Standing ankle-deep in transparent water, I feel an almost mystical appreciation for the lake. It’s off-season, and I’m the only tourist in sight. The large, round body of water is nestled at the western edge of the Andes, its mountain ridges mere jagged shadowy outlines in the distance. Small ripples glisten in sunlight under a bright-blue sky. Gulls squawk overhead, and children’s voices reach me from far away; otherwise, silence.
It is just the sort of mystical appreciation Clara Valle, of my novel-in-progress, would have felt for the much smaller lake behind her cottage.
To the lake:
Having seen Lago Ranco swaddled in rain a week earlier, I decided to try again. A bus took me through rural landscapes and along the Pan-American Highway to Río Bueno, a small but growing city with a lovely plaza, located on the banks of the river of the same name, known for its good fishing. From there, I transferred to another bus en route to the town of Lago Ranco on the southern shore of the lake. As we rounded a bend in the road some three hours after I left Valdivia, the lake appeared, literally taking my breath away.
Up close:
Lago Ranco is a pretty little town. The homes, mostly clapboard and with Germanic details, are well-kept, the shops and small eateries tidy. There is a lush soccer field, and an impressive school in the center of town. All roads lead down to the lake, where a concrete lakeside costanera has benches and lookouts. Some of the signage is in the Mapuche Indian language, Mapudungun, as well as in Spanish.
This is the largest and one of the most beautiful lakes in the Los Ríos region and fourth largest in Chile. Several Andean rivers flow into it, and the Río Bueno flows out. Roads wind around its boundaries, which encompass a peninsula and several islands.
The biggest and only inhabited island is Isla Huapi. Mapuche and Huilliche Indians began to settle here some 400 years ago. Today, 900 inhabitants, virtually all Amerindians, live on the island and maintain their traditional language, foods, and customs. Visitors are welcome to visit and learn more, and boats leave from Futrono on the north shore several times a week.
After dipping my feet in the water, I walked over the one of the lake’s main dark-sand beaches, absent any beachgoer in spite of the day’s warm temperatures. From here I could more clearly see the Andes and, far in the distance, a pairing of white peaks in the shape of a camel’s hump. I suspect (but am not sure) this is the Mocho-Choshuenco, a double volcano slathered in glacier.
Next to the beach, one lone restaurant remained open to visitors. Rancho Ruca is circular in shape, reminiscent of the traditional Mapuche thatch homes known as rucas. Steaks are the featured food. When asked how I wanted mine, I learned that “mediano raro” conjured up nothing in the waitress’s mind; however, with a bit of description, the chef cooked it perfectly over a bed of hot coals.
Stomach full, I headed up the hill past the town’s archaeological museum, apparently closed for the season, back to the bus terminal and my rides home.
