Journey Impressions: Puerto Montt

Puerto Montt: Population approx. 0.24 million (2002)
Chile: Population approx. 17.7 million
Population growth (2016): 1.1%
People per km²: 24
Gross national income per person in 2014: 14.900 USD


10 February 2018, Puerto Montt:

As agreed the previous day, our guide Willi picked us up from the hotel and we drove through Puerto Montt and the surrounding area. Willi is a very proud Chilean who speaks German equally as proudly. He’s also impressed by the German community and German school in Puerto Montt.

We took a relaxed stroll through the town, taking in various sights and gazing at the Chileans walking along the beach. The modest little cathedral was covered in pictures of the Pope.

On the beach we saw a life-size statue of a man and woman who were supposed to be a couple, although the expressions on their faces weren’t exactly convincing. Uwe Thomas sat next to the women and felt very small, as the picture shows. After the trip round the town, we drove to the countryside and Puerto Varas harbour on Lago Llanquihue. On the way there we experienced something of a miracle. The two most prominent volcanoes in this area had been hidden by clouds up until that point. However, in the afternoon Osorno with its white sugary peak emerged with Calbuco following in all its glory slightly later on. Both volcanoes are typical of this area, but they also pose a threat to it at the same time. Calbuco is an active volcano which has sometimes given the local population great cause for concern. By the way, Puerto Montt experienced the worst earthquake since recordings began at 9.6 on the Richter scale. You wouldn’t think so when driving through this idyllic landscape. Wine is cultivated and cattle are bred here and the animals remind you of scenes in Swabia or North Friesland.

Our guide Willi had a tip for a restaurant that locals primarily like to go to where we were able to try locust, the speciality of the day. We were quite tired, so Willi took us back to the hotel. We decided we needed a pick-me-up and asked the staff whether we could order a grappa. Six people eventually embarked on their quest for the drink and eventually got one. It was strangely in a vast bottle that dwarfed anything else on the counter. But we weren’t tempted to empty it as a nightcap was enough to let us sleep well.

Good night.