Chilean Contrasts - Patagonia to Santiago

Sunday, 28 April, 2013

None of  our group wanted to leave the Cumbres Hotel this morning - it is gorgeous! It is a large building on a cliff overlooking Lake Llanguehui and on the edge of downtown Puerto Varas (population 32,000).  A coastal path in front of the hotel leads into the town centre. The lounge and restaurant areas are designed in posh ski lodge style with huge windows overlooking the lake and the active volcano Mr Osorno which is on the other side of the lake.  Quite breathtaking, even though the mountain was partially obscured by clouds most of the time.  As we had a plane to catch today there was no lingering at the hotel and we were on the road again right after breakfast.

The rather lovely Hotel Cumbres

Puerto Varas

Mt Osorno peaking through the clouds at sunrise - from Hotel Cumbres

 Before getting our flight to Santiago we visited the town of Puerto Montt, which is a fishing town on the Pacific coast - famous for salmon apparently. Puerto Montt is a rather depressing place and this impression is probably not helped by the cold, grey weather this morning.   We viewed the town and the port from a hilltop where the smoky atmosphere had us all coughing.  Electricity is very expensive in Chile and there is no natural gas so log fires are the most common method of warming homes - hence the smoke in the air.  A lot of the houses in this area were clad with shingles or corrugated iron painted in bright colours.  However the town did not look as though it was flourishing.  Down in the centre of town things we just as dreary - a black sand beach, shabby old buildings and heaps of stray dogs dozing the square.  The dogs are large but seemed very docile and being Sunday there were not many people out and about.

Colourful shingle clad houses do their bit to brighten up the town

Grey and dreary today - Puerto Montt

Our final stop in Puerto Montt was at the fish markets.  Here it seems an effort has been made to smarten up the appearance of the place - the wooden buildings that house the markets are quite attractive.  We had a wander through inspecting the fish - all kinds of shellfish,  salmon and other weird looking sea creatures that I couldn't identify.  The oddest fish of all was a giant moonfish, at least a metre in diameter and almost prehistoric looking.   The locals were pretty excited by it and our guide, Pato, told us that they are very rarely caught.  In the harbour below the wharf we saw three sea lions frolicking about - it seems that they live in the waters around the fishing boats.  Besides the fish market there were a few handicraft shops selling woollen garments and wooden knickknacks.

Puerto Montt Fish Market 

Puerto Montt harbour inlet outside the Fish Market

The sleeping dogs around the place had a few moments of excitement when a fire engine sped by with its siren going - they all leapt up and chased it down the street.  We did notice a few burnt out buildings as we drove through the town.  Most structures are wooden and I guess the open fires can hazardous.  There seems to be little in the way of maintenance  to anything in the town - buildings and streets are mostly in a poor state of repair.  Pato said that while the pace of life was more pleasant in the southern part of Chile, there is not as much money for infrastructure as there is in the Santiago region.  A lot of the local people look as though they have mixed Machupe and Spanish heritage.

Stray dogs at the Fish Market

The flight to Santiago was a little over an hour and we arrived to sunshine and much warmer temperatures than in Patagonia.  Santiago is in the narrow Central Valley of Chile, sandwiched between the Coastal Range and the Andes.  In contrast to the Patagonia which has high rainfall and is very green, Santiago is surrounded by a brown dusty landscape,  The river which runs through the city is almost dry at this time of year and the only time it flows significantly is during the spring thaw in the mountains.  Because of its location Santiago is constantly under a blanket of haze and smog.  It is a modern city of 7 million people and has a very prosperous air about it. The Sheraton San Cristobal where we stayed is on a hillside and has great views over the city.  From my room I have far reaching views of the city and the enormous mountains which seem to rise straight up from the outer suburbs - ski resorts only an hour away.  The porter told me that the sunrise over these mountains is very beautiful.  Pity about the smog.
This  afternoon we were able to have some leisure time after the long journey from Bariloche and then we had dinner together in the hotel.

My hotel room view - Santiago

The Andes through the smog - from my hotel room, Santiago