Thursday morning we boarded the Pachamama hop on hop off bus for the southern leg of the lake district route. The bus meant we could cover a lot of ground quickly without missing out on the sites along the way and it was a nice break from having to lug our bags around trying to find hostels and waiting for buses.
Leaving Santiago there were only 5 of us on the bus plus Tanya our guide and Pedro our driver. The first stop of the day was in Pomaire, a small handicraft village known for it's clay pots. After refueling with empanadas we drove to the Rapel Dam, a small hydroelectric dam on route to Pichilemu where we were spending the night. In Pichiemu we found a little drunken man outside our hostel who had horses to rent on the beach. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. The horses just wanted to get home as quickly as possible. Rhys having never been on a horse before was suddenly trotting through the forest being jiggled to death and cantering along the beach holding on for dear life. Back at the hostel we caught up with the van again and two American girls who had 'hopped on' and headed out to Punta Lobos, a rocky point where the surfing national championships are held, to watch the waves crashing in and Brendon falling on his ass (twice). A game of ring of fire later and we went to bed.
The second day we left Pichilemu and headed to Santa Cruz to visit the Colchagua Museum. Even Rhys enjoyed it. The museum displays the collection of Carlos Cardoen, a guy who was on the FBI top 10 most wanted list for allegedly selling arms to Iraq in the 1980's. His collection is incredible, from an F1 car to Incan mummies to the pod used in the Chilean miners rescue and a ridiculous amount of fossils and guns. The drive from Santa Cruz to Pucon skirted along the banks of Villarrica Lake while we played power ballads at full blast and saw away enough beer and spirits to sink a ship before pulling in to the backpacker mountain town. At the hostel there weren't enough beds for everyone so me and Rhys ended up topping and tailing - a great way to save some cash.
Day three we spent in Pucon. Along with Brendon and John we caught a taxi out to Huequehue national park since the bus from town left stupidly early and we'd been out the night before. Having intended to complete a 5 hour hike to three small lakes we gave up once the heavens opened and the trail became a small river not appropriate for hikers in Etnies and Converse - we may have persevered had the mist we'd had all day not reduced the visibility to about 20 metres. After an extortionately priced coffee to warm up we headed back into town to pick up the van for a lift out to the Pozones hot springs to sit and soak as night fell. Turns out they're very strict on alcohol consumption at the springs and having nearly been thrown out a couple of times we thought it better to continue the party in town.
Leaving Pucon the bus took the seven lakes route (very bumpy but very picturesque) to Valdivia. Once there we stopped at a brilliant little street food market by the beach and filled up on meat skewers and fish stews whilst some country Chilean musician played and locals watched in awe at the tourists at the market. Our next stop was to a fort then on into town to see the biggest sea lions you have ever seen in your life, the highlight being when one sneezed on Rhys.
Our final day on the bus brought us to Puerto Varas where the party broke up with the 3 girls continuing north and the 2 guys flying south. On the last night together Tanya our guide took us to her friends house for an evening of red wine and guitar hero.
Yesterday we spent the day exploring the town and catching up on well needed sleep. It's a bit like being in the Alps, all the buildings are made of wood and there are little coffee shops and chocolate shops all over town with views out over the Llanquihue Lake, the second biggest in South America and to two snow covered volcanoes.
Today rather than take an expensive organised tour, we jumped on a local shuttle bus to the Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park, to the Petrohué falls. Despite the hoards of American tourists on coach trips it was beautiful. After the falls we walked to the Laguna Verde where we were alternatively scorched by the sun and hailed on then caught a bus back into town.
Leaving Santiago there were only 5 of us on the bus plus Tanya our guide and Pedro our driver. The first stop of the day was in Pomaire, a small handicraft village known for it's clay pots. After refueling with empanadas we drove to the Rapel Dam, a small hydroelectric dam on route to Pichilemu where we were spending the night. In Pichiemu we found a little drunken man outside our hostel who had horses to rent on the beach. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. The horses just wanted to get home as quickly as possible. Rhys having never been on a horse before was suddenly trotting through the forest being jiggled to death and cantering along the beach holding on for dear life. Back at the hostel we caught up with the van again and two American girls who had 'hopped on' and headed out to Punta Lobos, a rocky point where the surfing national championships are held, to watch the waves crashing in and Brendon falling on his ass (twice). A game of ring of fire later and we went to bed.
The second day we left Pichilemu and headed to Santa Cruz to visit the Colchagua Museum. Even Rhys enjoyed it. The museum displays the collection of Carlos Cardoen, a guy who was on the FBI top 10 most wanted list for allegedly selling arms to Iraq in the 1980's. His collection is incredible, from an F1 car to Incan mummies to the pod used in the Chilean miners rescue and a ridiculous amount of fossils and guns. The drive from Santa Cruz to Pucon skirted along the banks of Villarrica Lake while we played power ballads at full blast and saw away enough beer and spirits to sink a ship before pulling in to the backpacker mountain town. At the hostel there weren't enough beds for everyone so me and Rhys ended up topping and tailing - a great way to save some cash.
Day three we spent in Pucon. Along with Brendon and John we caught a taxi out to Huequehue national park since the bus from town left stupidly early and we'd been out the night before. Having intended to complete a 5 hour hike to three small lakes we gave up once the heavens opened and the trail became a small river not appropriate for hikers in Etnies and Converse - we may have persevered had the mist we'd had all day not reduced the visibility to about 20 metres. After an extortionately priced coffee to warm up we headed back into town to pick up the van for a lift out to the Pozones hot springs to sit and soak as night fell. Turns out they're very strict on alcohol consumption at the springs and having nearly been thrown out a couple of times we thought it better to continue the party in town.
Leaving Pucon the bus took the seven lakes route (very bumpy but very picturesque) to Valdivia. Once there we stopped at a brilliant little street food market by the beach and filled up on meat skewers and fish stews whilst some country Chilean musician played and locals watched in awe at the tourists at the market. Our next stop was to a fort then on into town to see the biggest sea lions you have ever seen in your life, the highlight being when one sneezed on Rhys.
Our final day on the bus brought us to Puerto Varas where the party broke up with the 3 girls continuing north and the 2 guys flying south. On the last night together Tanya our guide took us to her friends house for an evening of red wine and guitar hero.
Yesterday we spent the day exploring the town and catching up on well needed sleep. It's a bit like being in the Alps, all the buildings are made of wood and there are little coffee shops and chocolate shops all over town with views out over the Llanquihue Lake, the second biggest in South America and to two snow covered volcanoes.
Today rather than take an expensive organised tour, we jumped on a local shuttle bus to the Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park, to the Petrohué falls. Despite the hoards of American tourists on coach trips it was beautiful. After the falls we walked to the Laguna Verde where we were alternatively scorched by the sun and hailed on then caught a bus back into town.
Rhys and Brendon horseriding in Pichilemu.
Pachamama crew, Punta Lobos.
Me hugging the lighthouse, Valdivia.
Pachamama power ballads, Pucon.
Pachamama crew, Puerto Varas.
Rhys, Huequehue National Park.
Sealion planking, Valdivia.
Puerto Varas national park and volcanoes.
No comments:
Post a Comment