Pucon to Santiago

We were up and gone from the hostel by 5am to walk to the bus station for our 5.30 bus. It was just getting light but everywhere was quiet. We passed a black dog which was lying down. As we turned a corner two dogs started barking and wriggled under a fence to get at us. One was especially ferocious. As Martin was trying to get him away, round the corner came the black dog. He saw both of the dogs off and quietly escorted us to the terminal!

Martin confirmed with the conductor that we would be getting off the bus at Quepe where a taxi would be waiting. All seemed ok. We couldn't sleep as we had to be alert for the stop. After an hour and a half we estimated we would be right on time for the taxi. But at a bus stop about 10 minutes before Quepe the conductor came to us and rattled away in Spanish. It appeared that they would not stop the bus to allow us off in Quepe and we had to get off now. A lady tried to argue with the driver and explained a taxi was waiting for us but to no avail. The conductor had got our bags out of the bus so we had to get off. 

So there we were on the main Pan American highway with lorries thundering past, 6 km from the airport. We started walking. On the turnoff for the airport we started to hitchhike. The first 2 vehicles sped past but they were private transfer minibuses so no surprise there. Luckily the next vehicle was driven by an airport worker who kindly stopped and took us the rest of the way.  I have written to the bus company to complain as it was their employee in the Pucon terminal who told us to make these arrangements. 

There was still plenty of time before the short flight to Santiago so we spent the money saved from the taxi fare on coffees. On arrival we caught the stopping bus to the centre as we couldn't check in until 2. After I paid for our fares I stored the return tickets with our passports, stowed the change in my purse and thought I'd put my purse in my handbag. I was on a double seat with a handbag, a rucksack and a large man next to me and the rear wheel arch under my feet so it was a bit cramped. Just before we got up Martin picked up something from the floor behind my seat and said oh someone's dropped their purse. It was mine! I must have dropped it and it slid off the wheel arch to the floor behind me. How lucky - it had lots of cash, my cards and our railcard in it.

After lunch in a pretty square and a bit of people watching we found our small apartment which is on the 14th floor of a block. It's not great being in a city after the beautiful fresh air and countryside of Patagonia.

Our usual routine on arrival followed - visit the tourist office and shop for food. There was what I can only describe as a "hoodie" type youth manning the info centre, lounging in the chair. He was not at all engaged at the start but he did warm up eventually.

Someone has looked out for us today what with the protective dog, the kind driver who picked us up, Martin seeing the purse.... and this evening a man stopped me as I was about to cross the road and saved me from being mown down by a cyclist. 

Last day in Pucon

On our last day in Pucon the weather was hot and sunny. We went down to the lakeshore to see if we could find a path from the beach to the mouth of the river. We caught up with Jun and the 3 of us tried to make our way through tall bushes along a sandy path but had to turn back as it was too overgrown.

After a drink in town we returned to our room for a long siesta out of the sun and to pack.

In the evening we chatted to a young couple from Rio who told us about the corruption and crime which is causing their generation to leave if possible.  Later we had wine and lots of laughs with Jun, Denise, Solange and Rodrigo. Rodrigo showed us a video of the volcano erupting in March 2015. We said our goodbyes and went to bed setting our alarms for 4.45.

On horse back at last

After a morning chilling at the lakeside I got ready for my ride. I was picked up first but there were only 4 in the group so we didn't have to call at many places before setting off to the ranch which was 20 minutes drive away.  The ride leader asked if anyone needed the loo before we started riding. I said yes but regretted it. Instead of going into the house I was shown to a wooden shack which contained a drop toilet. All I could think about was the one Chilean poisonous spider which hangs around in such places and tarantulas!

We were introduced to our horses after being assessed for riding experience, height and weight. I was told mine was lazy so would need 'motivation', went very slowly downhill and didn't like other horses so if others got close and her ears went back I had to pull her away.... okay....

