Pucon

The guide book describes Pucon, Chile as the "Mecca for adventure sports" and they aren't kidding. With so many fun things to do--from horseback riding, hot springs, hikes with amazing vistas and waterfalls to canyoning, kayaking, parasailing, hydroboarding and climbing an active volcano--it's hard to choose what to do when you are on a budget. Pretty much everyone comes here for the last mentioned activity though and even skeptics come back loving it. So I based myself in a hostel right on Lake Villarica. It certainly wasn't the cheapest at $20/night but it turned out to have awesome guests and staff including a young couple I'd met in Valparaiso and another British couple that would later play an important part in my travels.

Climbing an active volcano was definitely one of my bucket list items and with Chile being the most seismically active country in the world, Volcan Villarica did not disappoint. After taking the chairlift up to avoid the walk up the ash and volcanic rock section-described to me by my bunkmate as "walking up the down escalator for over an hour"- we strapped on our crampons and started our ascent, ice axe in hand. A relatively easy hike, we stopped too many times for my taste but it didn't matter, we couldn't go any faster than the long queue of people in front of us. The blue sky, warm sun and low winds provided perfect hiking and viewing conditions, enabling us to see all the way to Argentina. And although we didn't see lava we could see very far down the crater and the red, iron rich rock, yellow-green sulphur deposits and striated white snow made a feast for the eyes. However the most fun part of the whole trip was sliding 800 meters down the snow!! I wish they had a chair lift all the way to the top so I could do that part over and over again! Without a doubt the volcano is the best activity I've ever done in my life! Canyoning is great fun too. We don't have it in the States but basically we donned wetsuits and booties and walked a couple miles through the river, sliding down large rocks, jumping off waterfalls and boulders, even zip lined using the water to stop us. It is a super fun way to enjoy a beautiful tree-lined river.

The waterfall at Salto El Claro is spectacular too and well worth the 1.5 hour, 10k up-hill walk on a dry, dusty road. However it was my good fortune that, five minutes in, a local in a pickup truck stopped to give us a ride about 85% of the way to the falls. The Swedish girl I was going with spoke Spanish so once again I was off the hook for the awkwardness of not being able to make small talk. We couldn't find the proper trail but we managed to make our way down to the river anyhow and walked upstream a bit until we got to the pool and waterfall. It is the first time I've been able to sit and relax and enjoy a waterfall. I was mesmerized by the motion and solitude for an hour. Usually I'm on a guided hike or there are throngs of other people around that disturb the experience so I have to move on. But it was just us and a young Chilean couple there. And about half way down on the return walk they stopped and gave us a ride all the way back to Pucon. It was a lucky day for sure! I also enjoyed the experience of the small black sand beach on Lake Villarica. Jam-packed with colorful umbrellas, there was a DJ playing music, a skateboard ramp set up, massage tables and more. Beaches in SA are like none I've ever experienced before.

One of my favorite things about traveling like this is all the awesome people I meet. And it is so much fun when we meet up again in another city/town/trek. From my first day to my last I was never alone in Chile. I met people in one town and we'd meet up again in another city. Their company made the journey much more enjoyable as we created shared experiences and broke bread together. And in meeting fellow backpackers during travel, as you talk about where you've been, what you've done, share interesting stories you are also getting loads of travel tips for your next destination. And they are eager to help if you aren't sure about something. As much fun as it is, traveling is also a lot of work planning, organizing and organizing transportation and accommodation arrangements, made infuriatingly difficult with sketchy wifi or when all the web pages come up in Spanish, so we are happy to do anything to make it easier on one another.

Ten days after my arrival (I wanted to leave sooner but it was five days before there was availability on a bus to Argentina) I left Pucon for a 24 hour bus ride to Buenos Aries and was grateful to have the company of my young Israeli bunkmate. He'd been to BA before, and spoke some Spanish, so it was good when we arrived and he was able to navigate us through the subway and downtown so I could change money on the black market and get to a hostel. When he left for the airport in the wee hours the next day I was truly alone for the first time since arriving in Chile three and a half weeks earlier and it felt very strange. I was very much enjoying having familiar faces around. So we shall see what Argentina will bring...

**UPDATE: Shortly after I left the volcano became more active and on March 3rd it erupted. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-31960851