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The drive to Pucon would wind through the lake district passing a vast number of lakes, and waterfalls. The views from road over these lakes and beyond would be stunning! I am sure it would have been, were it not for the torrential rain that pelted the windows and reduced visibility to a meer stones throw! The drive which should have been 5 hours, took about 8 as we crawled at a frustrating pace through the rain!
We arrived at the campsite in Pucon, which had over the last few days become a swamp. We couldnt camp (such dissapointment) and we checked into a hostel. The town of Pucon, was again, simillar to Calafate. Based around one main touristy high street, and used as a base by many people for outdoor activities int he surrounding area. The peak of the villarica volcano is meant to smoke ominously above Pucon, but due to the cloud cover we never actually saw it! It is active and I think its last serious eruption was in the 1970s. The pictures I have seen of it are stunning, and it bears a ressembelance to Mount Fuji, as it takes the stereotypical, snow capped volcano form.
We were due to climb it one day but due to the weather this was never really an option. It is a hard days climb with crampons, but the views from the top, and the chance to peer into the belly of a live and active volcano are supposedly worht it. You are also allowed to slide down on the ice for about 20mins of the descent. Our second night, we were taken to the volcanic baths, about 45 mins from the Pucon. They are natural springs heated by volcanoe, that have been turned into a string of baths and pools, concentrated in a variety of different complexes. The temperatures of the baths all differ, but the natural rock pools in which they are housed, and the partially starry Chilean sky were a great backdrop to unwind in. We spent a few hours there and then returned to the hostel.
The weather still unsuitable for climbing, we decided to indulge in some hydrospeeding. Having successfully mastered the duckies (two man raft), we opted for something a little more extreme. No raft! Hydrospeeding is basically going down a graded river in a wetsuit, flippers, clinging onto a specially designed body board for dear life. The rapids werent as trying as the ones in Bariloche (probably for the best), however the final rapid was absolutely fantastic. It began at the confluence of two rivers. As the larger river joins the smaller one through which we were travelling, if you turn upstream you are able to surf for the rapids for a few seconds until your legs give way. Doing a barrel role to change direction, the more powerful river shoots you rapidly downstream, and a collection of large rocks make the river that bit rougher. As we were drying off, a local fisherman caught two of the largest salmon I have ever seen. Tempted as we were to buy them, the river guide, snapped them up before we could even enter negotiations. Again the river and the surrounding valley was stunning, lacking in any pollution, a place with more greenery per square foot that should legally be allowed.
And so we rolled out of pucon the next day on the final stretch of the trip. A 12 hour drive to Santiago. Joining the famous Pan American Highway (which we will no doubt meet again hopefully in Bolivia and Peru), we edged towards Chile´s capital and the end of our first overland trip!
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