11-30-2002
On the 27th we boarded a salon-cama bus at 19:45, climbed to the second floor and sat on spacious cushioned front seats that reclined with leg rests. We were brought blankets and pillows and I went to sleep. When I awoke, there were rolling green hills, daisies, cows grazing. We were headed for Pucon, a little town next to Volcan Villarica. It is a symmetrical white cone with continuous steam coming from the top. We were met at the bus station by Marie Helena and German who encouraged us to come to their hospedaje (Inn). We agreed and also to go river rafting that afternoon with German. So we had a delicious breakfast of yogurt and granola and fruit and joined 12 others in 2 rafts on the Traqulo river which has class 3 - 4 rapids which means there are big waves that slashed over the entire boat and there were some rocks and little drops in the river. We had wet suits, life jackets and the guides were great - German and Carlos. The town of Pucon is a simple resort town for adventure travelers - lots of people climbed the volcano. Hotel Donde German is a home converted to a rooming house. Our room had a bathroom. There was a living room, a communal kitchen and young people from all over the world. It cost $12 per night. I would recommend anyone coming to Chile to visit Pucon and stay with Marie Helena and German. One of their employees is a young man from North Carolina who is an archeologist just working around cool places.

The 29th we caught a Jac bus to the Parque Nacional Huerquehue. The bus dropped us off at 9:30 (hey, I found the ñ on the keyboard) and would come back at 5Ñ30. We hiked 5 Km up a steep path through massive trees some of them are what we call "monkey trees" about 5 ft in diameter here called Araucara. The underbrush is bamboo. The weather is comfortable and sunny - views of mountains and volcanos and Lago El Toro, Lago Chico, Lago Verde.

Today we headed south to Puerto Montt an ocean port, but decided to stop in Puerto Varas on Lago Llaniquehue (pronounced Yankee Hey!) because Marie Helena told us it was more charming than Puerto Montt. It is a spectacular place right on the huge lake with several white volcano cones on the other side. It appears to be centered on tourism; we can see little other business here. It used to be something else, though because there are large ornate wooden houses (the guidebook says "European style") which either are inns now or look to be in disrepair. We are staying in an amazing wooden building (I hope no one smokes!) with many rooms down twisty halls and shared bath and kitchen. We have a little dormer window in the roof that looks out over the lake and the volcanos. Tonight there was a lively concert in the town. There are a few foreigners here, and some Chileans may be tourists, but we look really different and some groups of young people say "hello" to us and we feel noticed. Tonight for dinner we had Pastel de Chocolo (a corn pudding with a chicken piece in it) and an Empanada (turnover filled with vegetables and beef) and cake with carmel frosting and nut and cherry filling.