My First Volcano Climb

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Have arrived in Pucon, in the Lake District of Chile. Not quite like the one in Argentina, Bariloche, smaller and a little more backward.

Did the must-do-it-thing in Pucon, climb the Volcano Villarica, at 2840m high . Heard from many travellers that it´s really nice but pretty tough. Quite worried tt I can´t make it esp when I didn´t feel too well after arriving in Pucon. Woke up at 6am to prepare for the climb. Took all the nec equipment from the tour agencies, our crampons, waterpoof jackets and pants, gloves etc and off we set off. Glad that the chairlift was working that day and so we took the lazy way, took the chairlift to a certain point that could save us an hour of walking.

Quite glad that the group went on a slow and steady pace. Reached the crater in 4 hours. Walked ard the crater and I was choked badly by the foul-smelling smoke that came out from the crater. My first time being so close to a crater. The most exciting part has yet to come, which is the descending part. We had to slide down the ice, using our ice axe to help control the speed and brake. Nearly freak out when I did the first slide. The next slide was a few hundred metres downslope. I was so worried that I might not brake in time and end up right down the mountain. But after the first 2 slides, managed to get the hang of it. Actually it's really fun. Wish there is more snow so that we can avoid rolling down those loose rocks and sand down the bottom part of the volcano. Now my knees are aching after those tumbling down those steep slopes.

Decided to end the day with a dip in the Los Pozones Hot Spring at night. Other recommend that we do it at night where we can dip in the hot water and admire the stars at the same time. We had the pool almost all to ourselves and there were so many starts in the cloudless sky. CJ, here´s the answer to your question. Where can we enjoy admiring the stars in a place that´s not freezing cold? Here! Wish you were here. I´m sure you´ll like it.

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Comments

[cj]

Dear SMs, rather relieved to hear from OSM that her appetite is back. Hope your gums aren't giving you too much problems liao.