Pucón!

Here we are, our next pre-adventure picture! Kristi pointed out we have a lot of photos of us sitting together going somewhere, in buses, in cars, in planes. In this one, we've just gotten off the airplane and are in the bus that the hotel sent to pick us up. We flew into Temuco (two Wednesday afternoons ago), just after getting together with Kristina's sister who arrived that morning to the airport in Santiago; our driver Louise took us from Temuco to Pucón, on a hour and half long ride through gorgeous countryside. All the buildings and noise and subways and smog faded into walls of yellow flowers, huge wide green fields, tall pines, broad lakes and mountains. And the air was so fresh and cool! Our driver stopped about halfway to Pucón en Villarica, so we could see this side of the lake.

Our hotel was ridiculously nice, and in the perfect place, at the top of the main street of town, with lake basically just out the back door. This is the view from one of our rooms!

That first night after making plans through the tour company at the hotel, we just walked around town and went out to dinner. It was such a treat to relax in this new place, and share a long dinner with Kristina and her brother and sister. We realized we hardly ever go out to eat in Santiago, except for the occasional lunch; so that made this weekend even more special. (That's our hotel right by the lake!! I took the picture from a hill at the end of town).

The next day Kristina and her siblings went on a canopy tour (where they strap you in a harness and you slide between ropes in the trees!) while I explored the resort and the town a little bit more on my own. I found a little coffee and chocolate shop and read for a while drinking my cortado. I shared the benches by the window with a nice old man that was visiting his family here, and had been many times. He completely agreed on the need to get out of Santiago now and then, and that Chileans drive like crazies there, haha! The people I met were really nice and friendly. It was good not being in huge crowds or worrying about people stealing in the metro or being in bustling malls. I liked the little half busy sleepy town streets, with all their local art, tourist traps (of course...), trekking/outdoor adventure places and coffee shops. It was wonderful to just walk out the front door to a church, tons of restaurants, and the lake, all within a block or two.

That afternoon we all went white water rafting! Now THAT was fun. I absolutely love rafting, and have been since I was kid. The water was super cold, so we had wetsuits, boots, jackets, completely decked out! Our guides were alot of fun, Nico and Philip. They made us jump off this huge rock into the freeeeeeezing water (and even the older couple jumped!), and I lost count of the number of times they pulled me in. It was exhausting too though, even my toes hurt after from gripping the raft and trying to stay in, haha. We laughed alot, and I screamed alot...! There is something to being totally tossed about by the waves...and okay maybe it wasn't life threatening with the life jackets, gaurds, only level 3 etc....but I love being in the middle of the river, and rushing past the mountains with the current, stuck between green on either side and freezing blue underneath.

The next day we'd planned to hike the volcano (yes there is a huge volcano that looms over the town!) but it was raining in the mountains, so we just hung around the resort and Pucón instead.

Mark and I went exploring for a while, and walked all over town. From the hotel windows I'd spotted a little white church in the hills above the town. I wanted to see if we could reach it, so off we set. We worked our way towards it, eventually coming to the foot of the green hills. We started walking up what we thought was the driveway to the place, when Mark spotted a stair case leading up through the trees...it was all made of stone and covered with leaves, and framed by an old archway. It looked so mysterious and inviting, like some secret passage way, or shortcut to the Shire, or something else that's only super exciting when you don't take yourself seriously.

So of course, we had to go up. It was a bit slippery, and a bit steep, and way more fun than it should have been! At the top our adventurous spirit was rewarded when peeking above the trees was the stone carved face of St. Claire of Assis, standing watching over the little while chapel I'd seen from across town! I've always liked St. Claire, which made the surprise even more fun. It turned out to be a convent of nuns, hidden way up on the hill. We rang the door bell and waited a long while till a little old nun open the door. She smiled and disappeared...and then a few minutes later appeared at the little chapel door to let us in. You just never know what you'll find...















The next day Kristina's brother had to fly home, but the rest of us got up early to hike the volcano! They suited us up in some intense gear again, with boots, snow pants and a jacket, little legs sleeves that tied under your shoes and went over your knees to keep the snow out, big ol backpacks full of helmets and gloves...oh yeah, and an ice pick!! I'd felt kinda sick and tired all morning, but I really wanted to climb so I suited up with the others. The drive up was lovely, and then out of nowhere there was the huge snow covered volcano looming over us! I'm not sure if it was when they handed me the ice pick, or when I looked up into the blinding white disappearing into the sky, or when I felt myself getting tired waaaay faster than normal, that I lost heart and knew that today I couldn't make the climb. After the first tiny little rise I knew I had to head down or be miserable all day and drag the rest of the group down. So I opted for going back down...something that was hard to do, mostly because I hate giving up, don't like admitting when something is beyond me, and was sad to feel like my heart wasn't in it. My friends were great and encouraged me to go home and rest till I felt better...and I did :) The day wasn't a loss at all, and in the end I'm really glad I didn't go up. My friends had a a good time, even though the top was so cloudy they couldn't see the crater, and I admit when they told me they slid on their bums all the way down to descend, I wished I could have gone! Think of that, a giant snow slide!! Maybe next time...

The next day we mostly packed up, went to mass, and flew back to Santiago. That was last Sunday night. My parents were to arrive Tuesday morning...let the planning begin!

(Here are a few miscellaneous pictures of the volcano and of the mountains, most of them were taken from the town itself). If this is what the south of Chile is like...I can't wait to see more. It had a totally different feel from the middle region. Which is why I suppose almost every Chilean I've talked to says make sure you go south!