About halfway up the Panamericana (or Ruta 5, how it is called here in Chile), we made a brief detour to the Salto del Laja, a miniature version of the famous Iguazú waterfalls. We got absolutely soaked there, but the falls are nice and now we've been there too :-)
On our last day in Pucón, we got up really early (yes we did!) and enjoyed the sunrise over a breathtaking landscape from the porch of our cabin at the Mirador de los Volcanes lodge. Because heading home meant sitting in the car for some 10 hours, we decided on one last activity: horseback riding! Florian whipped his poor 1 horsepowered engine into galloping up the hills, shouting "YYYIIEEEHAA, arrrrrriba!" It was lots of fun!
About halfway up the Panamericana (or Ruta 5, how it is called here in Chile), we made a brief detour to the Salto del Laja, a miniature version of the famous Iguazú waterfalls. We got absolutely soaked there, but the falls are nice and now we've been there too :-)
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And on Friday it was still raining buckets! But we made the best out of it by visiting the beautiful Termas Geometricas. These natural hot springs are nestled in the foothills of the smoky Villarrica volcano and stretch in a narrow canyon for over 500m. Alongside the water course they built 17 stone pools that blend perfectly into the canyon scenery. Water temperatures were ranging from 35-42°C. It was by far the best way to spend a rainy day in the Pucón area! Steaming hot baths, refreshing (actually screaming cold!) waterfalls and the lush green surroundings make sure that you will never forget your time in this paradise of tranquility and beauty. A must for everybody visiting this area! Back in Pucón we found everyone huddled around public televisions. As we spent the day far from any mass communication services, it was only then that we learned about the 9.0 quake in Japan. It was just recently, in February 2010, that an 8.8 earthquake struck the Chile. But luckily the affected area in Chile was not as densly populated as the Honshu Island and there are no nuclear power plants in this country either, so the damage was less severe. You could sense that memories were still very much alive though, and Chileans were deeply stirred by the tragic devastation in Japan.
We started our day trip to the coastal town of Valdivia with an obligatory visit to the biggest beer brewery in the Lake District: "Cerveceria Kunstmann". As the name suggets, it has strong links to early German settlers (actually the buisiness dates back to a man from my hometown Dresden), which is also reflected in the restaurant's menu: "Eisbein mit Sauerkraut". After enjoying a good German-style lunch, we continued to Valdivia's riverside fishmarket, where sealions feast on the leftovers. Judging by their massive body weight, we didn't expect this market to be a big sucess though... Just next to the giant water beasts it is possible to embark a nutshell to explore the brackwater labyrinth around Valdivia. In the middle of these wetlands stands the ruin of the German Mann's family, one of the first settlers in the region. Interesting, yes - but this boat trip would have been much more holiday'ish, if it wouldn't have been throwing down on us 24/7! On our fifth day in Pucón the time had come to finally climb the climb, tame the mountain, conquer the volcano. Yes, that's right, we signed up for it and now there wa no turning back! Equipped with ice pick, helmet, gloves, crampons, astronaut's boots, windbreaker jackets, trousers, gangster hats and sunglasses, we started our 5 hour hike towards the highly active Villarrica volcano crater. With sheer perseverance and armed with chocolate bars, energy drinks etc., we made it all the way to the top!!
Sadly the weather turned so bad (-40°C and storm force 8), that we were not able to take a photo from the mountain top without losing a finger or two... But we are sure that you guys believe us, even without the photographical proof of the sulphur spitting crater^^ On our fourth day we arranged for an easy daytrip to the lakes within national park Huerquehue, just 20min. from our holiday home. Well, it turned out to be quite a strenuous hike, going up steeply for some 2-3 hours before even reaching the first lake! But is was well worth the struggle. Once up there, we were rewarded with great panoramic views of the smoking Villarriva Volcano, waterfalls, warm lakes and sandy beaches. However, looking over to the volcano also made us feel uneasy, because we signed up for climbing that 2852m crater the very next morning... it would be so much higher than what exhausted us wannabe-athletes already! It's March 2011 and we just got back from a great Chile vacacion! We went to Pucón. It's a popular, if not THE most popular vacation spot of the country. During the Chilean summer break (Dec-Feb) this place is packed with Santiaguinos (Santiago citizens) while the busy metropolis actually feels quite deserted. But now everyone is back on track, so perfect time for us to escape the urban jungle... The first stop on our way down south was in the township of Angol. Not much to see there, but the town provides excellent access to the nearby Nahuelbuta National Park. Nahuelbuta was especially created to protect the Chilean auraucaria pines, a tree symbolic to the area. A few of these species, like the one we "climbed", are said to be 2000 years old! But it's not only the ancient auraucarias, the whole park has a wild and mystic feeling to it, and I honestly expected a giant dragonfly from the carbon age passing by at any moment... Also, despite arriving there at 1pm and in high season, the park ranger at the registry gate told us we were the first visitors today - so we enjoyed exploring our very own 6800ha of wilderness! |