Not a lot to report from Puerto Montt, it's an industrial port town and administrative hub, maybe on par with Dover, without the cliffs. I even failed to find a postcard to buy there. The plus side was the lovely Hotel Tren del Sur where I was staying. The double bed an en suite with a bath made me very happy indeed and I made the most of a relaxing bath. Somehow these things are even sweeter after spending the previous 4 nights in a dorm on a boat with 22 other beds!
Getting away this morning was quite eventful. I woke up a bit late after staying up too late watching TV (House without dubbing) and having a slightly disturbed sleep thanks to a group of overenthusiastic Chilean men who were staying at the hotel on a fishing trip. They decided to have a singsong at about 1am and then were up to catch fish at about 5am... It took me quite a while to explain to the receptionist that I had already paid for the room and I hadn't eaten or drank anything from the bar, eventually he let me leave but I was a little bit short on time to get to the bus station. Then I couldn't find the right office in the bus station. Having not got many long distance buses in England I can't really compare, but in places like South America and SE Asia there are about a million different bus companies all going from the same terminal and doing similar routes to each other often. Anyway on locating the right office I then couldn't find the right bus. I thought that I had found the right one as it had the right destination "Bariloche" on the front so I checked in my bag and got on board. Just before it was due to leave the driver checked tickets and I was on the wrong bus! Luckily mine hadn't yet left and I eventually was settled in my luxury armchair seat for the 8 hour journey to Bariloche. Great service on the bus too - breakfast, lunch and hot drinks, can't complain!
The bus ride itself was gorgeous through the Chilean and then the Argentinian Lake Districts - all lakes and mountains and blue skies. We stopped for 20 mins or so at Angostura. This got me thinking whether this was where Angostura Bitters came from... after a quick Google search they don't. They come from Cuidad Bolivar in Venezuela which was originally also called Angostura but renamed after Simon Bolivar.
First impressions of Bariloche are great. It's a beautiful location on the edge of the lake with mountains all round and Swiss chocolate box buildings, and LOTS of chocolate shops!