Chile's Natural Wonders

The more places I visit in the world and the more I get to view the natural wonders available in each country, the sadder and angrier I become at how badly we are abusing a planet that was bequeathed to our care. How can we as a species still pretend that the earth is not being slowly poisoned due to our greed, our incompetence, our apathy, or our blind ambivalence? It stuns me to think that anybody who is privileged enough to have seen some of nature’s miracles up close and personal could still not be on the right side of this issue. I felt all of that and more today when we toured the Lake Region in the south of Chile.

After tendering in Puerto Montt, we immediately headed over to Esmeralda Lake to take in its unbelievably clear turquoise waters and to view its three surrounding active volcanoes, Osorno, Tronador, and Puntiagudo. The Osorno is particularly stunning with its glacial peak rising over 8,700ft into the sky. Often called the Fujiyama of South America, it is one of the best known active volcanoes in the Chilean Andes. Even though it hasn’t blown since the mid-1850s, Osorno is still considered active and Charles Darwin wrote about watching an eruption while on one of his expeditions. The glacier at the peak is eroding and melting by leaps and bounds and our guide told us that experts are very concerned about the future of the lake and the adjoining Petrohue River and waterfalls. The bright blue waters and falls are home to quite a bit of local wildlife but their habitats are being invaded by encroaching human homes and there is a deep concern for the pristine ecosystems. As we hiked through the park, I wondered if any of this would be the same in twenty years.

The small lakeside town of Puerto Montt is charming and lovely in the summer. Families might take in a day at the beach or simply stroll into some of the many cafes or shops. We decided to just take in some more breathtaking views of the volcanoes. It is a vista that I won’t soon forget.

A few notes.

*My Spanish isn’t really all that bad. (My high school Spanish teacher Sra. Lee would have been proud) But this story is one for the books. I told our guide in ENGLISH that we were vegetarian and that the salmon they were serving for lunch would be better off on somebody else’s plate. I then told our waitress “Somos vegetarianos. Por favor, no pescado.” (Google it!) The head waiter then proceeded to bring us each a huge plate of mashed potatoes. Ok. Can’t really fault him but then…he apologized for the fish and instead brought us a plate of….CHICKEN. Chicken is the new veggie meal here in Chile. I have been a vegetarian for decades and have never once thought to substitute chicken. We couldn’t stop laughing. I guess something was lost in translation because he came back to inquire. We explained again and he apologized profusely and brought us a veggie pasta. We really didn’t care but it is one for the vegetarian handbook.

*We cannot complain at all about the weather. When we left the ship this morning it looked to be cloudy and socked in. By the time we came to the lake, it was sunny and stunning.