Puerto Montt Fri 6-4-07

Today we arrived at the lovely town of Pueto Montt, we had chosen a tour called "Nature and Traditions" It first took us to the resort of Puerto Varas on Lake Llanquihue, a lovely little town with a German influence. The day started cloudy and we could not see the snow covered volcanoes on the other side of the lake. We then drove to a ranch "Fundo Olguito" to soak up some of the Chilean traditions. We were met by a team of huasos (cowboys) mounted on their horses and were led to a large stable were we sat on bales of hay to watch a troupe of young dancers performing the shaque (courting dance) while we drank Chilean wine and ate empanandas! This was followed by a Chilean rodeo where the huasos showed off their skills on the horse - they were remarkable. A big traditional lunch followed the rodeo with moredancing, this time the youngsters got some of the group up to join in the dance - Terry was one of the first up!! Great fun. Before we went inside the mist lifted and we saw the snow covered volcano, but while we were eating it came down again and started to rain, This was our only bad weather on the whole trip and we were inside!!