Southern Exposure

Sunday, March 15

Our hostel room was very comfy and pleasant so despite our best efforts to be on the road early, we lingered a bit enjoying our breakfast of fresh berries purchased yesterday and finally rolled out around 10 am.

We drove to Park Nacional Puyehue via a scenic road along Lago Puyehue and stopped at the resort of Aquas Calientes at the entrance to the park in order to finally try the hot springs that we have been missing out on despite many opportunities on this trip. We checked out the outdoor pool by the river but decided it would be too much trouble trying to change into bathing suites and disturb the peace and quiet that groups of old people were enjoying at the pool, so we opted for a private double tina (two bath tubs) for a 45 minute soak. The tubs had regular facets but we made sure to confirm that the water we were soaking in was thermal, and after adding salt and herbs to our tubs we immersed ourselves in an hour of steamy relaxation.

After our thermal session we got on the bikes and drove into the park for 20 km along a dirt road in a temperate rainforest passing a ranger station from where we were able to ride up to the crater of Volcano Raihuen. The trail had spectacular views of the cordillera and it felt very strange to be riding along the ridge of the volcano, amongst ski lifts and volcanic rocks.

We left the park around 2:30 pm, and found an unexpected dirt road turn from Entre Lagos to Ensenada, which was the direction we were planning on going, driving around the north side of Lago Llanquihue. We passed through small villages and some attractive farmland with rolling meadows. After a couple of hours we reached a paved road that curved around the west side of the lake with views of the majestic Volcano Osorno in the distance.

Our enjoyment of the paved road didn’t last long and we were soon back on the dirt road heading along the lake to Ensenada, a small lake-shore village. Matt was struggling with a splitting headache and we discussed staying here for the night in one of the cute lake bungalos, but decided to press on to Puerto Montt for the sake of making time.

Thankfully the road was paved and continued along the lake with beautiful views of the volcano. We made it to Puerto Montt around 7 pm and found the town to be pretty grim. After settling in a hotel in the center, we went to find dinner and realized that our clocks were an hour ahead of the local time. That was good news for the sleepy heads like us. Back at the hotel, we watched the second World Superbike race, which again to our surprise was won by the American rookie Ben Spies.