Volcanoes and Valleys

Dec. 21-24  San Martin to Pucon

A leisurely breakfast of coffee, yogurt, cereal and croissants in our little hotel is enjoyed sitting in a turret style booth. The waitress is familiar with our coffee habit and every time she serves another table she stops at ours to top up our cups. This is not like a coffee shop at home, they are accustomed to only one maybe two cups of coffee per person at breakfast. The usual practice for us at home has evolved into at least three cups during our morning meeting and breakfast. Maybe we are addicts now, definitely not connoisseurs as we enjoy instant almost as much as fresh brewed.

In any event it is a travel day and we pack the bikes and hit the road. We plan on taking a dirt road over the pass to Chile, so it will be a slower route than the pavement but likely more scenic and less line-ups at the border. As we leave town the route takes us past a very large army base then up into the back country towards the border. Matias had mentioned that the border control was a long way before the actual border and consisted of nothing more than a small shack. We passed by what looked like a police checkpoint but as it was Sunday there was nobody manning the post that we could see so we just carried on hoping that another control station was farther ahead. 

After a bit of beautiful scenery we arrived at the actual border control station, the officer was very friendly when he told us that we were not allowed to proceed. “Por que?” I ask. To which he responds that the road is not open yet, as it is only a summer road, tomorrow it will be open and you can pass then. We thank him and turn around and make our way to the next crossing to the north which is the paved crossing. While riding I had time to think of what he said and it made sense, sort of. Today, Sunday Dec. 21^st, is the first official day of summer as it is the solstice, tomorrow is the first business day of summer and thus the road will be open as it will officially be summer. 

In any event, we make our way on the alternate gravel route back to the highway and into Chile at the Tromen crossing. The scenery is once again beyond words, and we just enjoy the ride and try not to get distracted long enough to ride off the road.

Our destination of Pucon is on the East end of Lake Villarrica, and is very much developed for tourism.

There are numerous hot springs in the area due to all the volcanoes in the area, these vary in size and style from all natural pools to the more developed “swimming pool” style like at Radium or Banff. Allong with all these mountains there is of course all kinds of hiking, mountain lakes for swimming and boating, mountain biking, and skiing in the winter.

We decide that if we are going to partake in a hot spring it is going to be as natural as possible and hopefully we can pick one that is not very busy at the same time. We do some calculating and  determine that the one farthest from town and on the worst road should be the least busy if not the most natural. We pack up and head out to find Termas San Sebastian, 85 km from town, 55km of gravel road from any direction. We were pleased to find very little traffic and lots of fantastic mountain and valley vistas along the way to our almost deserted hot springs. Upon arrival Brenda mentioned that her bike felt a little wobbly in the last couple of miles and further investigation revealed a punctured rear tire.

Fix now or later...Later. I was anxious to get into the hot springs and relax. There were different types of tubs to enjoy. Some were made of concrete and rock, others were made out of wood. One large piece of wood actually. Two tubs were made from very large hollowed out tree, the hot water is plumbed into the side and a drain hole near the top allows for the water to escape into the river in a controlled fashion. There is also a cold water spigot to help control the temperature in the tub. This was awesome, and soon enough we had steam rolling off the top of the water. The river water was not so warm, it was very cold actually, especially in comparison to the hot tub, jumping back and forth was exhilarating.

I figured it would take about an hour to fix the flat tire, so by 4pm it was time to put on my mechanics apron and get to work. By 5 pm the repaired tire was back on we were ready to hit the dusty trail back to Pucon. 

Seems like a waste really, get all relaxed in the tub then pound ourselves on the gravel road back to town. It really didn’t matter, by the time we got to town, hung up our wet cloths and ate supper, it was all we could do to stay awake.

Dog of the Day

Ahh, another crisp morning which quickly warms to 20C as the sun hit the valley floor. Today we decide we should go see what the beaches are like. The main beaches out of town are Bahia Negra and Bahia Blanca. The names are self explanatory once we see the color of the sand, Negra has black coarse volcanic sand and Blanca has typical fine white sand. It is puzzling because the beaches are only about 2km apart if you follow the shoreline. Being early in the season the beaches are not very busy yet but the lake is warm and has all sorts of water sport equipment for rent all they need is the heat of summer and a few thousand people.

The area is also home to the oldest active volcano in Chile, Volcano Villarrica, as well as a few others that are now dormant. This is a major tourist attraction as it is possible to hike up to the crater and look inside at the red hot magma. Dr. Evil would be impressed. From there the hikers can slide down on crazy carpets, at least to the snow line, from there it is more hiking back to the base of the volcano which is where the ski hill is located. In winter the ski hill operates on the volcano and surrounding valley.

We have seen into a volcano crater before, it smells like sulphur, it tastes like sulphur, makes your eyes water like sulphur is being sprayed directly into them, I could go on. We decided that it was not worth the 6hr hike and opted for the 30 minute motorcycle ride to the ski hill and a couple of photos of the surround valley. Quite spectacular and no sulphur.

Dec.24 Pucon to Curacautin

We had full intentions of riding to Melipueco today but once we circled the lake, found some nice gravel roads through the valley up to Cunco and then down the highway to Meli it was still only 12pm. Hmmm, kind of early to stop for the day so we decided to push on to Curacautin which is on the north side of Conguillo National Park.

The park is home to Volcano Llaima, and another huge lava flow. Like many other volcanoes in the area Llaima is home to a ski resort in the winter and hiking in the summer. What is more unique is that people are allowed to drive onto the volcano, as far as your vehicle will take you. The bikes are great for this and we soon find ourselves about 4km into the lava field and a good ways up the volcano. It was starting to get softer and deeper so we decided that we had ventured far enough and turned back after a couple of photos.

The rest of the park was just as amazing, driving through huge trees past crystal clear lakes never really gets old. We see hikers and cyclists along the way and as always have sympathy for cyclists as it would be very hard work to pedal in the soft sand that covers the washboard below. Just as golf is often a great way to ruin a nice walk, cycling is a sure way to ruin a nice hike as having to push a loaded mountain bike most of the way takes the enjoyment out of the walk. But I digress.

Curacautin, although a small town of ten thousand, is bustling with last minute Christmas shopping. We check into a very nice Hostal and the host informs us that if we want to get groceries we better hurry because the stores close randomly on Christmas Eve. We quickly change and head out into the holiday festivities of last minute shopping; at least we only need groceries. We have found that the larger chain supermarket has the whole roasted chickens like we have at home, these make it very easy to prepare a meal at the hostal. We add some pasta and fresh veggies to the basket and we are set for a couple of meals. For those who are curious, the groceries here are about the same cost as at home with the exception that the farmer markets are cheaper than the supermarkets not more expensive like at home. Wine and alcohol is inexpensive, a 26oz bottle of brand name rum or vodka is $6CAD. Beer is also cheap I have been drinking wine in order to avoid the hassle of returning the bottle. This is not me being cheap, the system here is that you need the receipt from purchase to get the refund (300pesos on a 1 liter bottle). Without the receipt then the bottles just get discarded or stockpiled in the corner, it seems that they would rather create litter than return them for no refund. This makes no sense in an otherwise environmentally conscious country.

Christmas eve supper of roast chicken and pasta prima vera is delicious.