Pucón

Pucón, Chile
n. "poo-CONE, chee-lay"

"lobby" of our cabin property

Palín

So, quickly before I depart for Lima, Peru (and on to Machu Picchu!) on Thursday I thought I'd be prompt for once and update you on my trip down South. I left Viña del Mar last Thursday night for an all-night, 13 hour bus trip toward Antarctica.

Weaving

never did get a sound
out of that horn

After arriving at our "cabins" that were more like luxury cottages with jacuzzi tubs, fireplaces, (central heat!) and full kitchens, it was straight to business. We ate breakfast in the "Castle" main building of the property and were off to the indigenous Mapuche community. The Mapuche are a very proud and welcoming people and sat around the fire with us, answering questions and asking us about our lives as well. We were given a tour of their small museum that detailed their unwritten language, Mapudungun, and history. We ate lunch in their restaurant, which included wonderful home-grown salads, sopaipilla (theirs is made without squash), and fresh bread. We also participated in a variety of "talleres" (tay-air-As) which means workshops. I chose the weaving workshop (which is all done by hand without a loom), which is extremely difficult, I have so much more respect for hand-woven artisan crafts now. Other people in my program participated in wood carving, cooking, basket weaving, and music. I eventually wandered over to the music group to try my hand at some Mapuche dances and musical instruments. We all regrouped to play some Palín, a Mapuche sport like field hockey (I'm now a pro of course thanks to my Juegos Mapuches class). After enjoying a little bonfire with more sopaipilla, jam, and empanadas, it was time for us to head home.

Villarrica Volcano

Rochelle and I about to cross the river!

Me crossing the river!

I had the option of signing up to climb the 9,341 ft. Villarica Volcano with an ice pick an all, but opted instead to go ziplining through the Canopy of the lush forests and over the rushing river created by the melting snow of the volcano. The guides were all incredibly excited to have us there, making jokes the entire time (including the first river crossing when the guide suggested I go backwards and then turns to me and says, "you know how to swim, right?). The zip line had ten different stops, where you typically land on a platform (with a gymnastics mat tied to the tree in front of you to avoid the fate of a bug on a car windshield) and climb up to another platform above you toward another rush of adrenaline and an incredible view. When we finished our course, my friends and I spent the rest of the afternoon shopping in the artisan markets of Pucón, best known for their wool and wooden products. I'd tell you what I bought, but then I'd be giving away a great many Christmas surprises. My CIEE group reunited for dinner at Fogón, a restaurant I'd highly recommend for its fogón style cooking (brick oven style fire grilling in tin foil) and warm atmosphere.

Mapuche Land

On our last day, we headed over to the parks to see more of the river and three large waterfalls. I'd list the names of these waterfalls but that would require me having paid attention to our guide at the time (oops!). The woods and creeks strongly resembled the national parks in Northeast Ohio, if I had been blindfolded and placed at random, I would have guessed that I was in South Chagrin Reservation or along the Towpath Trail in Peninsula, Ohio. It made me a bit nostalgic. Finally, we ate a bagged lunch (which was originally described as "very small" and we were instructed to bring more snacks...only to discover, in typical Chilean manner, that it included 2 sandwiches, chips, 2 drinks, a candy bar, and 2 pieces of fruit. Why are you allways trying to make me obese, Chile!?)

On our last stop, we went to natural hot springs way down in a valley beside the river. This was a first for me, and hopefully not a last! Each of the hot spring pools were different temperatures, and when we were dying from the most scalding of the pools, we jumped over the rocks into the colder-than-Lake-Michigan river for no more than a minute, and came back. My friends and I started a massage circle and many others were asleep on sunny rocks in the middle of the river. Reluctant to leave and trek up the hundreds of stairs back to the bus, we finally returned to the hotel, packed our things, ate an asado (barbeque) dinner at the hotel "castle" and departed for Round 2 of overnight busing.
Apparently, I'm still alive so I suppose one can survive these buses, but I'm going to be running around like a crazy fool for the next few days getting ready for Peru.

Until then, buenos noches y buena suerte!

Zip line station- Subimos!