Volcan Osorno Day 208 14/04/2015

The weather was a bit improved today and we decided to get the tour bus to Volcan Osorno (there is no public transport up the long access road). The tour left at 2pm so we had a leisurely breakfast and did a bit more planning before walking into town for lunch. We set off around the lake passing through Ensenada before turning off the road to head up to the ski centre. The cloud had started to shroud the mountain as we arrived but undeterred we decided to get the two chairlifts up to the top station at 1670m. The temperature dropped as we gained height and despite the numerous layers of clothes we were both a bit chilly. Below the snowline the mountain is not particularly attractive, covered in volcanic rock with little, if any, flora. There are a number of craters on the mountain and we passed over the red crater on the second lift. From the top station we walked a short distance up to Mirador Seracs and enjoyed views of the summit as the cloud cleared briefly. The summit is nearly 1000m from here at 2652m but looked deceptively close. Back at the top station we got the chairlifts down to the ski centre (although it would definitely have been quicker to walk) and headed to the cafe for a hot chocolate to help thaw out. The skiing here looks very limited with a couple of red runs and a few off piste trails but not a lot else. Back at Casa Kalfu we were relieved to have no emails from the ferry company so hopefully we'll be setting off tomorrow which means no blog or facebook updates for a few days, at least until Saturday if we arrive on schedule! In the evening we went to the restaurant joined to the cafe on the corner of the street our hotel is and had a lovely meal and enjoyed a bottle of chilean red before our 3 days of no alcohol!  We've really enjoyed Puerto Varas and Casa Kalfu is a lovely place to stay but it definitely is time to move on. Itchy feet!!!

The first chairlift up Osorno 

Mirador Seracs 

Who needs a selfie stick....? 

Then someone appeared to take a photo!  

Volcan Osorno from Puerto Varas

Sunset over Lago Llanquihue