Visiting Puerto Montt, Patagonia, Chile

Darryl and I took a vacation from work for a couple of days and decided to see some more of this beautiful country where we are currently residing. On Tuesday, February 9th we flew to Puerto Montt, near the lake region on Patagonia, the southern most city (of any size) in Chile.

One of the first things I noticed when we stepped of the plane in Puerto Montt, was the smell of wood and pine. Having lived in concrete apartments in both China and Chile, the glorious smell of the fragrance of cut wood is something you never get. It was refreshing.

The area is located on a huge bay that is shielded from the Pacific Ocean by the island of Chiloe. I was surprised to find people swimming in what I was sure had to be frigid water.

We stayed at the Versailles Hotel which was very nice..

The decor in the upper hallway was interesting. Fish skin/scales dyed different colors and framed.

But the views of the ocean and farmland from our room was nice.

We walked over to the water, and I had to see how cold it was. I was pleasantly surprised, it was actually quite warm. Much warmer than the water farther north at Valparaiso and Viña del Mar.

I really wanted to go swimming, but it was after 7:00 p.m. and we were getting hungry for some dinner.

We walked to the Keil Restaurant, about 1/4 mile from the hotel.

The Kiel's immigrated to Chile from Germany in the early 1970's and the couple who started the restaurant still run it. 

The Paella was fabulous!

And the ambiance.... oh my goodness. This is decking and a ships wheel from some old boat.

The logs and the lodge type, rustic interior was warm and inviting,

They have a spring of cold water running through the place and the bottled water is kept there to keep cold. The "Creek" runs under the bar, which is made of an old sailboat. 

Thursday morning we got up early and headed into town to find some breakfast and to see if there was anything fun to do. There was... it's called shopping!

The Huaso store (That's what a Chilean cowboy is called) was especially interesting to Darryl and I.

We wandered down to the little shopping/port village of Angelmo and found quite a bit to see and do.

This is the dried, oysters, clams, scallops, muscles, and a whole lot more. You just buy a string and eat them right off the "raffia" rope.

The tide was way, way out when we arrived in Angelmo for breakfast, as you can tell by these photos.

There were many little shops and restaurants to choose from. I loved the tables and chairs in this place. 

This is not only a tourist place, but also where many locals shop. I loved going by the different cheese vendors.

One of the nice hotels in downtown.

We ate lunch at the Sherlock Pub. It was quite nice. 

As we travel we seem to find that every town has that "One" thing that is unique to the town. That one attraction that everyone wants to have their picture taken with and that adorns, key chains and magnets. For some reason, this huge sculpture in their seaside park is the "One thing" for Puerto Montt. I don't get it. 

Hey look, the tide came in. This is the same boat, in the same place as in the first picture. The only difference was the time. This was about 4 or 5 hours later.

We found the fish market. It was quite interesting. Love the hanging squid and the shark.

And finally, I just had to buy this adorable poncho for somebody's birthday!!! (actually, she asked me to get this for her.)

There's more to come from our Southern Most vacation. Stay tuned for more..