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Published: February 1st 2008
After a month in Chile we were yearning for some Argentinian steak and so decided to take a quick (turned into a week-long) trip across the border back into Argentina. We crossed from Pucon, Chile to San Martin, Argentina and spent 6 days enjoying the highlights of the area. Our original plan had been to climb Volcan Lanin, but unfortunately recent events (which seem to have included a crevasse opening in a glacier near the summit and someone getting lost on the hike) mean that it is not possible to ascend without a guide. We looked into the prices of the professional guides and decided that sadly they were just too far beyond our budget. Instead we went to the excellent Lanin National Park office and got lots of helpful information on alternative hikes we could do in the park. And of course we made the most of being in the lovely Argentine town of San Martin. We ate perfect beef steaks, stunning pizzas and oozing cheese empanadas. Special recommendations in San Martin go to Pizzeria Nonna and Ku parrilla!
Lanin national park In San Martin we rented a tent and organised a place to leave some of our luggage.
From there we took a bus to HuaHum, two hours from San Martin along the shores of Lago Lacar and Lago Nonthue. From there we set off on a three day hike taking in lots of interesting sights and throroughly exhausting ourselves in the process. I won´t describe the journey in detail but there are some key memories:
* Hiking to the summit of Cerro Mallo. This is a gorgeous peak situated above HuaHum. It was a long trek, but gave superb views from the top - both down to the lakes below and across to mountains and volcanoes in the distance including Lanin and Villarrica.
* Thermal pools. This part of Argentina is full of geothermal activity. The end of our first day of hiking found us at a small river which flowed through a number of pools providing them with very hot water. This water was hotter than what you would put in your bath and of course it never cooled down. Unfortunately Barry ended up spending too long in the water and a few moments after he came out he fainted. I will spare the details here but needless to say it was a very scary experience
and we are going to be more wary of thermal pools from now on!
* Camping. It was so nice to get out hiking again and the camping just helped to enhance the experience. We had a good tent and good weather, which were combined with great campsites. Camping lets you get away from civilisation, which is particularly nice at nighttime as you can step outside, look up and see a spectacular array of stars which are hidden from towns and cities.
* We were real hikers. We carried everything we needed for three days in our rucksacks, no car, no help from organised groups. There is always a feeling of accomplishment to complete these trips in one piece!
We returned to San Martin happy, exhausted and ready to enjoy some good local food. However, we decided that before returning to Chile we would take in one more sight of Lanin National Park. So, the next day we caught a bus to the start of a trek which took us to the summit of Volcan Colorado. Some people refer to this as "Cerro" (mountain) rather than "Volcan", so I think it must be a thoroughly extinct volcano - it
certainly does not have the distinct appearance of a volcano we had seen elsewhere. However, the ascent was fine and the views from the summit were superb - similar to what we had seen previously from Cerro Mallo. We even managed to get a lift back to San Martin from a friendly Argentine couple who we met on the summit - very helpful!
And so, our time in Argentina was once again at an end. After a great few days of steak and hiking we headed back over to Chile to continue our volcano-hunting.
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greglitfin
non-member comment
ruths journey
dear ruth i followed and read your story how awsome thank you so much for the photos shown you real look as though you enjoyed it no doubt ther would havebeen days when you wished you cold quit but youwere brave you pressed on iam sure itgave you renewed stenght and a great feeling how did youlikethe camping and activitieson you journey did you meet a lot of poeple enroute iam sure you did were they a friendly poeple how did fing the languageand the differt cultures and did you like the diifferent foods. what was your favourite thank youforsharing your travel journal with many photos. greg litfin