Land of Lakes

Hey there folks,

Well I finished up in Santiago, and decided to head off South. Mendoza can wait until I visit Argentina later. One noteworthy occurance was that I bought a new harmonica to replace the two that I'd previously spent. It was a start at replacing the things I'd figured out I didn't really need, but still missed. I'd later buy another camera in the town of Temuco, and continue the trend.

All it took to get moving again was to pick up a bus ticket. I've gotten used to arriving in a place without any plans, and making the best of it. Turned out there wasn't much to make of Temuco. The nearby national park looked promising, but since you had to pay for an expensive tour to go see it, I passed. I spent one night there, and then got on another bus for Pucon (with a new camera in my pocket!). Oh, and I also ran out of money here, and had to get bailed out by mom and dad again. They'd sent me some debit cards which I was expecting to be able to start using, but it turned out we'd never received the PIN numbers for them. It was a bit frustrating, but part of traveling is about moving on despite the frustrations, and learning how to not get frustrated by them. With some money from mom and dad to keep going, I told Wells Fargo to go ahead and "send 'em again!" And I arrived in Pucon.

I was glad I did, as I liked the place immediately much more than Temuco. The climate is pleasant, cool; the atmosphere laid back; and the scenery mighty impressive! It's on a lake with a beach, and is surrounded by mountains and the standout Volcan Villarica - a 3,000 meter high volcano. I also found a very charming and not very touristy place to stay. The lady that runs the place really just bends over backwards to be accomodating, and it shows right away by the fact that while she's putting up travelers in her lovely home she's staying in the shed in the backyard. I felt so comfortable here that I cooked something for the first time in my travels - chicken noodle soup from scratch which I've been able to save money by eating every night. Yes, that's right, I've been eating out 3 times a day for months. In Peru and Bolivia it was actually cheaper, and not really that unhealthy.

In the great outdoors, I've only really had one adventure since arriving here. I took a minibus, and hitchhiked (for the first time in my life) out to a place called Ojos de Caburgua. The 'Ojos' or 'Eyes' were a series of small waterfalls surrounding a pool of a surprising shade of green. They were beautiful, and I was happy to be there. It's more satisfying to get somewhere on your own, without paying for a tour to get there. And the rewards in this case were sweet. I was hoping to try the same again today by taking a bus to a nearby National Park where there's hiking to be found, but I missed the bus so it'll have to wait for tomorrow. Of course that's fortunate for you all, because it means I have today to update my blog! Besides the hiking, I am planning on splurging on one tour here, and that's for some intense river rafting. So stay tuned folks, there's more to come. And afterwards, it's time for Patagonia.

There's gonna be action, and I'm gonna bring it to you right here with pictures and blogging.

Chau,
STEPHEN