Puerto Montt is not a particularly attractive town. But it is the first big town in a while, so we decide to brace the traffic – not too bad, after all – to get some supplies, and change money. And then we drive on, along the coast, to the Angelmó neighbourhood, where the port is, and the fish market. And, not unimportantly, the fish restaurants, where we have another lunch feast from all those products we have just seen in the market down below.
We are not the only ones having a feast, a group of seals are waiting outside the market for scraps of fish they receive from the fish mongers inside. They are obviously being treated well, despite the sign saying not to feed them!
The Angelmó area is also one of the biggest markets for handicrafts, and endless row of stalls selling all kinds of woodcuttings, woollen capes, and tourist trinkets. The kind of stuff you find everywhere, usually not very original, and much of it of dubious quality. At least it doesn’t seem to come from China, here. The row of houses that hold many of the artefacts are actually much nicer, many of them painted with images of birds or other scenes. Colourful, and worth the detour.
next: Puerto Varas