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Published: March 5th 2009
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Hola everybody!
Well we have now been in Chile for a week and a half and how things have changed for us! We are back on the road covering huge distances and finding exciting new places and people already!
We arrived in Santiago and spent a couple of days there finding our feet and catching up as over the previous 48 hours we had taken three flights, been through 4 time zones and crossed the international date line meaning that we arrived almost before we left 16 hours before!! From Santiago we caught a bus and headed South for a small town called Villarica in the Chillean Lake District. This however, was no normal bus, only costing 15 pounds for an 11 hour journey with seats with double leg room and almost laying flat out, (blankets and pillows provided too!) it was probably the closest to flying business class we will get!
When we arrived it was a total change from Santiago, quiet small town on the edge of the beautiful lake Villarica with stunning mountain views looking towards snow capped volcanos. We settled in nicely to a small hostel like a swiss ski chalet and stayed for
four nights taking a tour of the local area on one of the days where we visited huge mountain waterfalls, incredibly blue lagoons, took a mud bath and relaxed in the thermal hot springs heated by the nearby volcano!
We then headed down the road a little to the nearest town, Pucon which is a beautiful place where everything is made from wood! The houses, road signs, arts and crafts, and there are even small stalls selling flowers on the roadside all carved from wood. Pucon is one of the most beautiful places we have visited so far with smells drifting through town all day of freshly baked bread, log fires and awesome smelling food. We decided that it was time to get active and booked a hike to the summit of Volcan Villarica (the active and smoking volcano!).
So, the morning broke and we were up at 6 a.m. and into town to get kitted up for the day! Boots, salapets, jacket, crampons, lovely blue helmets, mittens, ice axe....the lot all packed, we headed off! We reached the foot of the 2847 meter volcano and thought that it didnt look too tough.....oh, how we were wrong! We
set out and before we reached the edge of the car park Alice was struggling, just the 2846 meters to go then!! The first hour was spent hiking over crumbling volcanic rocks before we reached the snow line and took a very much needed break to snack and get the crampons on! Now, ice axe in hand, crampons below we began our "push for the summit" (Everest style). Walking over the snow and ice it was getting severly steep and we were zig zagging up the volcano single file at what must have been a 55 degree angle in places....and that is very steep! We climbed through the cloud level which was disorientating not being able to see in any direction and eventually broke free to the sun above to the stunning view of the top....not seeming all that much closer to it! Another break and we made the top of the snow line where we de-cramponed (thats a climbing term by the way.....that I made up!) and hiked the last 20 minutes to the summit! And what a view! The top was huge with an open crater 200 meters deep where the walls were stained red and yellow from
the activity and lava, sulphorous smoke rising from the gaping hole in the centre and where the rim was amazingly covered in ice! It was bitterly cold even after the four hour climb, to stop a moment was chilling to the bone and to smile for a photo hurt your teeth! But it was worth every bit of energy and all the aches and pains the following day (of which there were many!). It was a far tougher climb than we had given it credit for and the most challenging thing we have done so far but for the experience and the views it was well worth it! And then the fun part, coming down, and Alice looking like bambi on ice! Rather than walk the same route down, we dressed another layer over our rear ends to become a human toboggan, sat in a gulley / crevass and using the ice axe as a brake, went whizzing down the side of the mountain in 200 meter sections! It was a perfect and fun end to a tough day on the hill!
Now, we are heading across and south again to the coastal town of Valdivia and will be
looking forward to more new adventures! We will be in touch again soon!
We hope all and everyone is well at home and speak soon,
Ally and Alice x
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