A Half-Day Trip to the Saltos of Petrohue

One important thing to do after a 45-hour week is to find the right balance on the weekends. Next to all the fiestas you sure do some resting. Last sunday after resting quite a bit bit my planned full-day excursion was impossible and I had to make a half-day trip out of it. I got up, had a quick breaky, and went to the bus stop. Pato, one of my house mates told me the bus would leave every hour on the half-hour. The bus did not arrive until a quarter to which did not bother me too much because punctuality is just not known here. However, at the same time I felt a little insecure because I did not know if I was at the right bus stop and also, the signage of the busses is not-let's say-the most clearly laid out. Living in a small ville ;) I coincidently met a girl which had been at our house a couple of times who was waiting for the same bus. Now I knew that I was at the right bus stop but starting a conversation in Spanish on a Sunday morning at 1:30pm really is a big challenge...

Eventually the bus arrived, a small bus, I paid my 2000pesos (appr. 2.80€-yes, I found the Euro-sign on the keyboard :) and the bus headed on to my destination-the Saltos of Petrohue. The bus ride took me along the shore of my Lago Llanquihue, via Ensanada, to the Vicente Perez Rosales National Park. During the one-hour drive I absorbed the landscape around me: Pampa, trees, and to my left the breath-taking Osorno volcanoe shaped like a cone covered with powdered sugar-you can even ski on that 2.600metres tall mountain.

I hopped of the bus, paid the entrance fee and started walking through the Valdivian temperate rainforest to the saltos. It brought back the feeling of all the forests I had seen in South East Asia, except for here it is winter. By the way, I found out why it is raining so much around here in winter: winter = rainy season :) Have a look at the pictures how wonderful these saltos are. And I was luckily because when you look closely you will identify that the sun was shinging-no rain. Taking in the nature I waited until the sun started to disappear behind the Osorno, also visible from the waterfalls. Soon I had to leave because there were still to more circuits to explore. The first one took me deeper into the forests and hey, no snakes, spiders, or those leeches, my friends from Thailand and Malaysia. Very impressed I made my way walked by the enamorados, two small waterfalls making their way into a small lagoon, along a small dark-saned beach until I came back to the beginning of the circuit. Already on my way towards the exit I started the third circuit which took me about 45 minutes. It took me even much deeper into the rainforest which could clearly be seen by the vegetation of ferns and Arayanes trees. After I few hundred meters I suddently stopped because right in front of my on something that used to be a tree sat this absolutely adorable little bird. I took a couple of pictures and continued my way, came over a bridge which was the turning point of the circuit and on the way back I saw humongous birds above my head. The batting of their wings made a noice which was quite scary. It got even scarier when I arrived at the second small bridge where I was surrounded by a dozens of them. I felt like in Hitchcock's "The Birds".

The bus should have left at half past four and I hoped to be at the end of the circuit soon. I was at the bus stop at a quarter past four and barely made it! I was the only passenger and learned that not only busses are late here but also quarter of an hour too early. That means if a bus is due at half past you should be at least 15 minutes before departure at the stop and if unlucky might have to wait another 15 minutes. So never ever complain again about the public transport in Germany ;) I found my way home quite interesting because not only did the sun gave the sky a nice color but also the busride itself was somewhat different from what I am used to. The busdriver did not only think that schedules are for fun and worth nothing but also stopped in the middle of nowhere to talk to his busdriver-buddy approaching from the other direction. A few k's later the busdriver not only stopped the bus but put his vehicle into reverse saying: "Oh a friend of mine!" backing up into a gravel side road. Meanwhile, I was not the only passenger anymore but nobody seemed to care. I concluded to myself that this must be a common thing here in Chile-or at least in Region X. Back in Puerto Varas I thanked the busdriver for the chat, hopped of the bus, and made my way in the cold through Puerto Varas to my house.