Are we in the Black Forest?

Casa Perla is a somewhat dated place, with lots of oldy worldy trinkets on the walls. We don't have too much time to appreciate the character as we have a bus to get to get up to Puerto Varas. Have the usual bread/jam/cheese/orange squash combination for breakfast. However, in this case the jam is made from fruit from Perla's back garden. Before we leave we meet up with Perla's daughter who is married to an Austrian Kayaker, and her 1 year old granddaughter, Sarah, who is initially shy but turns into a bubbly little cutie after a few mins. It is cold outside as we head to the minibus stop, 10 mins away. The sky is grey and there is a bit of a breeze but not too much. P. Montt looks like a bit of a run down ramshackled place, with lots of buildings covered in corrugated iron, but unlike Valapraiso, it isn't painted or is painted grey or white, so not very colourful. From what we see it is hard to think this is the fastest growing city in Chile, but that is down to the $1Billion Salmon industry.

The bus ride to P. Varas is less than 30 mins and we make our way from the drop off, up the hill to our hostel for the next 3 nights. I make the mistake of asking a guy who I think is a local for directions, but he is a German, who rabbits on but admits to not knowing where the hostel is. Ironically it is a couple of mins walk down the road. We check in, and book a couple of trips for the forthcoming days before heading back into the centre of town. The sun has now come out and the sky has cleared and we have great views of the two main volcanos. Osorno Volcano is the main one, which looks a bit like Mount Fuji in Japan. We walk along part of Llanquehue lake, which is the 3rd largest lake in S. America, with Titicaca being the largest. There are a few tourists milling around the small jetty and a bearded local hippy type playing some type of Mandolin hooked up to a substantive speaker system. At the end of the jetty were a few people fishing, some with rods and others just throwing out lures on the end of lines. P Varas obviously has a strong German heritage, you just have to look at the majority of the buildings, many of which could easily be found in the Black Forest. It seems a bit strange after the old Spanish colonial buildings of Valparaiso.

We walk around the small town centre, which has a casino as well as a fair mix of adventure travel shops, clothing shops and newsagent type places. We wnd up having lunch at a place recommended by the girl in reception at the hostel. This place doesn't look much, sitting on a busy road opposite a supermarket. We grab a table in the open air to watch the world go by. We decide to share the seafood medley as well as having the local speciality which is razor clams in parmesan cheese. Washing this down with local beer. I do get into the Kuntsman Bock, which is a dark ale, a bit like a stout. Have to say that this is one of the best meals I have had in a while. Mandy gets into her routine of bread and salsa to accompany the meal. Her phrase of the holiday becomes 'mas pan'.

After the thoroughly satisfying lunch we wander around town a bit more before heading back to the hostel. Sort out trip stuff for tomorrow and do a little research before heading back into town again for the evening. We go for a long walk along the lake, watching people swimming, kayaking and a windsurfer. As we head out of the main part of town, we see more locals mainly in family groups, which is nice to see. At the end we see some guy trying to learn to waterski, but he does appear to be spending more time in the water than on it. Brings back memories of the one time I tried it.

We head back into town and stop off at a guide book recommended restaurant called 605, which is at 605 Imperial. Have to say that it is a relatively large stylish looking place but is pretty empty. We decide to have dinner outside as it is still pretty sunny. This turns out to be our best meal in Chile. We start off with a complementary salmon starter with little squares of bread, washed down with the now regular pisco sour. Main is salmon in soy sauce, I then go to form and have two desserts. The 1st is a creme brulee, which doesn't quite live up to expectations as the caramalised topping is pretty much non-existent. Those that know me well will know that this is one of my top desserts, so my anticipation has to be tempered whilst I wait for the second dessert. This is a chocolate souffle in an orange sauce. I think the smile on my face after the first mouthful says it all. Mandy agrees after she tries it. I know it must be good as I start to go into protective mode re sharing. Maybe this is why I am useless at relationships, it's not easy to give away my last rolo.......in fact you have to prize it out of my fingers with a hammer.

There was a lovely view of the volcano as we left the restaurant. What appeared to be particles from another volcano were hanging in the air, causing the rays from the dropping sun to be refracted, giving a lovely red colour to the sky around Orsorno's peak. Oh for my camera and a tripod. We walk back along the quiet back road, where the police are just removing a cordon from what appears to be the scene of a car crash are there are bits of plastic circled by chalk. All looked very thorough, not like the police we had seen elsewhere.