Panguipulli is famous for its roses all over town
A little south of the Pucon/Villarica region is the zone of Las Siete Lagos, the seven lakes, another rather touristic area. It is nice enough, with lots of green, forests, but also cattle farms, expansive grazing areas, quite like Argentina on the other side, actually. Interestingly, lots of construction – houses, barns, but also churches – is made out of wood, or at least they have a significant wood component. Makes us think of Finland and the Baltic States, which are, of course, similar latitude but on the Northern Hemisphere.
the countryside is a pleasant colour of green
dominated by cattle grazing ground, even without cattle
the ferry at Puerto Fuy, ready for departure
the Lake Pirehueico unfolding
with the occasional island in the middle
There is no way we are going to see all seven of the lakes, so we head to the furthest, Lago Pirehueico. The name, apparently, means ‘worm-like’, and refers to the lay-out in several turns. In order to explore the lake, we board a ferry in Puerto Fuy, and sail in one-and-a-half hours to the other side, Puerto Pirehueico, which is no more than a landing place with a few restaurants. We, of course, didn’t care about Puerto Pirehueico, but more about the journey, which was indeed very nice, the continuation of the lake unfolding after every bend. Lots of greenery, several high mountains, and a stiff breeze keep us alert during the way up; less so on the way back, having seen it all once before. (I hate backtracking, but the only road from Puerto Pirehueico is into Argentina, and with our rented that is not going to work).
ferry arrival in Puerto Pirehueico, no more than a landing ramp and a few restaurants
yet, often snow capped mountains visible in the distance
and at some time dark skies forming
more of the countryside, on the way to Panguipulli
first views of Lake Panguipulli
Panguipulli village itself, wooden houses…..
….and snowmen made out of white-painted tires
We overnight in Panguipulli, a small village at the far end of the lake of the same name. Good choice, this is a lovely little place, a lot less touristic than we expected. It is famous for its roses all over town. Which were, for the time being, accompanied by lots of Christmas decorations, most obvious in the form of snowmen made out of white-painted tyres which lined the roads. The village has a Costa Nera, along the lake, and a west-facing terrace where they serve pisco sours at the end of another not-so-stressful day.
somehow, there is also a steam engine….
and another view of the lake Panguipulli
and look, we managed to find a terrace in the sune, for the usual end-of-the-day treat
the road to the next lake, Lago Rinihue
Half an hour outside the village there are, apparently, some natural springs, in a river feeding Lago Rinihue – already the third of the seven lakes! But we only manage to get to the lake side itself, the springs remain out of bounds. The land here is all private property – and owned by important people, judging from the excellent asphalt that covers this dead-end road -, and our attempts to wade through the lake towards the river that contains the springs is unsuccessful: too slippery, too deep, too far, we give up quickly. The lake is nice enough though, and once again with great views of a distant volcano, Volcan Choshuenco, with a smaller and a larger crater.
next: to Valdivia
a rich area, of cattle farmers
the colourful waters of the confluence of river and lake
and the view, once again lake and volcano, this time Volcan Choshuenco
