On the road again

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We are off!!!!!! We left our beloved home of Viña on the night of the 22nd and headed to Pucon. The drive was amazing as we were entering the lake district. We must have seen ten different lakes just on the way down. We arrived early in the morning and found a hostel that we could camp in the back yard for a very cheap price. The frst day we went on a little hike to a huge waterfall. The hike was alright, mostly on the road which is not my favorite, but once we arrived at the waterfall it was all worth it. I think the waterfall was about as big as multnomah falls. Also during our hike we did not see one single person which was unusual because Pucon is the most touristic town I have ever been in. Just walking down the street you hear more English than Spanish. I forgot I was in Chile. Our hostel turned out to be really fun, lots of new and interesting people to talk with.
The next day we headed for Parque Huerquehue with our tent. The camp site we stayed at was really tranquilo, next to the lake and we were the only ones there. Once we arrived we went on a short hike to a couple different waterfalls and lakes. The next day was the long hike, a total of seven hours with a huge climb. We woke up early go get a head start and headed up. The first stretch was all up hill but once we reached the top the views were breathtaking. We could see three different lakes and a valcano all at once. It was Christmas eve so eric and I decided to exchange presents at the top of the mountain. We even found a tree that looked similar the the classic Christmas trees in the states. It was a great way to spend Christmas eve. That night we headed back to our hostel and had a christmas eve BBQ with everyone. We listened to Christmas music and even wore homemake christmas hats. I think everyone was trying to get into the spirit since we were all so far from home.
Eric and I decided to spend most of Christmas day in Valdivia. A beautiful town a little south. Valdivia has the best brewery in Chile so there couldn't be a better place for me and eric to get Christmas dinner. We ate and drank well then spent the next couple of days walking around the city. We rented kayaks one day and went all over the river in town. The greatest thing that we saw was a sea lion vs dog fight, well not really a fight since the sea lion just layed there while the dog was barking right in his face. Only in Chile!

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