Lake District Weekend

Before going to the public hospital, I decided to take a 3-day weekend to see Pucon in the Lake District of Chile. This is a region several hours' drive south of Santiago where there are multiple (surprise) lakes and many picturesque volcanoes. I got a recommendation from some American friends to check out Pucon, the "adventure capitol" of the Lake District sitting on the shores of Lake Villarrica with a view of the snow-capped Volcano Villarrica nearby.

I took a night bus out of Santiago on Fri after work. (P.S. the bus station I chose was the first time in Santiago that I felt like I was in a developing country. It was packed with people hauling around what appeared to be their whole lives' belongings making it impossible to move around or to find the right bus, and within the 30 or so minutes I spent there--way too long--I tried to help some man who was gushing blood from a head wound, tried to avoid a woman who was standing alone and literally wailing in a psychotic manner, and eventually and thankfully found sanctuary on my bus.)

I got to Pucon a little too late to catch the morning bus to the national park I was hoping to hike that day, so instead I decided to rent a mountain bike and go see the Ojos de Caburgua, supposedly twin waterfalls (hence "eyes") about 15km outside of town. I was thinking a little gentle cycling was just what I needed to take it easy before I climbed the volcano the next day, which everyone had said was a very strenuous climb. However I must admit that I have never really mountain biked before, and I now have a new respect for the sport. Going up those hills is freaking difficult. I made it to the waterfalls which were indeed beautiful. There were actually 3 of them flowing down 1 side and also a short one on the other side of the clear blue pool they flowed into. It was making it back to town that got a little questionable. Especially when my chain fell off the bike shortly after starting back to town and I couldn't shift gears anymore...

The next day I had to be at the tourist office at 6am to take off for the volcano ascension. I was rewarded for my previous day's efforts to "take it easy" mountain biking with very sore quads. We strapped on all sorts of fabulously stylish bright yellow plastic gear, helmets, and crampons, and started walking in a single-file line through the snow up the side of the volcano. I think this is the most popular activity in Pucon with nearly every tour agency offering a trip, so this was not exactly a one-on-one with nature encounter. Stretching above and below us were long lines of tourists which forced us into a nice easy pace. The volcano isn't within any particular mountain chain and is one of the tallest things in the area, so despite all the tourists around me I still felt pretty peaceful enjoying the great views of the lakes and other volcanoes in the distance and hiking through the snow. Apparently they often get rainy overcast weather, so we had lucked out with a perfectly clear day. By 11:30am we were choking on sulfurous fumes at the edge of the crater. Then came the fun part: we got to sit down in snow tubes and literally slide all the way down the volcano. We picked up a lot of speed on these but had our ice picks to throw behind us as brakes just in case. I felt like a little kid back in elementary school--another slide!? Pretty please! It was really fun! Finally, I finished off the afternoon with a nap in the sun on the lakeside beach. It was a lake, but there were blue waves and plenty of people sunbathing, kayaking, and boating to make it feel like an ocean beach.

My last day I made it to Huerquehue National Park to do a hike up to 2 huge waterfalls and 3 gorgeous lakes. Each of the lakes was a beautiful crystal blue-green. Oddly, the one named "Green Lake" was the least green of the 3. All in all it was a beautiful escape from Santiago, and I wish I could have stayed in the area longer.