For some reason we had booked two nights in Puerto Montt; a city whose sole highlight included its fish market, according to one of our guidebooks. Great.
Before visiting this raved-about fish market, we decided to do the “tourist trail.” This simply consisted of a green line drawn down the pavement for ~200 metres, the idea being that we would stop to admire the library, bakery and whatnot.
As the green line ended, we were wondering what to do with the rest of our day in Puerto Montt. After a short walk to the top of a ‘view-point’, we were met with the world’s ugliest cross and a grey view of the harbor – not a view we wanted to hang around to admire.
After this, by complete chance we stumbled upon some sort of celebration in one of the plazas; soldiers, dancers, a brass band, spokespeople, and a huge crowd. It turned out that the event that was bringing the city’s whole population to the square was Puerto Montt’s 163rd “birthday.” Finally something promising to bring a little life and excitement to the city!
After my first Chilean Pisco sour of 2015, we went to see the evening “birthday” celebrations; fireworks and live music in the square. The music accompanying the fireworks was an eclectic mix, ranging from reggaeton to classical music; the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack to Nicki Minaj; it didn’t really seem to gel together nothing wrong with trying to please the masses, I suppose.
We had a nice day, but if this is Puerto Montt’s most exciting day of the year, I can’t imagine what it’s like the rest of the time. One day here was more than enough time for us. It was time to leave the fish market and the green line to explore some of the Lake District’s true gems.
