Two Americans in Chile

Pucon, Villarrica, and Hosteria de la Colina

Holly just posted a bunch of photos, so I thought I should post the story behind this weekend. Hope you enjoy:

This weekend we went on our most ambitious excursion yet, a 10-hour bus ride to beautiful Villarrica. Villarrica is situated on a lake right between Pucon and Coñaripe. By far the most striking thing in the area is the massive volcano Volcon Villarrica, with it’s snow-topped peak looking majestic in the background of whatever you’re doing. It’s also among the most active volcanoes in Chile, going off every 7 years.

But first, the bus ride. We took an overnight bus, leaving Santiago at 9:40pm, and arriving in Villarrica at 8am. We had the “semi-cama” seats, which are actually far nicer than an average airline seat, reclining back very far, and a soft comfortable leather keeping you cozy and snug. There were ample blankets and pillows, allowing us to actually sleep fairly decently. It was definitely the nicest bus ride I’ve ever taken, and for the 10-hour ride, it cost only $18 per person. This would be like traveling from PDX to San Francisco for $20, complete with “What Happens in Vegas” starring Ashton Cucher playing as our bus movie.

Once arriving, we took a short cab ride to Hosteria de la Colina. Holly had found this place, and the website looked very promising. As we drove up, I was a little unsure of where we’d end up, but a couple of gravel roads and sharp turns dropped us off at an amazing little place, half hotel, half bed and breakfast. It’s run by a retired couple who used to teach elementary school, one from Oregon, and one from Montana. They were awesome, and we had a great time just relaxing in their amazing Hosteria. I also solved both of Glen’s difficult puzzles, which I’m pretty sure has earned me a permanent place in his heart.

Our first day, upon the suggestion of Glen (from Montana), we went to Termas Geometricas, an amazing hot springs about an hour and a half from Villarrica. We had to take an hour long OTHER bus ride to Coñaripe, then a shuttle from there to the hot springs. Just the 30 minute shuttle cost us as much as our bus ride, and all in, the shuttle, and entrance to the hot springs cost us about $36 a piece, however, once we got there, we knew we had made the right decision. The place was absolutely beautiful.

We stayed there a while, soaking, taking pictures, and soaking some more. Steve and I would constantly jump into a waterfall, which was the coldest snow run-off I’ve ever encountered, and then jump right back into a 105+ degree natural hot spring. It was a lot of fun, and I think I got a pretty good workout just flexing my muscles from the cold, and raising my heart rate from the extreme pain my body suffered going from one extreme to the other. We did it about 7 times each.

That night we went home and just crashed after a very good dinner at a local pizzaria.

On Sunday, we got up late and headed to Pucon. This is by far the coolest town I’ve been to in Chile. It feels like a cross between Hood River and Moab, Utah, but is situated between two killer lakes. It was such a cool town, with outdoor activities everywhere, and the chance to go rafting, kayaking, climbing, summit the volcano, hiking, whatever. We hired a cab driver for 4 hours and had him take us to two waterfalls in the area. During our hike, we actually saw a live tarantula on the trail. I’m fascinated with big bugs, and thought it was awesome. Steve squirmed like a little girl, so I spent the rest of the hike looking for another one to try and pull something on him with, but never found a second.

On the way back we stopped at a random little farm where they sold crafts out of a shed near the gravel road; we bought some cool little gifts for literally the change in our pockets. I got a hand-knitted stocking cap that I’m pretty sure was from the wool of their very own sheep.

After that, we went back and walked around Pucon, just enjoying it’s cool small shops selling random artisan crafts and trying to choose our dinner spot. We ended up at a grill where we got an amount of meat that bordered on ungodly. I swear I’ve never seen that much dead animal on one table in my entire life, and after we left, I suffered a meat hangover for about 36 hours. But it was fantastic and wonderful and special all at the same time. But I have to be honest, I’ve been wanting vegetables the past few days, and I think my body is in meat revolt.

We got back to Hosteria de la Colina about 2 hours before our bus left back for Santiago. We hung out with Glen and Bev a bit more, then said goodbye, departing for our second 10-hour bus ride in 48 hours.

I wish I could say our trip back was as nice, but the air conditioner wasn’t working and we ran out of water, and it was very uncomfortable, and much more crowded and the bus was much older and it was 10 hours of suck. They didn’t even have a movie on this bus ride. But, we arrived in Santiago just the same, and got ready for the Monday morning it was. Steve and Sarilyn both had to work, but Holly and I had the chance to take a nap and get ready for our work later in the afternoon.

All in all, it was a fantastic weekend, and I loved Pucon, and the awesome Volcano in the background. We need to move there, and I think we’re going to try and buy the hotel from Glen and Bev sometime in the next week or so. Enjoy the photos (they’re in the previous post).