Petrohue Falls

 On Sunday, March 12th, it was raining on and off, though not heavily.  Someone has compared this part of the Chilean Pacific coast with the U.S. Pacific Northwest--cool and wet.  In fact, we would that day visit a temperate rainforest something like in Olympic National Park.

We got on the bus and headed for Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park--our second, but far from our last, national park on this trip, with its emphasis on the natural wonders of Patagonia.  On the way, we heard that all the recent rain had caused a mudslide, closing the road into the park.  Apparently, this is a common occurence.  However, it was expected that the road would quickly be cleared, and one bumpy lane was, indeed open for us.

Our local guide, Ingrid, led us on a nature walk, then set us free to visit the parks main attraction, Petrohue Falls, on our own.

Mary Joy and I had lunch at Cafe Mawen, sharing a salad and a sandwich--very good.

In the evening, the group divided into two subgroups of eight, to go to the OAT-standard home-hosted dinner.  Ours involved making empanadas (at which Mary Joy was very good, while I failed, miserably).