PUCÓN in 36 hours

Hi blog followers!

I just returned from a fantastic trip to Pucón, which is South of Viña del Mar in the Lakes District of Chile. I really enjoyed myself because not only was it a spectacular place, it was the most efficient trip I have ever been on!

On Wednesday night, I ran straight from class to the bus station and we took the 13 hour overnight bus to Pucón. I was travelling with my friend Emily, from IFSA, and her twin brother Peter who was visiting from the U.S. Anyway, the drive into Pucón in the early hours of the morning was beautiful as we had our first peek of Villarrica Volcano in the glow of the yellow morning light. As we climbed off the bus, I was immediately stuck but the chilly, fresh mountain air that I just love! After checking into our cute hostel, we took a local bus to Ojos de Caburga to see three waterfalls in the forest plunging into a deep pool of crystal clear water. I enjoyed exploring the little wooden bridges and wandering through the colorful fall leaves.

Ojos de Caburga

Cool swirly tree

Next we walked along the road for awhile in order to find the bus to Huerquehue National Park. Once we arrived, we successfully convinced the park ranger to let us in for the reduced entrance fee by using our Chilean ID cards (this made me feel like a legitimate Chilean, I was pretty excited!) We hiked for about three hours through a moist forest, then up a ways to arrive at a beautiful waterfall, and finally a marvelous view of the Villarrica Lake and Volcano. I saw a lot of interesting birds, but unfortunately didn’t have my dad along to identify them. Other animals included a fox, jackrabbits, cows and sheep. This was my first real wildlife excursion since arriving in Chile, and every second of it was fantastic!

Our trail through the forest, notice the bamboo!

Villarrica Lake and Volcano

That evening, we treated ourselves to a lovely dinner at a restaurant that was playing Jack Johnson and had cool rock candles. After dinner and what already seemed like a very long day, we decided to venture to the ‘thermas,’ or natural hot springs. Since it is the beginning of winter here, we hit Pucón during off-season and there were barely any tourists. This was definitely true at the hot springs, where there was just one other couple and six different pools to lounge in. It was a very natural environment, sandy pools surrounded by large rocks filled with some of the clearest water I’ve ever experienced. We enjoyed the moonlight pools and starry sky, which was only obstructed with steam from the hot springs. After a chilly day of exploring and the previous night on the bus, the hot water was exactly what my body needed. I know we all slept very soundly that night at the hostel.

We woke up bright and early the next morning to climb Villarrica Volcano! This is one of the four volcanoes worldwide known to have an active lava lake within its crater. Our group of six had two great guides who outfitted us with heavy jackets, pants, backpacks, helmets, crampons and ice picks. We began the hike at the base of the ski lift (which was not operating at the time) and made our way up at a slow and steady pace. The majority of the hike was in snow, so I became accustomed to using my crampons for grip, then the ice pick for balance and in case of a fall. It was a steep and grueling climb, but I knew from my past hiking experience that a strong mentality was critical. So I kept myself going by singing songs and thinking of happy memories. Don’t let me forget the absolutely breathtaking view that we had the entire time, it was just awe-inspiring. We were up on a volcano, far above the clouds and had views of lakes and mountains that seemed to go on forever. I had to keep reminding myself that this was real because everything seemed to amazing to be true. As we gained elevation, there were some awesome ice structures that reminded me of Dale Chihuly’s glass art. However, these were hazardous as they were sometimes blown down the mountain at outrageous speeds by the wind and could potentially hit climbers.

It's hard to tell, but this is me climbing with all my gear!

One of the many beautiful views

After about a solid six hours of climbing, a few breaks and some wobbly legs, we reached the summit! The view was extraordinary in every direction; we could even see two other nearby volcanoes. Not to mention peeking down the inside of the crater of an active volcano, an experience I will not soon forget. We could smell the sulfur gas, but luckily the wind was strong enough that we were able to hang out on top for a good 20 minutes before heading down. We trekked back down the mountain at a much quicker speed, although my knees and ankles quickly began to hate me. Once we’d gone about halfway, we pulled out our plastic sleds and SLID down the volcano! No, I am not kidding! There were pathways made by previous groups, so we weaved down the tracks at a good speed. I felt like I was doing the luge! It was a little painful at times, but SO much fun!

Emily and me in front of the crater. Please notice our homemade tie-dye shirts.

That same evening, we had to pick up and leave Pucón to take the night bus back to Viña. The trip was very refreshing and I left with a sense of accomplishment, as well as some pretty sore legs!

Once again, thanks for reading!