Pucon

This weekend was by far the best weekend yet in Chile. It all started last Monday when I realized that Thursday was a holiday which should only be followed by a day off and a four day weekend of extreme adventures. I sent an instant message to Eric, a Canadian friend with an appetite for danger comparable to my own, and it was done. We were heading to Pucon for the weekend. Wednesday night, we made out way to the bus station in Santiago, unsure whether or not we really had tickets. Turns out, we did and we were on our way on the 10 hour bus ride overnight to Pucon by 11:30. We arrived early Thursday morning and headed toward the lake to Gran Hotel Pucon in hopes of finding an available room. Luck was on our side all weekend, because in no time we had checked in and booked Canyoning for the afternoon and a guided tour up the active Villarica Volcano the following morning.

Canyoning was AMAZING! At one point, I looked to Eric and told him that I thought this it was the coolest thing I have ever done. We started out with a short hike up the mountain to the point where we would begin our adventure with rappelling down the side of a waterfall. We then slid down the waterfall in numerous natural waterslides to a zipline set up across the river. After about another 2 km of waterfall sliding we reached a 4 meter jump into a pool. We then scaled the side of a cliff to the final rappelling descent back to where we started out. http://www.canyoningpucon.cl/

The zipline

If I thought that canyoning was the coolest thing I had ever done on Thursday, Friday may have changed my mind. We woke up at 6:30 to be picked up at 7 am by Luisa, our private tour guide up to the top of the Villarica Volcano.

Our first break - and we are already above the clouds!

The volcano erupts approximately ever 25 years and hasn't erupted since 1984, so it is due for an eruption any time now. There is another volcano not to far away from Pucon that is actually currently erupting that we got a good view of from the top. Luisa set us up with all the gear we needed, including intense heavy-duty boots, ice pick and helmet. And off we went!

View down the volcano at the groups below hiking up

Since Eric and I were the only people in the group, we got a good start up the mountain as the third group to leave the base that morning. After about 45 minutes, we had passed the other two groups ahead of us and made it to the top before anyone else all day. We started out at 1400 m and reached the top of the volcano about 2 and a half hours later at 2800 m. 

The view into the volcano was amazing. The view from the top of the surrounding Andes was amazing. BUT...nothing was as amazing as the way we got down. We slid!!! 

View into the volcano. The small of the gas was suffocating!

Part of the equipment Luisa had provided at the beginning of the day was  a plastic toboggan-like thing to put underneath us as we slid from the very top of the volcano all the way down. 

On top of the world

We finished the day off with a trip to Los Pozones hot springs outside Pucon. There were about 6 or 7 different baths. We definitely overstayed the 15 minute limit and decided to head back to Pucon after about an hour to see what Pucon night-life had to offer (not much). After delicious tacos at Mamas and Tapas, we were ready to hit the sack after two fun-filled days of extreme sports. As the saying goes, however, "Three times a charm," so we needed to round the weekend out with something equally amazing on day 3. And we did just that! Ever heard of hydrospeeding? Me either, until this weekend. It involves a boogie-board like device that resembles half of a river kayak that you ride down the river through rapids on. I'm pretty sure it isn't legal in the US or Canada, which is why Eric and I probably hadn't ever heard of it. (Just go to Youtube if you're curious.)

Ready to Hydrospeed

Either way, it sounded like a lot more fun that plain old rafting, so we were in! We hydrospeeded down the river for 12-13 km through class 3 rapids. The other two people that accompanied us on the tour were both out of the river and in the safety raft after 1 and 3 rapids, respectively. There was no stopping the crazy North American adventurers though. We made it through all 11 rapids with style. Joaquin, our guide, even commented on our level of physical fitness at one point. Haha! I would have been complemented by the comment if it weren't just his opinion in comparison to the common Chilean who really hates to do anything physical at all. Once I get Erics photos, check back at this entry because there are some really awesome ones from hydrospeeding and the thermal baths too!

View from the top of Villarica