After uncertainty and definitely anxiety of a strike threat involving Chilean immigration and customs staff, the day came when I would get the bus back to Santiago for my flight home the following day. I was very concerned because if the strike happened the consequences I would face would obviously seriously affect my plans returning home such as missing my flight! The threat did not help my issues I had in Mendoza. However it turned out not to be any problems at all. I got the bus OK and the bus was half empty. I think many travellers have deterred travelling [View Full Entry]

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I remember the wonderful time we had in Mendoza last year and I was hoping to replicate this. However, my mood on this occasion was low. It all started with the Argentine Border Police not fully completing my entry formalities (so I need to explain that to them when I leave Argentina). On settling into the hostel, I lost my personal keys. I think I threw them away by accident. So I am getting copies organised for when I return home. The main issue was the hostel I stayed in. The Mendoza Inn is the worst hostel, in my opinion, I [View Full Entry]

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I got picked up around about 7.30 am and we picked some more people from another hostel. We began out journey on the Ruta 40 (nothing special, just the suburbs of Mendoza) then we joined the Ruta 7 towards Chile. Our first stop, for a comfort break, was Uspallata, a village famed for Seven Years in Tibet movie and this was the village and the surrounding areas where the movie was made. We drove further into Alta Montaña stopping at some lakes after Uspallata then onto Fortin Puchueta. This colonial bridge has some significant history as the bridge was crossed by [View Full Entry]

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One afternoon, just to get out of the hostel, I joined a wine tasting tour. I learnt that it was not just wine tasting we were doing but tasting other goodies. I got picked up from my hostel, later than the time they said but I have to remember I am in South America and not the UK, we picked up some more people from other hostels and we then began our tour. First of all, we stopped at Carmine Granata, a traditional bodega. We had a tour round and sampled some wine including Malbec. I bought some Malbec for home. [View Full Entry]

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I caught the 9.15 am bus from Pucon to Santiago. I felt sad leaving Pucon after having such a wonderful time and will miss my memories made there. I decided to get a day bus so I can able to spend a minimum time in Santiago and get my connecting overnight bus to Mendoza. The bus journey was uneventful but long!! It took around about eleven hours to reach Santiago and it was a nice opportuity to ride through Chile´s Central Valley, which is beautiful. I was so glad to get off the bus and use the time to use the [View Full Entry]

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One afternoon, I joined a mini van tour around Trancura and Lincura valley. This, again, was part of my adventure package. There was Ricardo, from Brazil, who joined me and Mauricio, the driver/guide. The three of us began setting off stopping first at Saltos de Marimann and then Ojos de Carbargua. The waterfalls were stunning especially the Ojos de Carbargua. Afterwards, we stopped for a comfort break at Lago Carbargua. The lake was stunning but it is a place where I would not like to visit in the summer with the masses of tourists descending to the resort. After seeing the [View Full Entry]

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From Valdivia, I had a very eventful journey. We were making good progress on our journey and suddenly there was a sudden bang and bus sounded unhealthy. At first, the drivers did not know what was happening even if I suspected it was a burst tyre. For a bit, the bus trundled on for a bit in the slow lane and ended up stopping. They explained it would take around an hour and a half for a replacement bus to come and take us to Villarrica and Pucon. There were some unhappy people who let their feelings known to the drivers [View Full Entry]

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One afternoon, I decided, reluctantly, to do some horse riding, I have not been horse riding for two to three years because of almost from having a serious accident on a horse whilst cantering in North Wales, UK. The experience affected my confidence (especially with cantering) and for a long time I had been put off doing the activity. However, the main reason, for choosing horse riding was to admire the great outdoors Pucon has to offer and I was not disappointed. I was picked up from my hostel and we made our way to the farm, crossing the Rio Trancura, [View Full Entry]

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I wanted to do a Spanish course on my trip and to build up the little Spanish I already know. I wanted to be in a location where it is a short walk from my hostel and the lessons to be one-to-one. I remembered from last year how I was not really keen learning in a group and the ridiculous long commute I had to do every day when studying Spanish in Santiago. I chose Pucon because of being in a small town; the school offered one to one lessons and got a good deal with Cactus Languages, a language courses [View Full Entry]

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I booked an activity package with the language school in Pucon. This included a day out at Parque Nacional Huerquehue with a guide. My guide, Dominique, met me at my hostel at 8.00am and we made our way to the bus terminal to catch our bus to the National Park. It was a beautiful day and I knew I would be guaranteed seeing stunning views and scenery. It took approximately half an hour by bus to reach the park entrance. We began walking and slowly ascending when we reached the CONAF station, I realised it would be a very steep ascent [View Full Entry]

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