Andean Lakes Crossing

After kayaking, we ended up back in Puerto Varas (Chile) for a day. It was a beautiful lakeside town with a breathtaking view of Volcano Osorno. This is a picture of Volcano Osorno. In the winter people actually ski on the volcano (there is a chairlift going up one side of the volcano), although we were told it is not ideal for skiing as it is not "powdery" snow. Puerto Varas was a different place in that it was a German village in the Andes. There was a mix of German and Spanish food, language and architectural design. We really enjoyed this cottage country little town.

After spending the day in Puerto Varas, we went on an all day transfer to Bariloche (Argentina). Now when we say all day transfer, we are serious. We took a bus, a catamaran, another bus, a ferry, another bus, another ferry and then another bus. It was called the Cruce de Lagos and is one of the only ways to cross the Andes in this region between Chile and Argentina.

Here is a look at the scenery from the last ferry we were on. It was a fabulous trip until Wade and I were sitting outside enjoying the ride and I saw Wade take off like a bolt of lightning. In an instant I had become the toilet for a seagull flying above. It´s always nice to count on the man in your life. Especially when you look for empathy and all you get is roars of laughter. I never liked birds and this just confirms it. I´m still deciding on Wade.

We spent the next couple of days in Bariloche. Bariloche is the Whistler or Banff of Argentina. It was a charming place. Perhaps the most charming thing is that it is world famous for its chocolate. I was in complete heaven. Pretty much every 3rd store is a chocolate store. Better yet, they are chocolate mega superstores! Entire supermarket sized stores devoted to chocolate. If it wasn´t for the 10 lbs I gained in about 2 days from the chocolate, not to mention the ice cream, I would have thought I had died and gone to heaven.

As it was summer, we were not able to ski in Bariloche, however we did take the Gondola and then a chairlift up to one of the ski hills at Cerro Catedral. Here is a view from the chairlift.