Puyuhuapi from the Heights

In the heights, a clearing in the woodland invites visitors to rest for a while and see the layout of this charming town teeming with magic.

Upon reaching Puyuhuapi, invitations to go for a walk are the most popular tour, whether around its centric streets or in its surroundings. We accepted the challenge and headed for one of the vantage points. We were on the shore, near the old pier, and we let ourselves be tempted by a sign inviting to see the town from the heights. We slowly took the trail marked with logs painted in red and white. The short green grass looked as a private garden and led us through a trail featuring light difficulty in the first stretch and becoming a little bit steeper later on. However, we did not change our rhythm, as the idea was not to break any records but to reach the higher parts.

Do Not Get Lost

“The trail was laid out many years ago, but recently, a group of youths devoted to hiking activities worked hard to settle the painted posts that make the route safest”, our hostess commented as we walked. Our conversation was interrupted once in a while by a pause to breathe in and keep going up. It is not a difficult terrain but the slope is felt. At one point, we had to cross a fence and go up a staircase made of wood to save an obstacle without any effort.

We went off the trail a couple of times to watch some low plants and make out chilcos and calafates. As they were blossoming, it was easier to spot them. Besides, the hummingbirds would help us. What was completely certain was the presence of the myrtle trees with their reddish very soft bark. Some cows looked at us impassively and they were not the only privileged beings along these paths. Now we were amidst the forest heading for a clearing which offered us an advance of what we were searching for. Adventurers may stop as many times as they wish. There will always be something nice to see. Already at the vantage point, a bench invited us to rest and behold the huge valley interrupted by the mountain range.

Towards the Distance

Raising her hand, our hostess Luisa indicated the beginning of Queulat National Park as well as the winding Pascua River and the huge rhubarbs on its shores. Its very large red flower and its edible stem turn this into a really appetizing plant. Watching the river, it is easy to imagine how the new families began to settle down and build their houses here and there without any fix rule. They grew along with Puyuhuapi, making it a village of winding streets. Holding a map of the area, we pictured the location of Lake Risopatrón, at 180 meters, higher than Puyuhuapi. We would go and see it in our next outing. We let our eyes get lost in the sea and enjoyed the quietness, the almost perfect silence only interrupted by the murmur of the river and the voices of the people arriving from the heights.

We bade Luisa farewell and promised to go along a different path, known as Los Colonos (the Colonists). It was said that it was well defined in the maps and that it was impossible to get lost.