Another great day that continues our love affair with Chile. It didn't start well. The alarm woke us up at 0630 and we leapt up to breakfast on the top deck just as Aurora was pulling into the bay in front of Puerto Montt. There was a distinct - and I mean DISTINCT - smell of old fish. Plus, it was grey, raining and thundery….. Not a good day to have organised a tour for 16 people to ascend volcanoes and visit waterfalls and lakes.

Met the rest of my group and we all went ashore together to find our guide waiting for us with a very large mini bus. First stop was the main square in Puerto Montt, just for photos. Puerto Montt is the capital of the Chilean Lake District, a smallish, not terribly pretty port mainly dependant on fishing, salmon farming and processing and the port itself. Chile is the second highest producer of salmon in the world apparently. I didn't know this.

This area was only discovered in 1848 and first settled by Europeans in 1852 when large numbers of impoverished Germans were relocated here. When they landed, they were shocked to find no settlements and the promised parcels of land were still thickly wooded. Natives showed them how to clear the forests and they built villages. Even today, this area of Chile has a strongly German flavour both in architecture and language but also food and customs. There was a monument commemorating the German arrival in the main square. Also a very interesting cathedral built in the mid 1800s from larch wood with a copper roof. Many of the houses both in town and country look just like Alpine chalets as do the churches.

We headed off to Llanquihue Lake, the second largest lake in Chile, which is huge, more like a sea. It is surrounded by mountains and some of the 2000+ volcanoes to be found in Chile, 20 of them active. The visibility was still poor, so we headed on towards the Vicente Perez Rosales National Park, the oldest one in Chile, stopping on the way for coffee at a llama/alpaca farm. They are very curious beasts. Slightly goaty. Slightly camelly. And of course woolly like sheep. Just as we were finishing up there, the weather started to clear and out of the clouds, across the lake, appeared two huge volcanoes. One of our planned visits was to be to the top of one by chairlift and I'd thought that was a goner with the previous visibility, but now we decided to try.

First some visits in the National Park: a series of rapids and white water; Emerald Lake; Petrohue Falls. Stunning scenery now emerging. A landscape a bit like The Land of the Dinosaurs. All of these huge volcanic peaks, deep gorges, massive rivers in full flow. Lots of lakes. Yet another facet to the natural wonders of Chile.

The coach then started the tortuous ascent up to the ski station on the Osorno Volcano which was now clearly visible, the clouds having disappeared and the sun fully out. The volcano is still active and stands 2666m high, with a lot of snow still on the upper slopes. This whole area is a big ski zone ain the winter. As we drove up the winding road, the views around were simply jaw-dropping. Lake Llanquihue came into view with the peaks behind, some of them now above the clouds. Once at the ski station, about 50% of the party wanted to ride the chair lift up a little higher and some opted to stay in the restaurant. I went on up and was glad I did although to be honest the views at the upper level were not really that much better than at the restaurant. Still, it was novel to be on a ski lift.

Leaving the volcano we came back to Puerto Varas, a very upmarket resort on Lake Llanquihue. There were a lot of lovely hotels here along the lakeshore, all rather Alpine in appearance, and the village itself was full of small, wooden craft shops, restaurants and cafes. A major holiday centre. Plenty of people on the beaches too enjoying watersports on the lake. We visited a craft market - lots of knitwear, leather and wooden crafts and jewellery.

Finally back to the ship about 5pm, a long day but a very good one. We were too tired to eat in the restaurant, so after freshening up we went up to the top deck buffet and had some Chinese food and then sat out on the rear deck while we sailed away, catching a last glimpse of the distant volcanoes, clearly visible in the clear evening light. A final show from the operatic tenor, John Christos, and a reasonably early night.