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.

Blooming dogs

Today we thought it would be a good idea to walk to the next town round the Lake. The Viewranger app showed a footpath running alongside a disused railway line and along the lake shore. We had a false start as the way to the footpath was blocked so we had to retrace our steps. We had been barked at by some dogs fenced in and worried that there maybe loose dogs along the path. Martin found a hefty stick and I picked up a large stone.

Once on the path we could not see the lake. The land has been parcelled up and sold for the development of some luxury homes. There was no need in the end for our stick and stones but we were barked at constantly (not woof woof but ferocious barking and desperation to get at you) along the way which spoilt the walk.

We had our lunch by a fast flowing river.

Martin getting inspiration;

Mucking about on the lake shore;

We caught the bus back and spent a frustrating hour trying to book a hire car - we managed it eventually so we are happy that we will get further afield over the next two days.

Vicky the owner of the hostel lent me a book which I needed to read in two evenings then return to her. It was written by her mother. Vicky is one of 8 children and when they were aged from 3 to 17 her father decided to travel to Russia with them all, in a converted bus in 1960 at the height of the Cold War. He wanted to show Russians that the average (?!) American family was friendly. The journey took 2 years. It was a great read.

Sunday

Despite the comfortable bed we didn't sleep brilliantly. Bandurria birds roost in nearby trees and are noisy and there are some ferocious guard dogs nearby who don't seem to sleep. It was election day in Chile so all the shops and businesses were closed but luckily the local buses were running. We worked out a day trip using the bus.

The buses are all tiny and get packed;

It was an hour and twenty five minutes to our destination and Martin was wondering where the volcanoes were. Suddenly as we rounded a corner... wow there was the largest.

Our walk was on a lakeshore along black sand pathways and on the beach so it was good exercise even though we didn't go many miles. We had lunch with this view, no other people just a fishing boat on the water.

There are some waterfalls on the drive here but when the bus stopped the place was packed with coaches and people and you had to pay for the view so we skipped that.

Many photos were taken of the volcano as the weather changed. There are 2 volcanoes here - this one last erupted late 1800s but the other erupted in 2015.

Sculpture in town - just see the volcano under her train.

Punta Arenas to Puerto Varas

We started our breakfast at 7.30 and to our surprise the Korean chaps came in a few minutes later apologising for being late. I really didn't think they would get up to see us. We had another good chat and Guy was full of questions like are you glad you were born in England? He also commented on the fact that Martin had cooked the first night and I washed up then I cooked the next night and Martin washed up. He maimtained that it's still the women who do all of this in Korea.

Lots of hugs and goodbyes then we were on our way to the airport in Samuel's car. The flight was a little late leaving and was a budget airline so no free drinks nor snacks. I was in the middle seat and had a chubby young chap next to me who took up a lot of space and didn't mind sticking his elbow into me. After take off he fell asleep and gradually leant into the aisle. When the cabin crew came with the trolley they couldn't get past his head. They tried to wake him up. No response. I shook his left side they were shaking his right and saying "Senor, senor" louder and louder. There were 3 cabin crew and I think for a moment we were all thinking the worst. But no it was just a very very deep sleep and he did come round and sit up.

We got a transfer bus to Puerto Varas and it was raining with low cloud. We knew there were volcanoes but no sign today.

We had a hostel here booked earlier in the year. We then discovered that they had ended their association with booking.com but were keeping our reservation. Just before we left it transpired they had gone out of business and booking.com weren't aware. I quickly booked an equivalent alternative and booking.com stated that they would pay the difference in price. (Battle to commence on our return).

Well this new place is stunning. It's an old potato barn and when the owner Vicky bought it it was just 4 walls. She has done an amazing job. The B&B is on the top two floors, she rents offices and has her apartment on the next floor then rents out shop and cafe space downstairs.

Shared kitchen;

Vicky was married to a member of the Roth family. A Roth purchased land at the border of Chile and Argentina and his descendants have benefited from the lakes border crossing which goes through their land and is a very popular way of going between the two countries. Vicky also runs another house which is rented out, is a partner in a US baby food company and has a shop and chocolate factory!


I have been looking for horse trekking at each place but so far no go. Another guest here has two ranches about 2 hours drive away. He explained that there were day treks a few years ago but that has changed. There are more and more independent travellers who want to go camping in the mountains. This has meant that old horse trails have been turned into gravel roads with more and more vehicles. So the horse trekking has had to retreat further into the mountains and means overnight stays. Ah well.

We visited the tourist office and had bad customer service - the girl couldn't take her eyes off the computer screen and said all trekking is with guides and you can book on excursions. Every time I asked her where something is e.g. the supermarket she waved her hand and said 4 blocks and I had to keep asking her to show me on the map as I AM A VISITOR i.e. I don't know the town!

I was thrilled to see a book exchange in the B&B with some in English so, after reading many on my phone I can now hold an actual book.