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The weather was perfect today! It was ideal for our kayak trip with Ko'Kayak. After enjoying another big breakfast at the Hotel Solace buffet, we walked down to Ko'Kayak headquarters in central Puerto Varas. Eventually, the other members of the adventure showed up (When we originally signed up for this trip, we were told that the start time was 7:30 AM. When we checked with them the night before, Ko'Kayak told us that the start time to 8:30 AM. But it turned out that it didn't really begin until 9:00 AM). We rode a van out to the small town of Ensenada, where Ko'Kayak keeps the kayaks and gear. We were given wetsuits and windproof shells. While they loaded the kayaks onto the trailer, there was time to walk across the street for some excellent views of Osorno and Calbuco. After all the rain and clouds we had experience on the three previous days, I was delighted to finally see the famous volcanos. We rode in the van (which was now carrying the kayaks) south to the town of Cochamo. Cochamo is a small town on the eastern side of the Reloncavi Fjord, from that point we had a great view south across the fjord to the Yate volcano. We launched the kayaks and turned north. It was a nice day, no wind and no clouds and no tides. The paddling was easy. There were no boats motoring by to create any wakes. We would paddle for a bit, and then just sit in the kayak and coast along. For lunch, we stopped at farm house on the western shore. The family that lived there raised chickens, ducks, sheep and pigs. They grew a host of vegetables in their greenhouse. A recent windstorm had blown half of their apple crop off of the trees before it was ready to be harvested. They showed us the traditional way to spin wool into yarn, which they then knitted into sweaters or socks. After lunch, we paddled north for another hour or so. The van was waiting when we landed; it took us back to Ensenada to drop off all of the gear. I took a view more pictures of Osorno from there. Back in Puerto Varas, we went to a place called Cassis for dinner. I got a beef fillet sandwich on cibata bread with cheese, onions, mushrooms, red peppers,and egg. We took a post dinner walk along the waterfront. Because the sky was clear, we were able to look across Lago Llanquihue at the three famous volcanos: Osorno, Tronador and Calbuco. Panorama Photos
MapsThe map shows the route we took to get to the fjord. The red dots are the sea kayak trip. We stopped at a farmhouse on the western shore for lunch.
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Click on any thumbnail to begin the slide show at that photograph Sea Kayaking Photos
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