The town was completely deserted when we arrived. At about 9 o'clock we finally found a restaurant whose owner, although they were still closed, was up and about. He kindly let us in for a coffee and to figure out somewhere to stay. We found a hostel called Emafequen, run by perhaps the nicest hostel owner we have come across so far (and her name was Ema!). We ended up with a cabin on the property, with our own room and a kitchen, bathroom and (most appreciated) a sitting room complete with a TV and a wood burning stove which we shared with some lovely holidaying Brazilians. It was fantastic to have a place which seemed almost like a home for a few days, and we made full use of it kicking back each evening to watch films and even toast marshmallows over the fire!
An ascension of the volcano is one of Pucon's most popular tourist attraction. Having recovered from Huyana Potosí, we were keen to get the top of a volcano, as we had heard that you could see right into the crater. However after speaking to several tour agents, it became apparent that reaching the top in the middle of winter was rare: the ice during the last stages of the climb is so hard that crampons and ice picks cannot pierce it. Eventually, we decided that the money would be better spent elsewhere. We therefore spent out days trekking through the incredible landscape, including a day in the Huerquehue National Park. The hike involves a few hours of uphill walking to reach to top of a ridge. From there, you reach a series of lakes: the Lagunas Chico, Toro and Verde. The are beautiful, made perhaps more picturesque by the snow and ice laying atop them. The hike itself was also stunning as the path wound its way through the snowy forest. It was a veritable winter wonderland!
It was difficult leaving our lovely cabin in order to move on to our next stop, however keeping up a good pace is key to travelling the way we are! Therefore, it was back on a bus even further south to what is known as the gateway to Patagonia: Puerto Montt. The town itself is rather drab and grey, but the lodging was cheap and it was only a short bus ride away from Puerto Varas which is much more geared towards tourism and outdoor pursuits. From there we spent a day hiking to another jaw droppingly gorgeous lake and a set of awe inpiring waterfalls. They were by no means the largest, tallest or even the most powerful falls I've seen, however they all fell together to make the water coming out of the falls pure white against the incredibly clear, turquoise water of the river.
This was to be our last stop on Chile, and it seemed like our time there really flew past! It's an amazing country, and even though we were there a few weeks, we went to the desert, skied and boarded on a mountain, we went to the beach and walked the shores of lakes surrounded by volcanoes. My preconceived notion of a country which has everything was not tainted, and I had a fantastic time there. However, we wanted to give enough time to our last two countries, Argentina and Uruguay and with only a month left, it was time to move on.
The first city on our list was Bariloche on the edge of Patagonia. In the winter, tourists flock here from far afield primarily to ski at one of the largest and modern of South America's resorts called Cerro Catedral. It is particularly popular with Brazilians, who, as we were informed by a Brazilian we meet on the bus into town, jokingly call it Braziloche as you are more likely to run into a Brazilian than an Argentinian!
On a bit of a whim, and using the money we had set aside for the volcano in Pucon which we never climbed, we decided to head up on the hill! We knew that money would come in handy somewhere! This time, instead of skis, I joined Tanya on a snowboard. We had a brilliant day and were again lucky with the weather. I was particularly grateful for this, as the views were first class, and certainly the best I have even seen from a ski resort. Two lakes are visible from the top of the mountain, as well as the city below and the mountain range behind. I am struggling to find the words to describe just how wonderful the scenery was, and there were times when you felt like you were boarding into the void of the lake. Simply beautiful.
We spent our second day in Bariloche cycling around the "Circuito Chico", a popular bike ride around a peninsula which juts out into on the lakes. The views were even better than the lake views we had seen so far, and the 28km flew by in a blur of pine trees and clear, blue water. There were several viewpoints along the way and we were hopefully able to capture some of the beauty on the camera. We also made a couple of stops on the way, one to a smokery where we were able to try smoked venison, cheese, salmon and trout; and one to a path over a "roman bridge" (built in the 1930's) which also lead to the Laguna Escondida (Hidden Lake), where the reflection of the mountain behind shone perfectly in the middle of the clear water. That night we ate a cheese fondue which, amusingly, included hot dog sausages, apple pieces and potato balls to dip in the cheese alongside the usual bread!
We left our big bags at the hostel the next day and headed off for a two day excursion to San Martin de Los Andea. The bus over follows the "Ruta de los Siete Lagos" (the Route of the 7 Lakes), which, as the name implies, provides incredible views of (more) beautiful lakes. We only had a few of hours of daylight left once we arrived in the town, so we walked a couple of hours up to a mirador which had great views over the town and the lake. On our way we passed through a little village where we saw a farmer driving his oxen and cart home, with a chainsaw in the back suggesting that he had been logging. That evening we pottered around the town for a while, sticking out heads into some of the exquisite chocolate shops the region is well known for. After telling the owner of one shop that I was from Belgian, we even scored a sample of a delicious Ducle de Leche filled chocolate. Yum!
The next day we managed to hitch a ride with a family headed to Villa la Angostura, the next town on the way back to Bariloche. They had some brilliant anecdotes about the surrounding area, for example one of the rivers which adjoins two of the lakes is know as the shortest river in the world, being only 100m long! It was also great to see the views of the Ruta de Los Siete Lagos from a car rather than a bus as it was easier to strain a look at the various lakes.
From Villa la Angostura we entered the
Arrayanes National Park and hiked the 26km round trip to the "Bosque de los Arrayanes", a wood dominated by the Arrayane tree. We had already come across this unusual species, easily identifiable by its orange coloured, peeling bark, but this wood was dominated by these particular trees. Allegedly, the Arranyanes forests of the region were visited by Walt Disney and inspired the scenery for Bambi. The other side of the wood there were some fabulous views over one of the surrounding lakes. The day was drawing quickly to an end however and we had to make the return journey at a swift pace in order to be back before dark. We made it to a viewpoint over the lake for sunset, which made the hard, fast walking completely worth it! Back in the town, we managed to scoff a rather large pizza each before jumping on a bus back to Bariloche. The following day, our adventure on the edge of Patagonia came to an end, as we were keen to move up north for the chief reason that we wanted to escape the bitter cold! It was another day and night on a bus, all the way to Mar del Plata. I will leave our stories from there and beyond to the next post as I fear I may have gone on a bit with the current one. However, I hope you enjoyed it and rememeber to keep an eye out for the next!
Lots of love,
Emma
I was exhausted just reading about this whistlestop tour!
ReplyDeleteWhat fabulous scenery, and what a wonderful account of your adventures.
Thank you!