Pucón, Chile

Hola todos,

Two weekends ago, I went to Pucón which is a town 10 hours south of Santiago. Eight girls and I took the night bus there at 11PM. Sadly I didn't get much sleep. Being tall, it is difficult to be comfortable in a bus seat. Oh well. When we arrived Friday morning, we went to the grocery store to buy some food, and then went to the hostal to put our stuff down.
Afterwards, we made plans to go on a tour in which we would see all the waterfalls in the area and go to the thermal bathes. The waterfalls were beautiful and the thermal bathes were wonderful. One of them was so hot that I actually couldn't get used to the heat! It felt nice but I couldn't move my body because then it would get hot all over again. Though, it was quite chilly (pun not intended), and it was worth the immobilization.
The next day, Saturday, we went canyoning! It was... well, interesting. It was most of our first times, including myself, so we didn't know what to expect. We met the tour guides at 10AM, headed to get our wetsuits, helmets, and equipment. Afterwards, we walked through a very beautiful woodsy area with streams and lots of green. When we got to the first waterfall, they showed us what to do, and we started! Obviously I did not go first. When I did go, I was actually really really nervous because the guy was saying that we have to lean back (so we down smash our heads into the rocks if we drop our feet, reassuring right?) and hold our right hand to our right side and steadily loosen the rope as we propel down. Well, I thought that I was holding on to this rope for my life, though the guy on top of the waterfall and on the bottom were holding us up, so I was gripping onto it for dear life. Half way down, I actually thought my hand was just going to give out. It just couldn't hold my body up anymore. But, I dealt with it, I suppose a temporary pain in my hand is worth keeping my life. Finally I made it to the ground, and I had never been so happy to be on the ground. We continued on to the next waterfalls, which were steadily getting higher (the first was 30m, second was 60 m, third was 90 m). At the second one, I felt more at ease, but still nervous. The third was the same. However, the walk from waterfall to waterfall was beautiful. We walked through streams, around little waterfalls, through a cave, and through lush forest. I am very happy I did it, but once was enough.
Sunday, I climbed a volcano called Villarrica! We woke up at 5:30AM to meet the guides and get our equipment ready. We brought a backpack with us filled with water/ food/ gear, and they gave us a windbreaker, pants, and shoes.
The hike is a solid 8 hours (6 to go up, 2 to go down). There is a ski lift there and if it is operating, it would shave about an hour and a half off the trek. However, the ski lift was not working. We made it to the first rest stop which was about an hour from the bottom. Wow, it was a very tiring first hour. The hard part hadn't even slightly begun. We continued on, and at the rest area at the half way point, we put on these sharp claw-like things onto the bottom of our shoes, called crampons, because it was going to get icy. They also gave us an ice pick and showed us what to do in case we fall. It was crazy because from the ground, this half way point looked like the 5/6th mark. But at the half way point, you see that there is another huge part of the volcano not visible. It was quite a shock.
The view at the half way point was breath-taking. We were above the clouds, and could see the huge lake nearby, and neighboring volcanoes. As we continued, it became more and more beautiful. We finally made it to the top, and it was beautiful, but it was more so a, thank-goodness-I-made-it moment. It was very windy, so we relished the moment and then started our trek back down. Usually, climbers are able to sled down the mountain from the top. (They would give you a little sled-seat to bring to the top.) However, it was too icy so we wouldn't have been able to stop. That was a disappointment because a lot of people say that the best part of the climb is being able to sled down the top. Oh well.
Making it to the bottom was a lot easier, and before we knew it, we were at the bottom. While at the bottom and walking to the bus, I saw perhaps the most beautiful part of the trip. It had begun to snow lightly, though the sun was out, and I spotted a rainbow! It arced over the volcano is a perfect half circle. It was a moment that I will never forget. A perfect moment. The ends of the rainbow were even visible. How many people can say that they've seen the bottom of a rainbow? I wish I could've gotten a picture, but it wouldn't have done it justice.
That night, we went out for a quick dinner and got on the night bus back to Santiago at 9:45PM. Let's just say, it wouldn't have mattered if I were 7 feet tall. It was a wonderful sleep on the bus.  Pucón is an absolutely breath-taking part of Chile and I experienced many new things there. It was a great, full, tiring weekend.

 One of the waterfalls

 Another waterfall

 View from the lake

On the volcano!