The countryside we rode through was fabulous and we crossed a few fast running rivers. I was Billy No Mates at the back with my horse keeping her distance. When we cantered I soon learnt she needed a whack to get her to move on from a trot.

I had one scary moment near the end. Drivers in Chile do not slow down for horses. One driver was going too fast, started braking by the others ahead but skidded a bit on the gravel road by me. My horse understandably took fright, turned and tried to get away. I lost a stirrup but managed to stay on board and pull her up but I was glad we didn't have far to go. But suddenly there were lots of hornets around bothering the horses. I was desperately hoping mine wouldn't get stung and was very relieved to see the ranch. We were on the horses for over 3 and a half hours and boy did I know it when I tried to dismount.

We had a great evening chatting with Jun and Denise and Solange, two lovely and friendly sisters Chilean by birth but brought up in both Chile and Australia. Rodrigo made us all an Earthquake cocktail - a Chilean speciality. Delicious! Then he called us out into the yard as the top of the volcano was glowing orange.

Three Lakes

A big walk was planned for today. We caught the 8.30 bus to the National Park Huerquehue. The walk was scheduled to take 3.5 hours up and 3.5 hours down. There were buses back at either 14.10 or 17.10 so it had to be the 17.10 but that carried with it the worry whether everyone would fit on that last bus. Once we had paid the park fees we set off at a pace uphill. We got to the top lake in 2 hours. We had a lovely quiet spot for lunch and a paddle but after a while lots of other walkers arrived. So we set off down at a slower pace and stopped to see the cascades. However we still had a long wait for the bus. Thankfully we both got a seat - some people had to stand all the way for the hour journey after walking all day.

When we were sat waiting for the bus someone spotted this tarantula wandering around......

Good to see landing gear works;

Coming in to land;

Volcano flight

The airplane flight company had offered us return transfers to the aerodrome for £72 but we worked out we could go by local bus for under £10 for the 3 of us. However it meant we had to meet at 3.45 at the hostel so we couldn't go out too far.

We decided to catch a local bus to Lago Caburgua to sit by the lake and read, have lunch then slowly make our way back. Yet another beautiful place.

Jun was ready and waiting at the hostel so we were good to go. Rodrigo saw us off and said wave when you go over. Martin said he would get the pilot to beep his horn.

The bus journey went well and we got to the airfield by 5 for our 6 o clock flight. The pilot, Victor, finally arrived at 5.57 after an anxious wait. We still haven't adapted to this manana time.  The plane was a 6 seater so the smallest we have ever been in. It was a bit bumpy but I didn't feel nauseous at all. Martin sat next to the pilot and they could communicate to each other on their headsets. Jun and I were linked in to each other. Apparently Martin was warned by Victor that an alarm would sound at one point. When it went off Jun and I were a little worried until Martin turned round and mouthed it's ok. The views were just stunning and the whole experience well worth the money. The landing was very bumpy because of strong crosswinds.

Jobs and chilling

Breakfast this morning was great fun. Three Brazilians, Jun from China, the Spanish speaking owner, Rodrigo and us two. One of the Brazilians could speak a bit of Spanish so was busy translating what Rodrigo was saying into English and Portuguese and Jun was trying to keep up. It transpired that there was a slight earthquake this morning when we were all in bed. Rodrigo was up preparing the breakfast when he noticed the light fittings swaying and the door rattling.

The morning was spent doing some jobs. One of which was sorting our journey to the airport next Wednesday for our flight to Santiago. There is no public transportation to the airport. We have to get a bus which goes to Temuco and ask to get off when we are 5 minutes away from the airport and book a taxi to collect us from the side of the road. For us that means a 5.30am bus and the hope that the taxi will be there at 7.00! Well we have bought the tickets and booked the taxi. Fingers crossed.

