Whoops. What about Pucon?

I must not be spending any time in the internet cafes. I'm trying to update everything from home since the internet is fast and there is no line.

It was a long bus ride, but we pulled into Pucon at around 11PM in the evening. I quickly found my hostel which was close to the bus station. The Tree House was a nice place run by and English woman and Chilean guy. It was a slightly more expensive, but it had a good relaxed feel and the beds were nice. John, Lou (the English couple), and I decided to book the climb of Volcan Villarica. Nearly everyone who comes to Pucon climbs the volcano. It isn't that technical, but it sometimes is too much for those who do not normally exercise. The day started at 6:30 AM. Dang! We took the bus to the ski resort where we took the top lift up to the start of the hike. The lava rocks grabbed at my boots quite well so I had good traction to pull myself up the switchbacks. The group started to thin out due to the pace of the guide. I was still with the fast group but John and Lou fell back a ways. That was alright. No need to rush anything when you are climbing something that tall. Eventually, we reached the snow. There was a temperature inversion that morning, so it got hotter as we ascended. The snow was soft, so we didn't need cramp-ons that day. Once we were at the top, you could smell the gasses coming from the crater. Sometimes the sulfur smell was so great, it felt like someone had sliced a whole bag of onions right underneath your nose. The way down was much faster than the climb. We all sat on these butt covers and slid down troughs in the snow. It was like being in a luge run. Quite fun, but we were soaked by the time we reached the bottom. Overall it was a good tour, but I would have liked to have done it in the spring where you can snowboard all the way down. Maybe next year.

The next day, I teamed up with a few folks from another hostel to hike to the mirador at Cani. There were four of us, each from a different country. Jess was the Canadian and the strongest of us four. She was doing the opposite loop as I had done the month before through Patagonia. Her triathlon training propelled her up the steep 9K track like a gazelle and the rest of us hung on as best as we could. The trail wound it's way through araucaria (monkey puzzle) trees past a couple small ponds to a mirador at the top of a cliff. From there we could see four different volcanoes. It was worth the effort. After a few minutes, I led the group off the mountain HP (Heather Poyhonen) style. Jess was the only one who stayed with me as I bombed the switchbacks back to the park office. This time the descent was a bit easier since I wasn't carrying 15 kilos on my back. We returned to Pucon all dusty and smelly. A good shower would do wonders.

Lou met me at the Tree House and invited me to join them for an evening at the hot spring. This would be a nice conclusion to my trip on Patagonia. I spent five hours on my feet today, so a nice long soak to relax was what my body needed. I had been hanging out with John and Lou for the last three days. John is a guy who could be anyone's friend and Louise is such a sweetheart with stunning piercing blue eyes. They are well traveled and great to talk to about going abroad and life in general. There were eight thermal pools in all. Each varied in temperature from the luke warm to the torturous 45 deg C boiling pot. We started off in the wrong direction starting with the super hot melt your skin pool first. Being far away from the city, the stars were very bright. I'm still not used to seeing stars from the southern hemisphere. I was so relaxed when I got back to the bus, the trip back seemed like it only took 3 minutes. My trip was nearly complete. I said my goodbyes to John and Lou. My bags were packed for the most part so I mentally prepared myself for the long bus ride back to Santiago and the overnight flight back to the US.

Just like the last time I left South America, I felt as though I was not completely finished with my time here. I could definitely see myself coming back, but who knows when and how.