A sprinkle of magic

By the time we reached Frutillar I was desperate to see Volcan Osorno. We'd spent the previous day on the shore of Lago Llanquihue under a damp blanket of low cloud and had woken up to hazy mist shimmering over the surface of the lake.

Frutillar

Having caught the micro (small bus) around the lake to Frutillar (a mere $900 pesos / £1.20 each), we alighted at Frutillar Bajo, on the lake side (Frutillar Alto being the main town slightly inland). We were presented with a beautiful view: a wide bay, lake waters lapping on a stretch of beach, an elegant wooden pier, tidy houses, more Germanic churches and the modern Teatro del Lago stretching out on stilts into the water. Still no volcano though.

So we sat down to have our lunch on the pier. Amusingly, we were joined by various other couples who divided into two clear groups. Chileans, dressed in normal daytime clothing, who walked straight to the end to take pictures of themselves with the view and partake in various public displays of affection. Then there were the internationals, dressed in their outdoor gear, who settled down on one of the side benches, opened up their backpacks and started assembling sandwiches from the various supplies stored within.

Ham and cheese hallulla (that's a bap to you and me) halfway to my mouth, I turned my head. "Mira!" I cried, "el volcán!" (Carlos and I spoke in Spanish the whole time we were on holiday in case you were wondering). Suddenly, the clouds began to part and, like a mirage, the shape of the volcano began to slowly appear out of the mist. It was a magical sight, and as the clouds rolled away and the sun shone brightly, we just sat and relaxed and admired this astonishing view of a perfectly symmetrical, snow-capped volcano seeming to rise out of the lake.

Thrilled that Volcan Osorno has appeared behind me

Volcan Osorno

Kuchen and hot chocolate

Of course, no blog post of mine would be complete without mentioning food. In Frutillar, we had been recommended a place to sample kuchen, which is German for cake. At "Duendes del Lago" (goblins of the lake) we had something similar to apple crumble and a hot chocolate - mine mint flavoured and Carlos' caramel. Plus some biscuits. Yum!

Afterwards, we were treated to another sunset. This time, with the mist and haze, the sky and sea turned shades of dusty pink and blue, like a pastel picture. Truly a sprinkle of magic.

Volcan Osorno at sunset

More Frutillar photos on Flickr:

www.flickr.com jaynescarman's Frutillar photoset

The most beautiful place on earth

West coast of Scotland: I'm sorry. You've reigned for a while, but I'm afraid you have finally been pipped to the title of 'the most beautiful place in the world I have ever been (so far)'. If it eases the blow, you were only beaten by a bigger version of yourself. I hope you won't mind too much.

Muscling the Isle of Eigg and the Scottish Inner Hebrides down to the number two position was their Argentine heavyweight cousin, San Carlos de Bariloche. Quite simply the most spectacular place I have ever seen; an enormous lake surrounded by mountain peaks. Oh, and it has some of the best chocolate around too. You can see why it stole my affections.

Bariloche was the first stop on our trip to the Chilean/Argentine lake district, located around 500 miles south of the capital Santiago and at the start of the heavenly wilderness that is Patagonia. We arrived there via an overnight bus trip (around 10 hours) to Osorno. It's not as bad as it sounds - travellers are provided with blankets, pillows, dinner and breakfast (sandwiches, biscuits and juice), the seats recline with a foot rest, the lights go out and people sleep. Then it was another 5-6 hours across the border to Bariloche. As you can probably imagine, I had a stinking headache by the time I arrived at the hostel so it was straight to bed for me.

The lake shore, Bariloche

The next morning, the sun shone gloriously and I felt rejuvenated. We hot-footed it to the lake shore to see the waters sparkling in the sunlight. After ambling around the strangely gothic but modern cathedral and the Swiss-influenced main square, we took the teleferico (cable car) to the summit of one of the surrounding hills, for what was reputed to be one of the best views in the area. This was nothing short of an achievement, as I'm scared of cable cars and Carlos doesn't like heights!

The view from Cerro Otto in Bariloche

Once at the top, we were not disappointed. The scenery was simply stunning, with mountains and lakes as far as the eye could see. We enjoyed a guided tour around the sight by a very humorous guide, who pointed out the nearby landmarks, filled us in on the history of the area and made us act out a scene from some film or other (this was all in Spanish - I got a little lost).

Bariloche chocolates

Safely back down in the town, we treated ourselves to some of the unmissable local chocolate, which we devoured during a romantic moment watching the sunset on the lake shore. The sun turned golden, the mountains turned pink and the sky and sea changed from blue to orange to rosy to red, before finally darkness fell and it was time to bid this magnificent place goodbye.

Sunset at the lake shore, Bariloche

More Bariloche photos on Flickr:

www.flickr.com jaynescarman's Bariloche photoset