Next on the list was to book our flight over the volcano. This involved Rodrigo lending us his phone, several emails etc but we booked provisionally for Saturday early evening. Then we had to find Jun to ensure he was committed. I knew he spent his days on the beach at the lake and luckily we spotted him quickly. Cash sorted, flight booked - we are all very excited. Jun likes champagne so he opened a bottle for us to share at lunchtime! I also succeeded in finding a horse trek so that's booked for Monday afternoon.

Martin and I went to the lake to chill for the afternoon. There was a 5 a side football tournament for youngsters which entertained us for a while.

Oh yes and there was a dog too but a friendly one.

Puerto Varas to Pucon

At the potato barn B&B our breakfast was served in the cafe downstairs. Every morning it was delicious and freshly made but it took ages. We got there as it opened at 8am this morning to be the first in because we knew we would be rushing to get our bus. Again it was painfully slow service so we did have to bolt it down.

The bus terminal was for Turbus who have taken over JAC bus who we had tickets for. There was an electronic screen showing times of buses but just Turbus. No information on JAC. It was a relief when the right bus arrived on time.  We settled in for the 4 and a half hour journey to Pucon with plenty of podcasts to listen to.  Our seats were at the front on the top deck.

The bus stopped at several towns along the way. Not for long though so these mobile coffee men were doing good business.

Volcan Villarrica came into view as we neared Pucon - this one is a live one. There are little puffs of steam at the very top.

Green light at the moment;

Pucon is a prosperous all year round tourist resort with lake activities in summer and skiing in the winter. However once again not much self guided trekking but plenty of excursions.

When I put the kettle on for a cuppa in the shared kitchen in the hostel there were 2 South Korean women cooking vegetables. They didn't say a word and it was a bit awkward especially when they used my hot water so we decided to wait until they had finished before preparing our dinner.  When they left we had dinner at the same time as Jun who is from Beijing and has been travelling for 5 years. We had a good chat and when we mentioned that we were looking at booking a flight over the volcano he said he would join us which was great as the cost of the flight is fixed for 1, 2 or 3 passengers.

Beautiful drives

Once Martin had collected the hire car we set off to drive to a fjord. The scenery was gorgeous and the car was practically new, the sun was out so we were enjoying the drive. We had a late lunch and a short walk in Cochamo. Unfortunately the tarmaced road finished and we were onto gravel roads. It got quite hairy. Some bridges had collapsed and the temporary bridges were almost just planks with very steep extremely rough tracks down to them and up the other side. I'm so glad it was Martin driving.

At the end of the fjord we waited for the car ferry for the 30 minute ride across. When the ferry came in two petrol tankers were boarded. Because of the dangerous load no other cars nor foot passengers were allowed on. It wasn't too long a wait though as they had 4 boats going back and forth.

Thankfully the road all the way back was tarmac. It was even more beautiful up the other side back to Puerto Varas. Along the way we saw pelicans flying in formation but because of the wind they looked like they were just hanging there. It didn't look real - more like something out of Finding Nemo.

In the evening we chatted to a Canadian couple (our age) who had booked into our B&B for 2 nights. They were in the middle of a 4500km bike ride through Chile. They were having a few rest days away from the bikes but also awsy from the rest of the group! We discussed the dog situation. In Argentina they had visited a gun store to buy pepper spray as defence against dogs. They were told they were not allowed to buy pepper spray but could buy any size of gun!

On our second day with the car we drove out to a fishing town an hour and a half away which I don't think many tourists visit. Again the journey had superb views. In the town square there was a group of children dressed up. From what I could gather it was a boy's birthday and the theme was recycling. They had a karaoke machine too.

Our final stop was Frutilla back on the lake, north of Puerto Varas. This town had been colonised by Germans which showed in the architecture and it was very well kept.

When we stopped for a cuppa we ordered a hot chocolate for me and a cup of tea with milk for Martin. My hot chocolate was delicious - they put chunks of dark chocolate in hot milk. Martin put his teabag in the cup and poured from the pot..... it was hot milk! It was the weakest tea he had ever had but he drank it.