DAY 60 (1 OF 1) – PARQUE NACIONAL VICENTE PEREZ ROSALES, PETROHUE, CHILE

In the morning, we went to Cafe El Barrista near the lakefront for breakfast and a cup of “real coffee” (i.e. non-instant coffee). After breakfast, we hopped on a minibus for Petrohue, the entrance of Parque Nacional Vicente Perez Rosales. We planned to do a day hike at the park as a warm-up session prior to our upcoming W-trek at Torres del Paine in Patagonia. Inaugurated in 1926, Vicente Perez Rosales is the oldest national park in Argentina. Other than the mighty Volcan Osorno, the park also provides magnificent views of Lago Todos Los Santos, and other distant volcanoes and snow-capped peaks along the Chilean-Argentine border. Many came to Petrohue to cross the Lago Todos Los Santos by ferry and cross the border to enter the Argentine Lake District.
It was a fine day for hiking. After we registered at the CONAF (Corporacion Nacional Forestal) office, we set out onto the trail of Sendero Paso Desolacion, knowing that we wouldn’t have enough time to finish the entire trail before the last bus back to Puerto Varas. We decided to do the first segment of the trail, and then detour to the lakefront of Lago Todos Los Santos, and find our way back to the trailhead along the beaches. Flanked by yellow wild flowers, the trail was a pleasant route offering great Alpine scenery. Volcan Osorno was visible from almost everywhere. We walked on volcanic stones, sandy paths, dried streambeds, and lakefront beaches. After the hike, we returned to the park entrance for our return bus. A staff of a tour boat company was having ice-cream at the entrance. He exchanged a few words with us, and convinced a park personnel who was about to leave the parking lot to give us a free ride back to Puerto Varas. A perfect day hike ended with a 1.5-hour free ride back home. We couldn’t ask for more.