Las Balsas to Puerto Varas

Alison woke to find Pete taking sunrise photos and videos over the Lake.  He probably woke the hotel as the wooden floor creaked every time you breathed.
When Alison eventually stirred we both went down to the spa in our costumes, bathrobes and slippers for a wake-up swim, braving the cold outside air in the process!
  Some of the Bentley drivers were having breakfast, also in bathrobes, so we did not feel at all out of place.
A quick proper shower and then down for a delicious breakfast and whilst Alison packed Pete blogged away, discovering that we had taken 93 photos yesterday, so there is some editing to do!

We left Las Balsas just before noon, having first established the correct route to the border!
We had been expecting an unpaved road all the way to the border, but it had been totally paved fairly recently.
By 12:45 the temperature had dropped to 5 degrees as we ascended the Andes in misty rain and by the time we reached the Border, it had dropped to 3 degrees.
Today was a day of some expensive and not so expensive surprises!

At the border there were  still snowdrifts amongst the debris from the volcanic eruption three years ago.  The first surprise was that it cost 200 pesos to use the toilet, and the second was that a small wooden present bought in Chile, taken to and from Argentina was promptly confiscated by Chilean Customs. At that point Alison went to spend 200 pesos.
Once we arrived back in Chile, the temperature returned to a more pleasant 14 degrees and we decided to take the advice in our Audley black book to visit Termas de Puyehue for a snack lunch. When we arrived it looked closed as there were cones in the road, but the "sentryman" asked our name and then let us in.  We asked the way to the restaurant and found out that it was serving a Buffet Lunch only.  We were not that hungry, but managed a salad and small main, washed down with a glass of water and coffee.
We went to reception to pay and they asked for US$ 75 each!  This would have allowed us a full day in the resort 10 - 8 all inclusive ... but we only want lunch! So they very kindly reduced the charge to CHP 4500, still rather expensive at about £30 EACH.
After an uneventful drive, through the springtime countryside dotted with flowering trees and bluebells (apart from the 20km of roadworks towards Orsono) we reached Ruta 5 and Alison got her CHP500 ready for the exit toll at Puerto Varas.  However half way there we encountered a tollbooth where there was a charge of CHP2500, but no indication of the tariff!
So we put our money away and headed on the the Puerto Varas turnoff (which was not signposted Puerto Varas Norte as we had been expecting). Another CHP500 was needed here!
We then had some detailed instructions to reach Estancia 440, which we followed faithfully and reached it first time!  We were greeted by a very pleasant lady who offered us tea and apple cake.
The journey had taken about 6 hours in all including all our photo-stops and border issues.