The many faces of Volcan Osorno

 I have been lucky to visit Chile twice, the first time almost a quarter century ago when Nicola Ripley, now director of the Betty Ford Botanic Garden in Vail and I joined John Watson and Anita Flores exploring from Portillo to the northern lake district, where we crossed into Argentina. This trip began with southernmost Chile near Punto Arenas (my recent blog post) and then we flew to Puerto Montt and drove to the extraordinary Lake District where Volcan Osorno reigns supreme.

Rather like dinosaurs, sea shells and postage stamps, many kids develop a fascination with vulcanism, and after a fashion, we begin to collect them. I recall the wonderful symmetry of Mount Saint Helens before she blew her top, and of course Mt, Hood. I have yet to see Mount Fuji in the pumice, so to speak, but Volcan Osorno stands alone in many ways. There are a wealth of volcanos in the Andes not too far away, but this one stands apart enough that it's riveting whenever you are in the vicinity.

These are just a few of the pictures I took the few days we were nearby: Every time you looked at it it was a little different.

One of our first glimpses was from a bus that drove us to Puerto Varas...

A closer view...

And here we are nearly to its tree line. 

Now that I've returned home,  Osorno continues to loom in my memories.