Blogs from Pucón, Araucanía, Chile, South America - page 12

Well, we managed to survive the volcano anyway. We were up at half 5 on Saturday morning to get to the tour office at half 6. They gave us a backpack that Edmund Hillary would be proud of. Crampons, hat, helmet, sun glasses, massive glove mitten things, wind and waterproof trousers and jacket, ice pick and a tie-on blanket/sledge thing. We were driven up to the ski lift and given the option of taking the lift or walking an hour up to where the lift ended. Sarah was determined to do the whole lot, so we walked. The first hour wasn´t too bad and we met up with the others who had taken the lift. The next couple of hours gradually became more difficult, and then we got to where the ice and snow started...... We ... read more

Pucon ist definitiv ein Ferienparadies wo auch einheimische ihre Ferien verbringen. Wo es Chilenen hat, sind auch die Preise relativ guenstig. (Eine Automiete ist hier viermal billiger als noch in El Calafate) Pucon liegt wie Puerto Varas an einem See. Das Dorf ist von einem Vulkan und zwei Nationalparks umgeben. Eine wunderschoene Wanderung im Urwald rauf zu den Bergseen haben wir am ersten Tag unternommen. Am zweiten Tag (heute) sind wir wieder frueh aufgestanden, diesmal 5:00 um den Vulkan Villarica mit 2840M zu besteigen. Leider endete unsere Tour auf 2500M. Waehrend des Aufstiegs sind Wolken aufgezogen und haben die Sichtweite stark beeintraechtigt. Aus diesem Grund konnte man den Kraterrand des noch aktiven Vulkans nicht mehr besteigen, da die Unfallgefahr durch herunterfallende Steine zu gross waere. (Am Anfang der Tour haben wir uns noch gewundert, als der ... read more

The sole purpose of our visit to Pucon, Chile was to climb the active volcano which stands guard above the town. Pucon is located not far from the Chilean border which is shared by Argentina, just before entering the southern part of the country. The town itself, while pleasant enough, is a huge tourist trap servicing a nearby ski resort in the winter and any number of summer activities from hiking to rafting, horseback riding to bike rentals. Volcan Villarrica was our focus and goal while here and the reason for us making yet another border crossing coming from San Martin de Los Andes before heading south to Bariloche and the hippy town of El Bolson. The volcano summit sits at an elevation of 2847m above sea level and although two thirds of the climb is ... read more

The long distance buses are fantastic and supply you with blankets and comfy neck pillows to make you comfortable. They even come around and close the curtains for you when it is dark. We stayed at the foot of the Villaricca volcano and it's a lovely sight covered in snow and steam coming from it's mouth. Deb had a bit of a panic on the first day there when this really loud siren started blasting and thought it might have been the siren to warn of a pending erruption and we were going to have to evacuate......Turns out they set it off briefly every day to ensure it´s working, so slight relief there. Dejan thought hmmmmm... Got to climb that volcanoe in the hope of seeing lava!!! So at town we investigated the volcanoe climb and ... read more

Day 632 (21.12.08) Sometime during our night bus from Mendoza to Santiago we stopped for a border crossing and that over we continued on our way. We arrived into Chile's capital at around 5am and with almost 4 hours to wait until our bus to Pucón we looked for a bench to call home as Mark gallantly stayed awake to look after our bags while Chrissie tried to sleep off the heavy cold that had hit her over the last couple of days. Eventually the time rolled around for us to climb aboard another bus which over the next 12 hours would take us to our destination for Christmas. Pucon was a sight for sore eyes as we pulled into the bus station. It had been a long trip! Walking through town we arrived at Ecole, ... read more