Our first visitors arrived! I will always remember driving up to the tiny airport just outside of Pucón and seeing my parents standing there waving to us. It felt so surreal to be able to share our South American experience with my parents. Once we had picked up my parents, the drive to Pucón flew by because we had so much to talk about. Everyone was beaming being back together. We were so excited to show them exactly how we had been living for the last 4 months and we were eager to hear their news from back home.
We had rented a small house on a hill just outside of Pucón and when we got there, we were amazed by both the house and the view. Being up on the hill, we had a spectacular view of Villarrica lake, and the house had a huge balcony to sit and enjoy it. Once we were all settled in the house, everyone was tired from the day of travel. Nikki and I made a typical dinner of vegan lentil Bolognese while my parents relaxed on the balcony enjoying the sunset with a cold beer.
The next day, we started our week together off with a bang! We drove to Villarrica national park for a moderate day of hiking. The area around Pucon is considered to be part of the lake district of Chile but it is also known for its volcanoes! The main attraction is the Villarrica volcano, which is the 2nd most active volcano in South America with the most recent eruption being 2008. Our first day of hiking lead us through a beautiful pine forest and out onto the lava fields of Villarrica. The landscape of hiking on a volcano is very different than anything we get back in Colorado. The trees just abruptly end and are replaced by a huge expanse of black volcanic basalt. Imagine hiking on fields of Coco puffs with a huge volcano looming above. It was spectacular. We followed the trail to the ice fields at the base of the volcano. We were even able to walk up onto the glacier! It was a great start to our week! We knew later in the week we would attempt a climb to the top of the volcano, so this smaller hike was a great starting place!
The next couple of days involved some smaller hikes to waterfalls but our next big attraction were the hot springs around Pucon. Due to the volcanic activity, there are numerous hot springs located around Pucon. We knew that one of the days would be cooler with a chance of rain, so we chose that day to go to the hot springs. The one we chose had 3 beautiful pools with the perfect temperature water to just relax the day away.
The next day was our big day. On the day of tour, we had to get up at 5 am to start the hike. The early start ensures the ice on the volcano is still hard by the time we get to it. The start of the hike was very similar to the end of our first day’s hike. We hiked for a couple of hours on loose volcanic rock before we hit the ice. This was the part that people were both excited and nervous for. We stopped to put on our crampons and get out our ice picks. Nikki and I were both excited to climb on the ice, but my mom and dad were also a bit nervous. My dad had torn his achilles tendon in June and had been working really hard with a physical therapist in order to be able to hike with us and this was his first big test. My mom was also nervous due to her fear of heights. The crampons held well on the ice, but the hike did begin to get steeper. Another hour passed and we stopped for a break but as soon as we stopped and looked backed down the valley, the vertigo set in. Everyone felt a little uneasy, but it was evident my mom was not having fun. We were so proud of her to have made it this far. We knew this was out of her comfort zone. She then decided, she didn’t want to continue, and we supported her decision. She after our break, she made her way down with one of the guides while the three of us continued up. The hike up continued for another 2 hours but finally we reached the summit and were able to look into the caldera of the volcano. But before we were allowed to reach the summit, we were instructed to put on our gas masks to protect us from the volcanic fumes. Once we peered into the caldera, we were very happy to have the masks. The sulfuric smell hit us, and our throats seized up trying to halt the wave of fumes. The top of the volcano was an otherworldly place. All the rock was covered in this yellow-green coating which had been deposited by the sulfur fumes. The whole area felt very hostile, like nothing living was supposed to be there. We had hoped to see lava when we peered into the volcano but unfortunately, the lava rises and is only visible in the winter months. After exploring the summit for 10 minutes, we were instructed to leave in order to limit our exposure to the fumes. Even with the gas masks, everyone was starting to feel a bit sick and we were happy to leave. We were also excited to descend the volcano because we knew it involved sledding down!
The descent was the most fun part of the hike! We were given special pants and a small plastic sled to slide down the grooved trails. The trail down looked like an Olympic bobsled track with tall walls and winding turns. One by one we sat ourselves in the track and started to slide down the volcano using our ice picks as a break. The hike that took us 4 hours up only took 15 minutes of sledding to go down, but those 15 minutes were a blast. At every bank and corner of the track, I found myself smiling and laughing with enjoyment. It was hard to believe we were sledding down the side of an active volcano. Nikki and I both agreed that this hike belonged on our list of top 5 hikes we have ever done, and we will never forget it!
On our last day with my parents, we elected for a much calmer day. We went to the shores of lake Villarrica for a relaxing day on the beach. The black volcanic sand of the beach was amazing to lie on and rest. For the whole day we relaxed, played games, swam and ate all the different types of food the beach vendors brought along. We had everything from homemade empanadas to chocolate covered strawberries. We all decided that is it hard to beat lounging on a beach while people bring you chocolate covered strawberries.
The following day was a much more somber day as we packed up and drove my parents back to the airport. We had such an amazing week with them and were so grateful to be able to share some our trip with them. It was a very special and unique trip that we will always cherish. Once we dropped them off at the airport, we immediately started our drive back down south for our next adventure location, Cochamó Valley, the Yosemite of the South.
Nikki and Colter's South American Travel Blog 