What's going on Pucon?

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Ross:

After a scenic six-hour bus drive north past numerous snowcapped peaks, large lakes and a couple of volcanoes we arrived at Pucon Urban Bus Terminal (by the way Polly's travel sickness seems to be under control thanks to Emedur/Stugeron/Maremir etc, etc...). A short walk for two blocks found us at Hostal Willy (named after the owner, Willy!), consisting of two cosy log cabins, one of which was exclusively ours (the GAP group, not me and Pol) for our three-night stay. Being a couple seems to pay dividends on the GAP tour and we ended up with yet another nice double ensuite room upstairs.

After a late afternoon burger at a nearby cafe, Pol, Kyle from Calfiornia, Sam from Melbourne and I headed to one of the ubiquitous tour agencies on the main drag to get kitted out for the following day's skiing and boarding on the local Volcano Villarica. We were joined by a few of the other guys (Al & Al, Jack, John & Esnair) who'd opted for lessons as they hadn't skied or boarded before. A quick check on the towns' traffic light-style early warning system meant that we would hopefully be avoiding any high-speed sprints down the slopes in front of red hot lava flows.

Other activities on offer included rafting on Grade IV rapids, horse riding, cycling and trekking up the volcano. Although a number of people signed up for the volcano trek, the weather conditions were prohibitive for the length of our stay in Pucon.

The first full day saw us eagerly awaiting our transfer to the slopes at 8.30am. The resort is a 40 minute drive up the volcano and the lift pass costs GBP13 a day on weekdays. The resort was fairly small with four decrepit two-man chairs and a number of T-bar drags and button lifts, half of which were closed due to the over-cautious lift operatives' responses to some gentle side winds and heavy snowfall. Nonetheless we optimised the runs as best as possible during the morning then resorted to some impromptu lessons for the beginners in the afternoon, (almost) all of whom seemed to get the hang of things very quickly. The day started with heavy fog and rain but soon lifted allowing for periods of better visibility interspersed with heavy snow flurries. By the end of the day the rain had returned and everyone ended upsoaked but generally pleased. Needless to say the volcano didn't erupt.

A much improved kitchen at Hostal Willy meant that all the evening meanls could be cooked in en masse, helping to stem some of the outgoing cash flows. Again, John took on the honourable role of head chef, with sous chefs and washer-upperers on rotation. The open log fire was a wlecome comfort in the evenings, as was my iPod/iTrip combination and (eclectic!?) music selection (albeit wholly out of my control!)

The first evening after dinner we stocked up on beverages and snacks and headed to some natural hot springs about an hour away. The springs consisted of five natural-looking pools of varying temperatures (20 to 45 degrees C) and we stayed until midnight before heading home and turning in.

The second full day in Pucon was subject to heavy rain so we took the opportunity to chill and get some laundry done. On the last day we took a stroll to the edge of the lake after a visit to the barbers and a few photo opportunities around town before hopping on an eleven-hour nightbus to the Chilean capital of Santiago...

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Photos

Our house...
...in the middle of our street (with a volcano at the end)

Hostel Willy
Another intense game of chess for the boys

S.O.J.
Our dirty, manky, scabby, live-in mutt

Volcano traffic lights
Green means good, orange means worry, red means panic. The town council also test the early warning alarm at noon everyday. Sounds a bit like an air raid siren. Our german friend, Walter, kept putting a saucepan on his head everytime it happened...

Mountaineering
Weather conditions prevented us from climbing the real volcano...

On the way to Lake Villarica
(L-R) Jon, Sam, Ross

Pol and volcano
Finally the elusive peak emerged from the clouds after...