Blue skies and sun again this morning. Temp is 45 degrees with a projected high of 68. Can’t complain about tha!

We left at 8:30 and drove to the Antonio Felmer private museum dedicated to preserving the heritage of the Germans who settled the area in the mid 19th century. We were given a private tour by the daughter of the gentlemen who collected and preserved the artifacts he received from families who lived in the area. The artifacts cover all aspects of farm life back then, from farming tools to kitchen implements, antique furniture, musical instruments, clothing, household goods, etc. It is a marvelous display made even more informative because our guide explained many of the items and demonstrated their use. It was really fascinating to many of us as we all could identify items that our grandparents had and used. Some things are the same all over the world!

We then drove along the south shore of Lake Llanquihue to visit the oldest national park in Chile, Vicent Peres Rosales, where we stopped to take a walk to the Petrohué Rapids, a popular visiting spot for Chileans. We made a photo stop along the way to “up close and personal” photos of the Osorno volcano(2652 meter high), the iconic vista associated with Puerto Varas.

By this time it was time for lunch which was held in a marvelous fishing lodge on the shores of the lake where we had drop dead views of both the lake and the Osorno volcano. To top it off we were served a pisco sour as we entered the restaurant, followed by a marvelous salmon luncheon with wine.  By the way, Chile is the 2nd largest growers of farm raised salmon in the world (Norway is #1), and theirs area of Chile is where much of it happens. We also learned this region of Chile is a large producer of apples, raspberries and blueberries, but not much other produce. It is also a big dairy-farming region.

We were free for the remainder of the afternoon except for those of us who chose to take the optional tour involving a visit to a local craft brewer and enjoy a traditional Chilean BBQ while there. 13 of the 20 tour group chose that option, including me. On the way to the brewery we stopped at the little lakeshore community of Frutillar where we walked the shore and visited the new performing arts concert hall, built in 2010 and considered to be the best in Chile.   It was quite cool by the time we were there and I was shocked at how many people were lying/playing on the beach, including many who were swimming. The water is cold but to the locals it was acceptable.  We could not go into the concert hall but did get to see it’s rather unique exterior, made of multicolored slabs of colored wood which appeared to be laminated.

Leaving there we drove deep into the countryside and turned into a site that appeared to be a rather rundown farmstead. This was the home of Chester Brewing! We were all pretty apprehensive as we worked our way through a workshop area that included in old VW bus that was used as an office. We emerged in the “backyard” that looked out over pastures and the lake with the 2015 meter high Calbuco volcano in the distance. This is the volcano that last erupted in 2015, depositing up to 18 inches of ash in the local area and caused mud slides. It was quite a location for a “brewery”. We were introduced to the owner, Chester, who is an American originally from Pennsylvania and his partner, Russ, who hails from Canada. Along side the mini bar area that had 4 different beers on tap was a grill loaded with a variety of meats. Obviously language was not an issue when talking to Chester and Russ who explained their craft brewing operation, asked questions regarding beer making and how the heck they ended up in Chile making beer.

They also explained the concept of a traditional Chilean BBQ. What happens is a grill is set up, people come over with various cuts of meat which are grilled. You do not sit down for a formal meal. You simply sample the various cuts of meat as you stand around talking and consuming your favorite beverage. On his grill was chorizo sausage, steak, chicken, pork chops, bell peppers with egg in it, and zucchini. As the meat was cooked it was chopped up and passed around for people to taste. Chester offered tasting glasses of the 4 different types of beer, which many of us used to try all of them before selecting a large mug of the one(s) you liked. There were also sliced tomatoes and some lettuce for those who wanted them, plus some of the sweetest watermelon most of said we have ever had. We spent a great several hours talking, eating and drinking while soaking up the calm county atmosphere. It was truly a pretty unique experience that seemed to please everyone, even those of us who are not big beer drinkers.

We were back at the hotel by 8:30 and since we leave at 7:30 in the morning for our next adventure most admitted it was an early to bed evening.