardens. This is a popular resort town and was bustling with tourists. The beaches were very crowded on this sunny Sunday afternoon.

We continued on to the quaint German village of Fusillar. German colonists first came to Puerto Montt in 1852 and they contributed much to the development of commerce and industry. Their influence is visible in the Bavarian style architecture, German surnames and language, and its famous sausages, cakes and pastries. "Kuchen" signs posted on many shops advertise these delicacies. They also have excellent schools in the area, which are brightly painted modern looking buildings.

There are two large national parks close by, popular with hikers for their natural beauty. All too soon the day was over, with just half an hour to visit the large handicraft market -- and certainly no time to bargain! We hastily bid our new friend Good Bye and raced to the tender, the second last people to arrive! We'd love to come back for another visit to this pretty city.