"This delightful little townon route to the ferry, I had noticed with interest on the way to Ancud and felt I simply had to stop and have a better look at on my way back. As it turned out I finished up spending all morning there.
 
I found a good B&B in a large old guest house for £4 then went out to find some information about my trip to Bariloche. I was told by a local travel agent that at this time of the year there was only one bus as far as Ensenada, and that I would have to walk the 15km up to Petrohue to catch the afternoon ferry up the lake to Peulla. From there I would have to chance getting  a lift to the next lake on the Argentinian side, and the ferry from there. The ferries were dependent on the weather, and the forcast was not good. Next morning, the weather looking reasonably promising, I decided to chance it, but by the time the bus had reached Ensenada the clouds over the mountains ahead were black, and I knew the walk up to Petrohue would be a waste of effort. As there was a restaurant in the village which had chalets for rent at £3.50 a night, I decided to stop for a day or two in the hope that the weather would improve. In the afternoon I took a walk along the lakeside, and to my surprise the sun came out for a short while and I was able to paint. Just as I finished it started to rain again and did not stop for 3 days. 
 
On my return to the restaurant I found a Swiss guy and two French girls drying themselves out in front of the fire. They too had hoped to make the crossing and had just walked back from    Petrohue, where they had spent the previous night. These travellers were the first I had met since arriving in Chile, they also took a chalet, and we spent the rest of that day, and most of the next, sitting round the fire drinking cups of coffee and exchanging  our experiences, while the rain poured down outside. There were few other customers so the manager did not seem to mind us monopolising the fire. 
 
On the third day, as it was still raining hard, we all decided to give up and take the 9:30am bus back to Puerto Varas. From there, myself and the Swiss guy, caught a bus going north. Missing out on Bariloche was the major disappointment of the entire trip, especially when I met other travellers later, who had got through in good weather, and said how beautiful it had been. I had originally planned to fly to Santiago in January, but due to problems with work I was unable to leave before mid-March. As a result of this I had half expected my plans for the south may have to be abandoned, in that respect I drew some comfort from the fact that at least I saw Chiloe Island." - MH