Puerto Montt, Chile

Approaching Puerto Montt by sea

Click on South America map on the right sidebar to map location.

Puerto Montt is a pleasant port city. Because most cruise passengers will be traveling to Puerto Varas or Frutillar, enjoying the visits to Llanquihue Lake or the Petrohué Falls, most do not get to appreciate Puerto Montt.

Click here to linger awhile in Puerto Montt and visit the city by video.

Holland America's Veendam anchored off shore

Puerto Montt from view points traveling into the mountains.

Later I will discuss the importance of Puerto Montt as a starting point for crossing the Andes by lake and land into Bariloche, Argentina.

Heading South to Northern Chile

At this point, I should remind my readers that this trip was taken in the fall of 2012 (as the Hurricane Sandy was heading up the east coast of the U.S.)

We were on Holland America's ship, Veendam, traveling from Boston to Buenos Aires. After we left Callao, the port city for Lima, Peru, we sailed south off the western coast of South America towards La Serena, Chile. This city lies to the west of the Atacama Desert. (Veendam,  now showing in the Header is docked at La Serena, Chile--not Lima.)

When one is traveling by ship along the coast of western South America, it is necessary to be well off the coast, and therefore, out of sight of land. It is for this reason that I will introduce you to a sampling of the towel zoo on board the Veendam. It was fascinating to see what new creatures would be waiting for us each evening as we returned from dinner.