Blogs from Pucón, Araucanía, Chile, South America

Coming from Bariloche, we had to change buses in San Martin de los Andes, Argentina, in order to cross the border and arrive to Pucon. We got fortunate not to get stuck there and were able to snag a pair of the few remaining seats. The 6 hour ride was smooth enough, except for the border crossing which was located at the base of the imposing Lanin Volcano. The process was more strict than we expected. They take their agriculture very seriously; all of our bags were unloaded and scanned, and we had to declare any raw foods. Fortunately they didn´t toss the pizza or stirfry we had made the night prior but they did take a couple delicious Fuji apples. Fruitless, we got back on the bus and continued down a dirt/volcanic ash road for ... read more

Our four furry friends having led us back to the safety of Anticura, we head back to Osorno - a rather drab city even by Chilean drab city standards - where we spend the night in order to catch a bus to Pucón, located in the next province along, Region IX or Araucanía. Everybody in Chile knows about Pucón. Arriving in town by bus it seems that everybody in Chile is in Pucón. After weeks - nay, months - in the wilds of Patagonia, it comes as something of a surprise to see streets bustling with people and dozens of restaurants, coffee-houses and tour agencies competing for your attention. Pucón has been compared to Queenstown in New Zealand, and it's true that it is similar in some ways - lakeside, upmarket and an absolute magnet for ... read more

I alighted the bus in Pucón, retrieved my backpack and was then met by a smiling lady by the name of Silvana who would become my mother away from home. I had arranged a homestay in conjunction with my 4 week Spanish course and had hoped that it would be a memorable experience. I didn’t anticipate that in only 4 weeks I would be finding it difficult to part company with not only Silvana, her husband and daughter, but their whole extended family and friendship network. I was seamlessly integrated into all their family gatherings, whether it be family festivities or informal ‘drop-ins’ that would end up with the drinks being poured, dishes of food being prepared and songs being played. On occasions this even involved a guitar being placed in my lap whilst everyone eyed ... read more

After staying 6 days in Pucon, a beautiful city at the foot of the Villarrica Volcano, we went back to Santiago yesterday at night (12 hours in the bus) for our last 3 days. During these 6 days, we did other sports, more or less extrem, like 60km mountain biking, a nice hike to a waterfall (Salto El Claro), canopy (zip-lines of about 100meters), and the most extrem: The ascension of the Villarrica Volcano, an activ Volcano which summit culminates at 2847m! We started at 1400m and ascended 1400 vertical meters in less than four hours! The crater of the volcano was very impressive: a huge 150m deep fuming hole! The way down was very very very fast and also very very very funny: we slid down on our bums! (because it was to steep and ... read more