Pucon

Our first stop in Pucon was these waterfalls. It was a nice introduction to the splendor of Pucon. When we arrived, we couldn't really see the volcano, but the next morning it was such a glorious day so we were able to see everything! Pucon is just spectacular. In the six days that we spent here, we did so many things! We went 'canopying,' or 'zip-lining' through the forests of Pucon. That was quite the adventure! We also went on a few hikes, horseback riding, white water rafting, and ate some really good food. We also went to the base of the top of the volcano and took some pictures. Pucon was stunning and I will not forget how beautiful it was (and is). Whenever we went walking around the town, there would inevitably be a few dogs that followed us around. I think that they could sense that we loved animals. Anyways, Pucon was fun and gorgeous!

This is where we stayed for the first few days in Pucon. It was a cute and quaint little place located in the town of Pucon. I will never forget Alexis, the twenty-something kid who "ran" the place. I don't know if he ever really knew what was going on; it was rather humorous, but he did give us some good ideas about what we could do outdoors in Pucon and he also told us about a few great vegetarian restaurants in Pucon (which we tried and they were all delicious!). Pucon is a very outdoors kind of place and people from all over the world were staying right here in our same little inn. I met a couple from Canada, a guy from Brazil, a group of four Spanish guys, and an American guy who had retired and was in Pucon to learn Spanish! Crazy! With all of that natural beauty around! Anyways, we went white-water rafting which was absolutely so much fun!! However, the required garb made all of us feel ridiculous and nerdy. My picture of us before we launched off in the river doesn't show us with the jacket and the hats that they made us wear so perhaps we don't look too bad in the photo (but trust me, it wasn't pretty!!). We had such a great time in Pucon!!

While in Pucon, we also went horseback riding. For me it was another highlight of my first trip to Chile. The guide was Mapuche, the indigenous group of Chile who have quite a bloody and sad history due to the Spaniards. Finally, the Chilean government has slowly started to address these issues about land that rightfully belongs to the Mapuche, but progress is still not moving quite as fast as the Mapuche would like (according to our guide). Anyways, the horseback ride was great, even though I was given the slowest horse! The ten year old brother of our guide, Leandro, told me that my horse was "el mas lento pero el mas seguro," meaning "the slowest but the safest," so that was fine with me. One of the Brazilians who was with our small group had a lot of problems with his horse trying to buck him! It was crazy! But the view from just half-way up the mountain was breathtaking. We were able to see all of Pucon and even neighboring towns. At the end of our ride (which for me ended about 45 minutes after everyone else!! my horse was seriously that slow!!), the Mapuche family's grandmother had made a bunch of food, almost all of it vegetarian, and it was delicious! She had made Chilean sopapillas which are quite distinct from the Mexican ones that I'm used to, but they were great. It was a beautiful day!!

So we spent our last few days in Pucon at these cabanas that were about twenty minutes outside of Pucon, but totally worth it!! I cannot express how beautiful and peaceful it was here. It was almost silent...but of course, nature is not absolutely silent. The noise generated in nature is not the equivalent of the cacophony experienced in "civilization." And the stars at night were amazing; the sky was so dark and the stars were incredibly bright. The final days we spent in Pucon were probably my favorite during our entire three-week visit to Chile. We would spend our afternoons sitting on these benches and I don't know what Carolina and Kristi were thinking, but I was contemplating all of this gorgeous majesty that surrounded us. Pucon was truly a spectacularly beautiful place.

Frutillar

Frutillar really surprised me. It was absolutely astounding and picturesque. The several volcanoes of the area were amazing and our cabin's location was just right. When we first arrived, the volcanoes were all covered by thick and immense clouds. Carolina worried that we wouldn't be able to even catch a glimpse of such beauty. But fortunately, the second day we were there, the clouds left and I immediately ran outside to take several photos of the primordial, exquisitely sculptured landscape of Frutillar. I thoroughly enjoyed our visit to this little town in southern Chile. I will not soon forget it!



And here are a few more shots of the volcano and some random pics of Frutillar. I also had, just had to include a picture of my new friend in Frutillar: la gatita Emily! She was so cute (and kind of psychotic! hahaha). When we got to our cabin, she came running right over and as soon as we opened the front door she came right in. I was kind of tired so I took a little nap on the couch and Emily jumped up on me and laid right down on my chest and took a long nap with me! She was so cute! But she liked to climb things, including these skinny, tiny trees. She was another highlight of our three days in Frutillar.

Before we went to el Lago de Todos los Santos we stopped at these running rapid waterfalls or "saltos." We hoped that the volcano would come out from behind the clouds, but as you can see, it did not. Anyways, from the saltos we travelled on to one of the prettiest lakes I have ever seen. Just absolutely gorgeous! It was kind of expensive for an hour and a half boat ride around the lake, but in the end, it was worth it. We left the German (or Swiss) looking buildings behind and went to an island in the middle of el Lago. We were all kind of lost in our own thoughts for the boat ride; and it was lovely.

I loved being on the Lago de Todos los Santos! What a beautiful lake! I'm sure that some of these photos can appear to be a bit repetitious but I was just fascinated by the beauty and the majesty of this area of Chile.

Our very last excursion in southern Chile was to the island of Chiloe. In order to get there we had to drive to the end of the panAmerican highway, literally. We drove the jeep onto a ferry that took us from the southern most tip of land on the Chilean side to Chiloe. It was a quick visit and I'm glad we did it because we got to see the penguins! They come to Chiloe twice a year, I think. It was pretty cool seeing them in their natural habitat. And of course the ocean is always stunning and beautiful to me. But what an adventure it was to travel to southern Chile and experience all of the various landscapes, peoples, and sights. Southern Chile was definitely the highlight of the trip to Chile, at least for me!