Day 26 ~ Puerto Montt, Chile (with a little German stirred in!)

 February 4, 2022

NAUTICAL TERM OF THE DAY ~ "Poop"

The poop is the stern section of a ship. To be "pooped" is to be swamped by a high, following sea. (What? You were thinking something else?)

On our 2018 world cruise, I was amazed how many places we visited bore the stamp of other cultures. Every place where people drove on the left reminded us the Brits had been there. The Portuguese left their mark in some of the architecture of India. The Germans settled near Adelaide, Australia. 

Turns out the Germans came to Patagonia, too! In the 1800's they were invited to come settle in the Puerto Montt area and were given 75 squares of land (a square equaled about hundred square meters) per couple, 15 more for each child they had. To keep it, the one requirement was that they had to cultivate at least 4 squares the first year. 

Which meant they had to clear the dense forest first and prepare the land before planting their potatoes, sugar beets and wheat. Even in the face of such back-breaking labor, 90% of the new settlers succeeded and today 20% of the area's population can claim German ancestors. There is still a large congregation of German Lutherans in the area.  

Some years ago, we used to listen to Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion Radio show. In one episode, he talked about a visiting troop of tango dancers from Chile who came to perform at the Lake Woebegone Lutheran Church. Everyone was astounded at these performers. They were fiery. Passionate. And yet...Lutheran!

Garrison must have been talking about a group of German immigrants' descendants from Puerto Varas. 

A couple of "steeds" at the Puerto Varas Art Installation

We took the included tour to Puerto Varas, a German town on the shore of Lake Llanquihue, the third largest lake in South America.  It sparkles in the shadow of Mount Osorno, an extinct volcano. However, there is an active cone five kilometers south, Mount Calbuco, which blew its top without warning in April of 2015. Pumice, sand and ash exploded from the summit and rained down on the surrounding farmland and villages, prompting a 20 mile evacuation radius.  The volcano erupted two more times in the next eight days. Amazingly enough, no lives were lost, but the damage to the area was severe.

Here's the DH's photo montage of our trip to the City of Roses: (note to those who view this blog by email. Videos and other Youtube based inclusions may not show up in the email version. Please click on the title of the post and you'll be taken to my blog where you can see it all!)

Our friends Kristy and Dave (You can catch them in the DH's photo montage above!) went on a different excursion which took them up to 4000 ft. and let them hike about near waterfalls and volcanoes. Here's a video from Dave of their adventures: 

He also got some excellent photos of the Osorno cone that played peek-a-boo with us earlier in the morning. So while we were back on the ship bubbling in the thalassotherapy pool, as the clouds parted in the afternoon, this is what Kristy and Dave saw:

Timing really is everything.

Even though we missed seeing the volcano without clouds, we had a lovely time in Puerto Varas. The whole region feels much different, more comfortable with itself than Valparaiso/Santiago, where I sensed an atmosphere of barely contained unrest. There are more brick and mortar stores open in Puerto Montt and Puerto Varas, instead of the unlicensed street vendors that clogged the central cities' sidewalks with their wares laid out on blankets. There was some graffiti and tagging, but not nearly as much in these more southerly latitudes. Evidence of a solid and prosperous middle class showed in the neat, well-kept houses and yards. 

Plus, the area was green. Not the pale, dusty green we'd seen, but a vibrant--dare I say?--Ozarks green. There was industry--fishing, lumber, agriculture and paper production. It seems a thriving part of this long skinny country.  

What a difference abundant rainfall and fertile soil makes to a region!