36 Views of Volcan Osorno

OK, so it will not quite be thirty six, but Volcan Osorno does look pretty much like Mount Fuji to me and that way Mike and I don't have to try to edit down the photos. If you get bored, scroll through for the text. Another title for this entry could be "Grammie comes to visit and we go to Puerto Varas" Grammie Olsson arrived on Sunday, we picked her up at the Puerto Montt airport and whisked her away to Puerto Varas. You would have thought Grammie would have crashed after 20 hours travelling from Boston to NYC to Santiago to Puerto Montt. But those grand kids have a way of keeping everyone awake through everything. Monday Mike, Grammie, Berto & Gabi spent the day playing on the beach of Lago Llanquihue in Puerto Varas while Lisa learned the words for tow truck, flat tire and to not be distracted while driving. Hmmmm sounds like a good juncture for more spectacular views of Volcann Osorno from across the lake in Puerto Varas! Tuesday we drove out to Lago Todos los Santos, about an hour from Puerto Varas. When the NY Times asked foreign correspondents to name the places they would most like to return to, Lago Todos los Santos made the top 10. We took a boat out into the lake. The island in the middle is owned by a family of german descent. Talk about getting in before the real estate rush! Looking due east, the border with Argentina is about 20 miles away through a pass in the Andes. The water in the lake was turquoise from glacier wash and snow melt. Back on land we had time to pose for a few family shots (just couldn't get enough of that volcano!) You'll notice that we seem to be standing in a dry riverbed of volcanic rocks, like Chaiten. Right you are! The last time the volcano erupted was 1869. However in recent years the area by the lake has been flooded as mud slides and snow melt have redirected the river and inundated the campground. The Park's officials have bulldozed the mud into a channel for spring snow melt. All of which gave Roberto more hills to climb and jump upon. We hiked about the beach which gave me (Lisa) opportunities for yet another shot of Gabi in the backpack as foreground for beautiful scenery. And to continue the theme of Grammie and her boyfriend. Gabi fell asleep in the backpack so we took that as a sign to plop her in the car seat and go explore something else. The river that feeds out of Lago Todos los Santos has carved cataracts through the volcanic rock. (That would be rock from Volcan Osorno) Grammie watched Gabi while Mike, berto and I walked in to the Cascadas (waterfalls). Oh, and did we mention that you can see Volcan Osorno from the waterfalls? Not to worry, our next post will be from Valdivia, far away from Volcan Osorno.