Day 10 to 13 - Pucón, Chile

I had never heard of Pucón and when I read the tour brief just days before it started, I noticed it mentioned a volcano climb. Little did I know that Pucón, a small town in the Southern part of Chile, would be the highlight of my trip so far.

Arriving in the late afternoon, we were shown to our new lodgings at Hostal Willy. Here we would have a house to ourselves. Kitchen, dining room and a wood fire burner. With Sam and I being one of 2 couples in the group, we were to get a room to ourselves, but in the granny flat next door. This meant sharing the flat, in a separate room, with Sam and Stefan, who we later found out were vying for the heavyweight snoring title. The wall that divided the 2 rooms didn´t quite reach the ceiling. Awesome.

Potentially lethal when free, as with most types of free alcohol

Pucón is a one main street town, with a lake on ones side and overlooked by the perfectly shaped Mt Villarrica Volcano (2874m) on the other. The main street is lined with cafes, restaurants, outdoor stores, Adventure Tour operators and of course, dogs.

Seeing as we had our own house, Jon and Claire kindly volunteered to cook us a meal of Chilli con Carne (Not a pun just because we were in Chile). It felt very homely with a nice meal, bottles of wine being passed around and marshmellows roasting in the wood burner. This was soon to change later in the night as backpacks were drawn, crampons checked, boots, pants and jackets were sized and friendly banter was exchanged. All in preparation for the next day´s assault on the before mentioned, Villarrica Volcano.

Villarrica Conquered (Next blog)

So what´s the next best thing to conquering a Volcano? Rewarding yourself to a Chilean BBQ and all you can drink wine, pisco sour and beer in the same afternoon! Pisco Sour is the South American version of a Margarita. The composition has no resemblance but the taste does. It’s actually made of distilled grapes (like wine) mixed with egg white, lemon and bitters. Potentially lethal when free, as with most types of free alcohol. The free alcohol translated into a night of eating, dancing, singing and limbo dancing…and did I mention Macarena? We ended the night at a local watering hole called Mamas & Tapas, where there was bar top dancing and once again, nipple licking tequilas. Yes, we had climbed a volcano earlier that same day.

My legs were starting to feel the effects of the volcano climb and I thought it would give way at any time

I spent the next day chilling whilst Sam went horse riding around the lakes and mountains and some others did some white water rafting. I thought about going rafting but after reinjuring a niggling shoulder injury during snowboarding, and with the sobering effects of a hangover, I thought it best I catch up with some needed rest and chores i.e. laundry. Plus, my legs were starting to feel the effects of the volcano climb and I thought it would give way at any time.

So what do you do to sooth some sore muscles and hangovers besides Ramen Noodles? Go to the thermal baths of course! It was a great way to end the day, 2 hours in various thermal pools. We came home to an even bigger treat as Trevor had bought bottles of wines for everyone to enjoy. Once again, there was dancing, singing and copious amounts of wine. Senor Hanky, Poo Poo de Navidad made his maiden appearance (Future blog).

The dog looked like a bear on its hind legs

We ended off the night as we did the night before, at Mamas & Tapas Bar. This time it was a Saturday Night. The place was very different from the night before. We weren’t the only ones in the bar this time and there was a nightclub out the back and seemed like the whole of Pucón was in there. Of course it was up to us to instigate bar-top dancing. It was a great way to end our time in Pucón, except for Lauren having her wallet stolen at the club and Sam being attacked by a Bear-Dog. Well she wasn’t actually attacked but in the middle of the night, the dog looked like a bear on its hind legs.

The next day was spent chilling out in town at various cafes nursing hangovers and 5hrs sleep. Eventually we ended up at a bar (we couldn’t resist) waiting for the overnight bus to Santiago.

Pucón Rocked!...Santiago, come on down.