Water, water, everywhere! Visiting the Lake District in Chile.

---

In order to have a Lake District, one assumes they need rain. But did it have to happen for the entire time that we were in the area?!

We headed off to the bus station in Bariloche to get ourselves on the next available bus to Puerto Varas in Chile. We found ourselves on a leaky bus with a grumpy bus driver who saw fit to bully every other car off the road. It was a long six hours, watching films in Spanish and dodging the water drops that fell from the ceiling each time the bus took a sharp left. We stopped at the Argentinian border to get our exit stamp and were again stopped after two kilometres of windy snowy roads at the Chilean border to have any fruit and dairy products we were carrying confiscated. It is a strange set up. You basically have to throw away any food you have with you by putting it in a bin there (but we're already in Chile). Then you can buy the exact same stuff from a shop that is there on site.

The weather deteriorated as we went further into Chile. We were planning to trek around some of the lakes and forests in what is supposed to be a very picturesque part of Chile. I cannot confirm or deny whether it is picturesque, because we couldn't see out of the bus windows for the rain, and then could barely see across the lake in Puerto Varas for the sheets of hail and snow that were pounding down from the heavens. Add to this that the only hostel we could find was slightly weird and very empty, it was a disappointing start to what was a promising plan.

The next day we faired no better. We checked out of the weird hostel and beat our way through the rain to find an internet cafe to find another hostel. We eventually got set up in a cosy hotel and just settled in for the day. The weather was too miserable to do any of the walks around the lake and we had to plan our next move.

We decided to make our way to Pucon, which is still in the Lake District area, but is further north. The real draw of Pucon though is that it is a short distance away from a collection of hot springs. The weather was slightly better in Pucon when we arrived, so we were able to wander around town to find a hostel and book the Hot Springs tour. All the guide books say you need to book a tour with one of the local agencies to get to the hot springs, but while we were walking around we came across the tourist office and were informed that we could get there on a local bus.

We were happily installed on the "cosy" local bus at 10.30 the next morning. About 45 minutes later we were dropped off in the countryside in front of the Thermas de Huife. It is a plush hotel spa complex that offers a daily rate as well. We paid 8,000 chilean pesos each (about 10€) and ran through the rain towards the changing rooms. On our way we were stopped in our tracks as saw steam rising from the pools in front of us - all of the pools were outdoors! We looked at each other, said so be it and made ready for the plunge. We scurried from the changing room to the pool side, but upon dipping a toe in the water, I thought they might be too warm to get into. The water was so hot! The cold weather made my mind up for me though and I dived under. It was wonderfully warm - even nicer because of the contrast with the bitter air. As we lolled about in the pools for a couple of hours the weather went from rain to snow. It is not often that you have an opportunity to feel snow falling on your bare back - it was a very weird sensation!

We took a break from the water to enjoy lunch in the cosy hotel restaurant before succumbing to the allure of their Hydrothermal Baths. Another 4000 chilean pesos each later, we passed the time before our return bus swimming in a giant bubble bath that was shielded from the rain by a giant tent. As we flagged down the local bus to take us back to Pucon we looked like prunes from all the water, but had had a great day. It was nice to have found an activity that wasn't dependant on the weather but their isn't much else to do here in these conditions so we've decided to keep heading north in search of some sun!

---

Comments

[helmar]

Hey travellers, seems like a wet but nice adventure there. Any plans for getting married? Everybody over here does so you'd better be quick! hasta luego!

[karin counet]

romantique
Swimming in warm water when the rain and snow is falling down, so romantic! Don't listen to Helmer to get married so far away from us!!

[Eileen]

Water, water
It reminds me of summer Corca Dhuine in July and August. September is however, an Indian Summer. Sláinte. Eileen