Christina´s host dad gave Jess A, Christina and I a ride to the bus station. Hayley showed up at the last minute. I was worried she overslept and that we would leave without her! We had to take a bus to Temuco and then to Pucón. The ride to Temuco was about 4 hours. We got dropped off near the bus terminal and walked to it. We bought tickets for a bus to Pucón for 2.300 pesos. We didn´t have to wait too long before our bus left. It was a lot smaller and definitely not as nice of a bus [View Full Entry]

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A las diez de la noche, mis amigos y yo nos fuimos de Santiago para Temuco por autobús que duró trece horas. La próxima mañana, lleguemos en Temuco y tomemos otro autobús para Coñaripe, donde íbamos a trabajar para una semana en una finca orgánica donde se estudia la permacultura y tradiciones Mapuches. Coñaripe significa sendero de guerreros en Mapudungun. No sabíamos nada de la finca, con la excepción de su localidad y que era orgánica, ni lo que íbamos a hacer. Por fin, lleguemos a Coñaripe y bajemos del autobús en el centro del pueblo. Coñaripe era un pueblo en [View Full Entry]

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Los Mapuches son personas indígenas que vienen de zonas del centro y el sur de Chile y el sur de Argentina. Ellos forman 4% del población Chilena. El origen de los Mapuches originales no está muy claro. Hay varias hipótesis pero no se sabe exactamente de donde vienen. Las personas Mapuches tienen varias orígenes. Al principio, ellos inhabitaron la tierra entre el Río Aconcagua y Chiloé Archipiélago, pero luego se extendieron al este a los Andes, las Pampas, y eventualmente entraron en Argentina. Durante esta expansión, ellos se unieron con las personas Poyas y Pehuenche. También [View Full Entry]

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We came to Pucon to hike to the summit of Volcan Villarica and left 3 days later having not done that, or very much else. Once again the weather closed us down - bugger, bugger, bugger. We had nothing but low cloud, rain, fog, wind and even a few flurries of snow. In the same hostel were a group of French guys who'd been waiting a few days for a break in the weather that never came, but in Puerto Varas we met an American couple who'd done it without any waiting, just the luck of the draw. Pucon is a [View Full Entry]

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The bus journey from Bariloche in Argentina to Pucon in Chile has to be one of the most beautiful trips in the world. For 2 hours wecruised around mountain roads going through lush forests, passing crystal clear blue lakes, past sheer granite mountains and finally through the snow covered mountain pass across the border. The small towns that lay on the Argentinian side of the border were just idyllic. They were all based around the amazing lakes, almost entirely made of log cabins in the forests and large birds of prey circled overhead. They were stunning. I cant quite say the [View Full Entry]

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We crossed the border back into Chile. This will be a phenomenon that repeats itself over and over while we make our way north in South America. We came to Pucon for one reason....to climb the one of the worlds most active Volcanos.....Volcan Villarrica! And boy did we hike it!!! Starting at an elevation of 1300 meters we hiked and climbed our way to the summit reaching 2847 meters! If you would like this translated into the Imperial system...thats about a vertical gain of 5000 ft!!!! We were decked out in gear including crampons, ice axe and of course our awesome [View Full Entry]

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We went horseback riding on land owned by Mapuche Indians. We rode horses for a few hours, riding up and down a nearby mountain on a small little trail. After we were finished riding, we had a traditional Mapuche meal prepared for us and we were able to dress up in their clothing and see instruments that they play in ceremonies. It was a very nice day. Our guide was a young Mapuche Indian and he let us trot and gallop our horses. What an experience! [View Full Entry]

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The next weekend I tagged along with some of the other teachers at my school on a day trip to the Piedra del Aguila (Eagle Rock). Getting there was quite a mission, as the easier route was "mal" that day. Between the "highway" and the park were 20-30 kilometers of seriously unpaved roads, and then after entering the park, we ventured in two not very big cars on mud roads, far past the signs that insisted they were for four-wheel drive vehicles only. Turned out they were right about that road being a problem, so we did get some extra walking [View Full Entry]

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I woke up early - okay, not that early, but certainly before 9am - on the 19th to tag along with another group of (very physically active) Chileans on their trip to the cordillera. Specifically, we went to a volcano called Lonquimay and stayed in a town called Malalcahuello, and perhaps most notably, I can now pronounce both of those names. They all went snowboarding, while I enjoyed a wonderfully lazy weekend. It seemed a lot like the Vail/Beaver Creek of Chile, as there were a ton of cuicos (rich people with snooty accents) from Santiago. Day One I rode the [View Full Entry]

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Actually, I am in Lautaro. A town of population 30,000 about 20 miles north of Temuco. I have been here for over a month so far and I am finally settling in. I teach 13 different classes english once a week. I am a volunteer for the Chilean government program called English Opens Doors. So far its not a bad gig and the work is really easy. My regional coordinator imposed a great rule that volunteers don´t work on fridays. Pretty nice rule, especially since we are only required to work 25 hours a week anyways (so a lot of free [View Full Entry]

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