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Published: April 5th 2006
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Day 19:
We´re up by around 10am after a good sleep so, following a light breakfast, we head out to explore. We know pretty much nothing about Valdivia but after walking through the busy town centre we find a fish market, in fact you could smell it well before you turned the corner. Dozens of stalls are selling massive stacks of muscles, four feet long fish etc under a yellow canope by the river. From behind the stalls we can hear a strange gargling noise. On closer inspection we discover a group of fat, ill looking sea lions are propped up on concrete stands, obviously waiting for scraps of fish to be thrown to them. They were far closer than we saw in Peninsula Valdes, coughing, sneezing and spluttering right infront of us, their big cumbersome bodies threatening to topple off balance at any moment.
We then take a minibus to Niebla, a small town with a beach neighbouring Valdivia. It´s a sunny day so we strolled round the area, very green and scenic with tiny houses, cafes and cabins dotted around. A brightly coloured restautant catches our eye and we are soon sat outside, frowning down at the
filthy table cloth and plates wondering why we stopped here. An elderly man comes out of the hut, which is painted bright yellow and red. The gent must have been about 80, but wore a yellow jacket matching the exterior, collar up and hair slicked back. The original Fonz we wonder?? We order fish and rice, a little apprehensive due to the randomness of the establishment. When the food arrives, however, its delicious and the old guy is our new hero... Check out his picture! We explore the area for the rest of the day, taking a boat to a nearby island (Corral) aswell.
In the evening we head to the Kunstmann brewery to sample it famous beer. Matt suggests we walk the "20 minutes" to the brewery. An hour later we´re walking along a dark road looking out for any sign of life. Not 20 minutes then, really, was it Matt hmm?? When we finally arrive we thoroughly deserve a beer and order a column (2.5l) of honey flavoured beer which was suprisingly delicious. The beer may be good, but the pub isn´t great so we leave after just the one.
Day 20:
By 9.30am we´re
on a bus to Pucon and by midday checking into a nice, but very expensive hostel. It´s predominantly a restaurant so you not even allowed to cook your own food. Our room is like something out of ´Little House on The Prarie´, all creaking wood and floral bed clothes. Very homely, very boring.
We set out to discover more about the adventure trips Pucon is famous for and end up booking ourselves onto a hike up the Villarica Volcano which overlooks the town. So, we have to be up at 6.30am the next morning... An early night beckoned.
Pucon is a strangle town. The centre is made up of wooden hut type bulidings, mostly catering for the hords of thrill seekers that visit. Adventure excursions, sportswear shops and restaurants mean that it hasn´t got a great deal of character but the setting is perfect - surrounded by lakes, rivers and mountains for endless adrenaline kicks.
Day 21:
Our alarms are ringing at 6.30am and we struggle out of bed and pack up our stuff. We check out of the hostel, then run down to the place we booked the trip.
Bleary eyed, we collect our
gear for the hike; special trousers and jacket, helmet, boots, crampons, sunglasses and gloves. My first thoughts are that it seemed more full on than I had imagined. When the group is ready we clamber onto minibuses and set off for the volcano. It´s a gorgeous sunny day and we can see the top of the volcano as we approach it from miles away. A tad daunting, especially at 7am.
After a bumpy ride we arrive at the foot of the mountain, already above the first layer of clouds. The first section of the climb is easy - we all hop onto a chairlift for a precarious but relaxing journey over rocks below. At one point I hear a faint thud from below us and immediately realise something has fallen. As I look down I discover my helmet is no longer on my head but boucing around 40 meters below our dangling feet. Not the best start to the day! Everyone else finds this very funny, but I can see the annoyed look on the face of our guide as we reach the top...
We set off regardless and the sun feels very hot within a matter of
Me and the crazy frog...
This was near the bottom, already very high! minutes and I´m sweating beneath the four layers of clothing I´m wearing. The terrain is steep volcanic rock which crumbles beneath your feet from time to time. It´s hard work so I avert my eyes from the summit which is a distant snowy peak, seemingly miles away. Now and again, someone would stand on a rock and send it crashing down the slope, gathering pace with every roll. Shouts of "ROCKA" had to be made everytime this happened to alert the people below us.
The terrain soon turns into icy snow and walking is more difficult as it was easy to slip over. We stepped slowly and carefully, digging our ice picks into the snow for security. Feeling quite unstable at times, I was pleased to reach the next rock where we were invited to put on our crampons.
The following ascent was far more comfortable and the snow was becoming thicker but was still draining, especially as the top never seemed to get closer as the hours passed. We stopped for lunch before climbing the final section, which was also the steepest. We took off our crampons and walked on the rock once more and were soon
Easy...
Mountaineering much?? standing at the top of the volcano.
At around 3000m and on this clear day, we were able to see for miles. There are several volcanoes surrounding Pucon which is dwarfed by everything that surrounds it. It feels like we are higher than other peak we can see...
Smoke is constantly seeping from the top of the volcano and, although there is no lava to see, the heat and smoke are still stifling. As we walk around, the smoke gets stronger and packs a horrific stench making it very hard to breath. For a quick peek down into the heart of the volcano we dashed with our faces covered from the fumes and ran back away.
After a while at the top the group came back together and we began our descent. Getting down is far less conventional than getting up. In the thick snow are small troughs, just large enough for a person to slide down several hundred feet on their backside. So, one by one, using our picks to steer us, we hurtled down the side of the volcano at tremendous speeds, flying up the sides like tobogans on ice. Great fun and made getting
down much quicker and easier. Once back down I managed to find my hat!
After this we checked into a hostel and slept from 7pm all the way through to the next day, exhausted.
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Ricky Martin Fan
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I love Crazy Frog!!!! sounds like a new super hero - he escaped France to save the world with his "froggish" super powers ;-))