The sea was silk smooth as we entered the harbor of Puerto Montt this morning. The moon was out, and the clear sky took on the sunrise hues, the light sweeping low over the town and the surrounding land. This is a prosperous area of Chile, much marked by the German immigrants that arrived in waves from the mid-1800's. They brought in cattle, and farming is still one of the backbone industries of the area. Fast development in fish farming and tourism constitute the other legs of the tripod economy in this land of potatoes and salmon.

A series of volcanoes, some still active (the latest eruption dates no further back than 1961), frame the land. In the morning we had wonderful views of a couple of them as we made our way to Rosales National Park, a temperate rain forest which occupies the foothills of Osorno Volcano, peaking up to 8,710 feet over sea level. The tour took us past Lake Llanquihue, the third biggest in South America, and from most angles we could see the glistening snow-capped peak of the volcano hovering over the landscape.

As we drove higher up towards the park, a larger span of trees and shrubs fringed the road. Many species have been introduced the last 150 years, like the eucalyptus, spruce and different kinds of pine, mingled in with the stands of southern beech. Once the sequoia (red wood) was native to the land, but the only signs we saw of it were huge stumps. The trees have been harvested over the last 150 years, making for splendid, very weather resistant building material, like the wooden shingles that cover the walls as well as the roof of many of the older houses and churches.

Standing by Petronue falls, with the backdrop of Osorno Volcano, was certainly awesome. The water rushes through narrow gaps in columnar basalt, and the river is used as a white-water rafting site. Most of all we were grateful for the clear day granted us. The bliss of that clarity of air and balmy temperatures made the whole experience a perfect last day of the awesome inland passage of Chile.