Lakes and Volcanos in Pucón

[13-16 de Febrero, 2014] Finally headed in the right direction for Patagonia, Eli and I took a 14 hour bus ride south to the Lakes Region of Chile. We woke up to this beautiful site in Pucón, Chile:

Pucón 
This is the Villarrica Volcano. It's an active and perfectly cone shaped volcano that hovers over Pucón and its neighboring towns. The large Lago Villarrica is a typical Chilean lake in this area in that it has many resort towns around it, is full of sunbathers and boaters, and is pristine and gorgeous. Pucón sits on the western side of the lake and is an extremely popular tourist destination, but not just for foreigners. This is one place where we saw many Chileans out on vacation, enjoying their summer and their beautiful National parks.

Parque Nacional Huerquehue
With far too many options to choose from, we settled on a nice hike to see some alpine lakes. This hike was in the Parque Nacional Huerquehue. A minibus from town dropped us off at the trail head, how cool is that? I'm constantly impressed with public transit in foreign countries.

Lakes on the hike in Parque Nacional Huerquehue

Monkey Puzzle Trees

In this park there are some interesting trees. They only grow at higher altitudes and even though they are evergreens, the branches only form at the top. All along the mountain horizon you see what look like umbrellas sticking up, but up close you see branches like thick ropes. The Chileans call them "Monkey Puzzle" Trees, and according to Wikipedia, they are on the endangered list. They are native only to Chile and Argentina. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Araucaria_araucana) 

Hiking Villarrica Volcano 
One of the coolest things I have ever done was climb up to the top of Volcano Villarrica. After looking at all of the outdoor excursions offered in Pucón, we knew this was the one we had to try. It is an all day excursion and takes 5 hours to hike to the top. Not being in great shape I was somewhat worried, I mean you can see how large it is from outside on the street, but the tour guides didn't ask a thing about physical shape or stamina, so how bad could it be right? Right?! You decide... but all I can say is, I was very happy when we reached the top because I honestly didn't know if I was going to make it.

So how do you climb a volcano? Pretty much walk straight up it.

Sitting at the top of the chairlift climb with only 4 hrs left to go

We started underneath the chairlift which was not working on the day we climbed. It was a miserable hike up that ravine you sometimes see between two ski slopes: rocky and steep. The chairlift is an optional way up which cuts an hour off of the 5 hour hike, when it is working. It is not free and an incredible way for the mountain to make money, $16 per person for a one way ride x 3000 hikers that day, but no, no one wanted to turn it on that day (the guides say they never know), so we climbed.

First half of the climb was rocky scree

Then we moved onto snow

And then more snow, did we really pay for this?

Fortunately there were rest stops

and at every stop I was smiling

Plus those views... the hike was incredible when you could stop and enjoy it.

But always there was more climbing.

Finally we made it to the top!

Eli at the summit

The crater

Standing on the edge of a volcano

Eli capturing the above photo, and the endless views we had behind him

Ready to start our decent

Standing on the rim of a fuming volcano is something you will always remember. The hike was difficult and it has been a long time since I accomplished something I really didn't know if I was capable of doing, but it was the opportunity to stare into a volcano crater that really made this trip memorable. I never felt so happy as I did when we made it to the top. Everything about the summit- the views, the rim, the crater- was our reward. 

From the top of the volcano we still had a long way down. It took 5 hours to climb up but was supposed to take only 1.5 hours to get back down. How? See the fancy green and yellow outfits they gave us for the hike? We put on all waterproof gear (though by claim only, it was terrible), strapped a pad to our butts, and slid down the volcano.

Picture a luge track formed from hundreds of people doing this trick everyday. Some runs were 'with plastic' and some were without. The plastic was an additional sled we sat on when it wasn't so steep. The first few legs were 'without plastic'! Your ice ax was your break. There was little guidance and little control but we couldn't have had more fun.

Happy and safe and sound at the bottom

After all was said and done Eli and I somehow managed to cap off the day with a trip to the Pucón Beer Festival. We look pretty beat.

Villarrica, Chile

We had one day left in the area and decided to spend it in the town of Villarrica on the other side of the lake. A town not written up much in guide books, Villarrica was actually a great little stop. The view of the Villarrica volcano across the lake was much better then it was from Pucón, where the volcano was behind you and the lake in front. We swam in the lake and then shopped in a large cultural center in town. I can't think of a better way to spend a day. 

Villarrica Volcano from Villarrica, Chile