Pucon

My last few experiences on a night bus were so dreadful that the mere mention of getting on one again makes my rear end clench and legs twitch for fear of being squeezed into the vertical, metal matchbox of a bed. That was in Asia and now we were on the otherside of the world I was hoping that the Chileans might know something about comfort. All the actual beds on the bus had already been taken the previous day during the surge of thousands trying to get home after the New Years rampage so we were going to spend the night in a chair. When we got on board we were presented with a whole new breed of intelligence wit toilets as standard, seats taht you could actually sit in without sliding off and doing a back flip, fold down squishy lg rests and a clean blanket and pillow that wasn´t covered in someone else´s mouth dribble. Sleeping upright was still alaways going to be quite a challenge but we slept well and when the lights came on at 6.30am (where back in Asia it would signal that you should get off the bus immediately or risk someone else wonderig off with your pack) we were given breakfast of a tasty jam filled bicuit and a cartoon of juice named ´Sprim¨- how wonderous! We were then free to gently wake up ready for our 8am arrival.



When we reached Pucon it was like our bus driver had secretly taken us back to New Zealand. We were back in a landscape of mountains carpetted with snow overlooking large shimmering lakes and the weeather was just as cold and bleak. The plan was to camp in our tent but as we walked passed the cosy looking hostels we thought we´d just check the price of a room. Five minutes later we were huddled together all warm and snug on our bunk beds in a lovely family run home where everything was made from huge hunks of wood- it felt naughty splashing out the extra little bit of money but perfect for what we really wanted today. We even had an ensuite bathroom with a bath in it, although unless we were the size of a small dwarf we would only ever be able to sit upright with our knees around our ears in it.



We resisted sleep and walked out into the small town to see what we could get up to over the next couple of days. One of the main attractions here is Volcan Villarrica, a lava bubbling beast you can climb and look inside its fierce red belly. To join a tour was $70 each, a little steep for us but worth the splash for the experience. Fate had it way though, whilst there is a freakish amount of snow at home Chile is having a similar experience- it´s still snowing in the mountains ranges at the height of their summer season! As a result the bad weather had caused an avalanche the day before leading to a tour group needing rescuing and a trekker requiring an airlift out of the area. As a result the government had declared the whole mountain unsafe and shut it down, though with the thought of being buried alive we wre not too worried about giving it a miss.



We took a stroll down by the lake instead and as we stomped along the black gritty sand we were joined by four stray dogs who were determined to spend the afternoon with us. Infact taht whole beach was awash with them, all needing love and attention, which we really wanted to give to them if we could have given them a bth first. They all left us eventually bar one alsation who stayed with us for the duration of our walk, obediently trotting to heel. If we had the resources to rescue him he´d have been the next addition to the Blake clan.



The rest of the day was pleasant and easy going back at our cosy hostel, chatting with the family and sharing coffee with other travellers. We even manged to squeeze ourselves into the tub for nice hot baths andf slept well after such a nice wash in a clean bathroom.



At 7am the following morning our makeshift alarm, consisting of a pair of tinny headphones dangled above the bed pumping rock music as loud as possible from the iPod completely failed to even wake a single murmer from either of us. The plan had been to get up early so we could catch the 8.30am bus to the national park. When Laura checked the time it was 8.24am and raining heavily outside; we subsequently fell asleep, not to open our eyes until 10am. Our bodies were desperately trying to tell us something.



At 1pm we caught the next available bus to Huerquehue National Park to get some fresh air in our lungs. As the bus wound its way down the long country roads the rain eventually stopped- it seems fate was on our side again. Five minutes into our hike we could almost taste how clean the air was and like it was washing our alcohol stained insides new again. Over December we had trashed our bodies on several occassions and being out and about was just what we needed, although our lack of exercise was definatley showing aftre twenty minutes of steep climbing htrough the dense forests.



We hiked further up the side of a mountain passing trees so huge you could fit a house in the branches of each on, through mud so squidgy and deep we might get sucked in to another world. After three hours of ascent we started to glimpse the view across the valley below through breaks in the foliage, huge snowy mountains on the horizon and a strip of silver lake filling the valley floor below, whilst mists crept atmospherically out of the trees carpetting the slopes that framed the valley. We pushed a little further to Lago Chico, our halfway point nestled amongst the moss covered trees and reflecting the sky above in its mirror like surface, whilst it trickled out into a stream and poured far below at one end.



The return journey was a retrace of our footpath here, only this time with the added challenge of not mud-skiing all the way down, which we miraculously managed without a single fall on our bums! This time we took a small detour to a huge waterfall cascading metres down a rocky cliff before getting back with a few minutes to spare before catching the last bus of the day alongside a number of other muddy travellers.



It had been such a satisfying day and it didn´t take long before the comfort of our hostal and the warmth of our bunkbeds lulled us to sleep. Hopefully it would prepare us for the next full day of travel to Ancud.