You went to Pucón and did what?!

Hello all! Today marked the end of perhaps my best weekend thus far in Chile. Let me just say, that without a doubt, I've never had such a feeling of accomplishment or just pure joy after I finished climbing a volcano this weekend. Yes, you heard that right, Michael, the guy who is obsessed with movies and sports, who has never really gone camping in his entire life, made it to the top of el Volcán Villarica, which measures neartly 3,000 meters in altitude. I will get to that, let me fill you in on the events leading up to said wonderful excursion.

Wednesday night I got on the bus with a new friend of mine, Leanne, and we started our 12 hour overnight journey. Let me tell you, traveling overnight is the way to go. We drank and laughed and annoyed a bunch of Chileans before shutting it down, and before we knew it, we had arrived! Upon arrival, we sought out our hostel, checked in, unpacked our bags, and went in search of an adventure! Our hosts at El Refugio, our hostal, were incredible! They answered all of our questions, set up excursions for us, gave us advice on food/drink, etc. They were really great hosts, we are surely indebted to them. So that first day the owner of the hostal showed us this little hand-drawn that showed us how to reach a very secluded waterfall. When I say secluded, we were the only people out on the trail. Just us and nature; let me tell you that's a really great feeling. It was drizzling went we started our trek, so that made the hiking a little more difficult, a little more muddy. Before long you don't even notice how dirty, just how eager you are to reach your goal! It was about a four hike in total, worth every minute. As we got closer and closer you could hear the rush of the water, the power of the waterfall was so near! Then, as you're climbing down, all of a sudden you can see it! What a rush, what a great feeling! We climbed all the way to the base of the waterfall and you couldn't even hear the person next to you. The sound, the power, it was just an immense feeling, one that I will never forget.

So later that night after a little shower and a little nap, we decided to hit the store. We grabbed a little pisco, a little vino, and headed out on the town. We found this really nice place, I had a little salmon with some rice, we split a bottle of some great chilean wine between the four us. This was just another sign of the great times to come. We got back to our hostel, shared some drinks with some new European friends, and hit the hay very satisfied and very content.

The next morning we waited for the fifth member of our group to arrive (Anna. So in total there was five of us. Myself, Anna, Leanne, Omkar, and Ben). We weighed our options and decided to try out some ziplining. Let me tell you right off the bat, I'm a little scared of heights. The height itself doesn't really get me, it's the thought of someone falling. Not necessarily me, but one of my friends. That just wouldn't be a good feeling. So, I said screw it, let's do it, I have nothing to lose. I'm in Chile (which has become a fantastic motto, If I might say so). So we did it, and I survived. We climbed across the wire bridge high up in the canopy of the forest, and ziplined across el río Trancura. It was a great feeling.

After the canopy, we decided to explore Pucón a little bit, and we hit up a black sand beach on a lake! The lake was just beautiful! It's completely surrounded by hills/mountains and in the background lies the incredible Villarica! We rented a little paddle boat and tried our darndest (mostly through Ben efforts, gotta give him the credit) to get out onto the lake. It was a great feeling. Later that night we had some drinks, met some new friends, and just had a great time.

The following day, which started a little later than usual because of our equally as late night, was a little more relaxing. Explored some more of Pucón, hung out at the beach, had the best frozen yogurt in the world. A good day. We were preparing for the next day's hike. Villarica! We were just getting ready.

So, Villarica. Our first day in Pucón was a little cloudy, so we couldn't see the volcano right away, but when we did: INCREDIBLE. It's a snow-topped volcano, nearly 3,000 meters in height. We had to be at the Sierra Nevada at 6:30 in the morning, which in itself was a challenge for us gringos. That night the clocks in Chile were scheduled to jump back. So we planned accordingly, set our alarms on our phones and whatnot, and went to bed. The next morning we're all ready to go, but sadly we realize that our phones did not adjust to the time change on their own, so I went back to bed. haha A wonderful start to a wonderful day!

We got to the office, and they provided us with all the necessary gear: boots, pants, jacket, helmet, gloves, krampons, and PICKAX. I used a fricken pick ax. If I didn't have it, I would still be in pain! So we set off, drove about 15 minutes to the base of the volcano. The climb started out rocky, pretty straight up hill, kind of steep. Then the real hiking started once we reached the ice/snow. We were forced to zig-zag up the mountain, fighting the wind as best we could. I used the pick ax as a really nice crutch, basically a third leg. It really helped to keep my balance, because as we climbed higher, the wind got stronger. It was really tough going, a slow process. I think as a whole was about 4-5 hours and 2 back down. Worth every achy joint and every doubt, because one you get to the top there is just an incredibly euphoric feeling. Standing on your two feet, looking out across the distance, seeing lakes, mountains, volcanoes, rivers. It was just indescribable. Any word I put on this page will never do it justice. Neither do the pictures. So trust me, if ever an opportunity like this presents itself, take it. No matter the cost, the pain, the exasperation. The feeling is completely worth it.

Needless to say, later that night we had a little celebration! We grabbed a couple boxes of wine and headed out to some hot springs! They are called termas here in Chile, and the ones we went to were called Los Pozones. They were in a very secluded little area, really nice, built around rocks, and very warm! Saved my muscles for sure. We all pretty much crashed after that, and it was a wonderful sleep.

The following we day we packed up our gear and prepared to leave. We hung around the hostal, explored a little of Pucón, and had a few beers with our new friends before heading out. Bus ride back was pretty pain free, and here I am back in Viña del Mar, ready for my next adventure (which coincidentally will be this coming weekend, we as a group are going to La Serena, which is six hours north of here. It should be a great time).

Well that's all from me here in Chile, I've posted some pictures on Facebook, but those don't really this scenery any justice. I have them all saved on my computer, and I know my mom is itching to do a scrapbook, so I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities to see the wonders of Pucón and all of Chile.

Ciao! Adios! Que te vaya bien!