Pucón, Chile. ¡Vale la pena!

I just had one heck of a weekend! This was the first trip I went on that was completely planned by myself and my peers, which inevitably means that we hit a few bumps in the road. Nothing too drastic, just a missed bus and unintended day in Santiago. We had out hearts set on getting to Pucón though, and let me tell you... Vale la pena (it was worth it).
Pucón is a mountain town that sits at the base of Volcan Villarica, which is a volcano (obviously), a ski mountain, and a great hike. It is winter however, and we were unable to go hike the volcano, which had been our initial goal. They told us to come back in spring and we will be able to get to the top of the volcano!

The volcano is active, however it has not erupted since 1985. I heard that sometimes at night the volcano will glow red at the top. We didn't get to see that. Volcan Villarica was pretty mellow for us this weekend, but incredibly gorgeous. 

In order to keep ourselves occupied we went on a tour of Pucón the first day we got there. They took us to a couple of highlighted spots in the area. We saw waterfalls that were called the Ojos de Caburgua, and a couple of other scenic areas. The tour ended with a stop at one of the many hot springs around the area, which was a great ending to a cold day! I would also like to add that the tour guide said my spanish was very good. Not sure if I believe him, but the compliment meant a lot!

(Above) Under these roots is hollow ground. The tour guide started jumping on the ground and you could feel that it was hollow underneath. Very cool that the ground was held by all these roots.

Not sure if I have already mentioned this, but Chile is separated into regions (kind of like our States). Pucón is in the middle of the "Region of Lakes"(X Región de Los Lagos). It is known as the doorway to Southern Chile. I can't imagine what Patagonia must look like if this is just the doorway. 

Volcan Villarica at sunset! The picture doesn't do it justice. The pictures below are just a few of the sunset over el "Lago Villarica"

These flowers (below) are all made of wood! There was an artist there who carves them and paints them! They looked so real, even up close!

Pucón was my little Colorado in Chile, with the additions of lakes and volcanoes. Other than that, when you walked around the town it had the same feel as Breckenridge or Steamboat. They had log cabins, fancy rustic restaurants, and people just coming off the slopes. We stayed in a hostel near the main street, and the owners were very generous and kind people. They really invest in their customers, and were almost sad to see us leave. I felt very at home in this town, and I am pretty sure I will be making a trip back!

I don't think I will have many adventures in the near future (besides a trip to Santiago), so I will probably be writing about what I am learning in my classes and what's going on with my volunteer work. It's nice to be back in Viña del Mar, and I am very grateful that I can come back and have the relief of feeling "at home" with my host family. Hope all is well for everyone, and good luck with the start of school! It's very weird that it's still really warm, sunny, and the end of summer in the States. Here I feel like I am in November and that Winter break should be just around the corner. Good thing it's not cause I need to work on the Spanish.

¡Hasta luego!