Feb 23 - Puerto Montt, Chile

Sam is in Puerto Montt, Chile today. He will be taking an excursion to see some of the country side and other towns/cities in the area. There was a double rainbow this morning that Sam viewed from his balcony.

Sam noticed this door for one of the cabins down the hall. He thinks Tinkerbell is on the cruise. He will keep watching for her!

 

Before going out on the excursion, Sam had to put on his raingear. It has been raining off and on and more rain is expected. Even though it looks like a plastic bag on his head, he hopes that you can see there is an opening for his face so he can see and breathe.

Puerto Montt, Chile is second largest salmon processing area in the world. The salmon comes from farms not from fishing in the ocean. Tourism is also a main source of income for the region. Puerto Montt is the capital of the 10^th region. It was settled by 60,000 German families as part of an immigration program that was established by the Chilean government. Also, Puerto Montt is the southern-most point of the Pan American highway. You can drive from Puerto Montt all the way to Alaska!

Another town that Sam visited is Puerto Varas. It is located about 20 miles north and is on the shore of the largest fresh water lake in Chile, Lake Llanquihue. It is formed by glaciers up in the Andes Mountains.

These areas of Chile used to have large dairy farms. They could not compete on the international market, trading dairy products, so are mainly now just for local consumption. There is a lot of industry coming to the area with less land used for farming.

The last town that Sam visited today is Frutillar, Chile. This was another of the towns that was settled by German families. Much of the architecture in the area reflects the style of buildings you might see in Germany or Bavaria. This town decided that they wanted to be a center for the arts. They built a beautiful theatre where concerts and shows can be performed. There was a museum that housed items from the early German settlers. Sam was interested in an old side-saddle and a wooden rocking horse.

 

  On the way back to the ship, the guide, Esteban, shared some information about his country. He said this part of Chile is in what they call the central valleys. On the east are the Andes mountains and on the west by the coastal mountains. This is the breadbasket area of Chile. Washington and Fuji apples are grown here and marketed to the world. From here to the south, Chile consists of as many as 3000 islands. Most of the people in the area are descendants of the Amapuche (spelling?)people that were the earliest inhabitants. It is unsure whether they came from the Polynesian islands or across the Bering Strait. It is probably a combination of the two. When the Spanish first came to this area in the 1500s, they were looking for a city made of gold. When they didn’t find it, they left. There is no evidence here of a Spanish settlement. They get a lot of rain each year, averaging 3 meters. The lake measures 150 square kilometers and at the deepest is nearly 1000 feet or 300 meters. Many of the homes are heated by a wood burning stove. The stove is considered the “soul” of the house. It is set away from the wall so that families can gather around the stove.