Puerto Varas, Chile

After spending a good amount of time in Santiago, with a quick jump over to Valparaiso and Concon, I decided that it was time to change it up and head to the countryside. It seems that the decisions I make concerning destinations are based on a very basic attempt at research and could be best described as "whimsical." Be that as it may, I have not made any bed decisions yet, and I am very delighted with the results thus far. After checking out of the ecohostel in Santiago, I spent another day exploring new parts of Santiago (see the last post) and killing time before my overnight bus trip departed at 8pm that day. I gave myself plenty of time to make the bus, and was very attentive while waiting for the bus to depart from gate 14 of the terminal de buses near Universidad de Santiago. I was pleasantly surprised when I found that the randomly selected seat I had chosen was in the front row of second level of the bus, providing me with a spectacular view and a generous amount of legroom! It came in handy for the 15 hour bus ride to arrive in the charming city of Puerto Varas, Chile. Puerto Varas is a small town on the banks of lake Llanhique (I know I spelled that wrong), and the town serves as a hub for people like me with huge backpacks and a desire to venture out into the natural settings all around this northern lake district of Patagonia. There are a ton of people just like me - young and adventurous with maps and the freedom to explore. Have a look at the photos of the town and the lake, and stay tuned for some epic photos that will surface after I venture via horseback into the Cochamo area with the Campo Aventura company (campoaventura.cl) P.s. I tried to create paragraphs but to no avail!