Off to Patagonia

The next day, after some meetings, we took a flight down to Puerto Montt which is at the northern end of Patagonia.  From there it was a 30 minute ride to Puerto Varas where we would be spending the last day, and this was the view that greeted us.

Yup, not too shabby.  I practically jumped off the bus to take pictures before the sun set.

The next morning, this was the view outside the room where we held our board meeting.

After the board meeting, we visited two more entrepreneurs who TechnoServe was working with through the Potencia Patagonia program, sponsored by the Chilean government to help develop businesses in Patagonia.  We first stopped at BirdsChile owned by Raffaele DiBiase Cuomo.  BirdsChile runs birdwatching and nature tours throughout Chile and Argentine Patagonia.  Sales increased 343% from during the 2013-2014 season!

From there, we went to Casa Miro owned by Ricardo Townsend.  Casa Miro designs furniture and ceramics from recycled materials and provides work for 14 local artisan workshops.

This visit was the official conclusion to our trip. Here's a picture of the group!

Before we split up and went our separate ways, we had lunch at La Gringa, a cafe run by, no surprise here given the name,  a white American woman from Seattle who met a Chilean in China.  More empanadas for me!

With just an afternoon left in Chile, a co-worker and I went to see the Petrohue waterfalls with our guide, Karen of Wine Travel Chile, who had been working with us in the planning of the trip and accompanied us the entire time.  It was a beautiful way to finish out our quick visit to Patagonia!  And I couldn't help but jump in front of the mountain we kept seeing...

Although this trip was quick, it was fantastic.  I can't wait to return and to spend more time exploring this beautiful country!