December 17-24, 2021—Our stops on the coast of Chile, Part 3--Puerto Montt

Puerto Montt. This area was settled first in 1853 by German immigrants sponsored by the German government, and the area still has a distinctively German feel, particularly out in the country, the result of waves of German immigrants that followed. While the town itself has a practical, tidy, workaday feel, it is a gateway to the beautiful lake district, highlighted by Lake Llanquihue, the second largest lake in Chile (332 sq. miles). We are now in Southern Chile, having left the high desert behind. The land is lush and green.

Our first stop, along the edge of Lake Llanguihue, was Puerto Varas, a charming small town named for the roses that were everywhere. Note the Bavarian-style Inn.
 

 






The small town of New Braunau outside of Puerto Vargas is home to the Museo Antonio Felner  (see https://www.museoaleman.cl (hope you can use the translate function on your browser). It was created by descendants of the original German settlers to  save the personal possessions and work tools that they brought with them.

 

 
 The grandson of the original family shows off tools at left, and home furnishings from the 1850s are at right.






The agriculture and machining skills of the immigrants helped establish this region as a center of both agriculture and industry.

 

Two active volcanoes can be viewed through the haze from Frutillar, another charming small town on Lake Llanguihue--that's Osorno on the left, and Calbuco on the right.
 

Another key industry more recently developed in the region is salmon. Here is a hatchery near New Braunau, where salmon are raised until fingerlings They are moved to the many small 'farms' all along the channels we took south from Puerto Montt (below).

Salmon Hatchery near Neu Braunau


Unattended Salmon Farm


Salmon farmers living on site





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
  Friday, December 10, Puerto Limon, Costa Rica   This city is the largest on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. With its emphasis on eco-tourism being so important to the economy, the guide expressed appreciation that tourists are beginning to return. Our excursion included a ride along the shore on a narrow-gauge open-air train—lots of undeveloped open space, punctuated by the occasional shack or two, which our guide said were either built by squatters or served as someone’s weekend escape on the beach.     While on our bus from Marina to our train ride through coastal jungle and lowlands, our tour guide pointed an area severely damaged by a 1991 7.7 magnitude earthquake https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Limon_earthquake . This hotel, destroyed by the quake, was never rebuilt.        The land nearby in the coastline photo below is now 3’ higher than before the earthquake. This swampy area used to be under 3' of water....
Read more
Image
 December 1-26, 2021, Part 3--Wine and such Oceania has a tagline-- The Finest Cuisine at Sea . I’m certain those who have sailed Silversea or Crystal (if they’re back sailing) might debate that statement, but Suzy or I can’t. Please note Suzy’s recent foodie blog entry. What I’d like to do is add a bit more detail about the food & wine experience.   Oceania’s 1,200 guest O-Class (Marina & Riviera) ships have four fine dining restaurants (Jacques <think Pepin>, Toscana, Polo and Red Ginger) where reservations are required. Our current San Antonio, Chile to Buenos Aires leg has only 410 guests so reservations have not been a problem. One of the nice things about any of these restaurants is there is never a surcharge.   There are, however, three special menus served only at La Reserve. Seating is very limited and they do have additional charges as these meals are prepared by Senior Executive Chef Laurent Trias and his staff and each cour...
Read more
Image
Saturday, December 25, 2021--Sailing the Chilean Fjords Merry Christmas! Many have asked us what Christmas is like when you are cruising. In fact, it’s really very pleasant. The crew goes all out to decorate the ship. In addition to the large tree on the atrium stairs, there must be 15 other trees around the ship. If there’s one live poinsettia, there are 200. And decorations are everywhere. It’s really very festive. And nearly everyone exchanges holiday greetings of some kind as you pass. The Christmas with masks we will remember a long time! We try to bring a little something to hang on our door, as do other guests. This year our suite is at the end of a hall with not too many other passengers, and our 'wreath' at right fell off the door the first night, so we just brought it inside for our cabin crew to enjoy. A gingerbread village graced the atrium (top) and one house was delivered to our suite (below), a little the worse for wear after a week. ...
Read more