And finally: Pucón

Leaving behind Valdivia, we arrived in tourist-central Pucón around midnight. We were met at the bus station by a man who claimed to be the owner of the hostel we were staying at. A little suspicious, as we weren't expecting anyone, we cautiously followed him into what did appear to be our hostel and onto a very windy cabaña-style annex.

Pucón, as I mentioned, is super-touristy, and the jury is still out as to whether I like it or not. A small town on the side of a lake, its grid-pattern streets are lined with picture-perfect log-cabin style buildings, most of which house tour and adventure companies. The main draw to Pucón is the looming Volcán Villarrica, which can be climbed (with a guide and special equipment). As we're not particularly fit, and it was late on in the season, we had decided before arriving against doing this.

The crater of Volcán Villarrica

Preferring to explore by ourselves, we had hoped to walk around the skirts of the volcano in the surrounding Villarrica national park. So, avoiding the ever-zealous sales reps, we enquired at the main tourist office about where we could go under our own steam. This was a mistake. We discovered to our dismay that the only way way to access the reserve on your own was with a car. Otherwise, you needed to join one of the many tours leaving Pucón (did I mention those?), all of which we'd missed as we didn't exactly wake up very early.

We were left then with two options - staying in Pucón (which would have ultimately meant hanging around in a bar with loads of other gringo backpackers) or heading out to a different national park which was accessible by public transport. We chose the latter.

Lago Villarrica, from Pucón

The bus to Parque Huerquehue took around an hour and was an exciting journey traversing a pretty steep hillside. Once there, we consulted the park ranger about routes we could complete in the three hours we had before the last bus left the site. Mildly ticked off by the ranger for not arriving early enough for a decent length walk, I handed over my extranjero (foreigner) entrance fee of 4000 pesos, while Carlos got away with the local fee of 2500 pesos thanks to his Chilean ID card, despite a comment from the ranger about his Spanish accent.

Parque Huerquehue, as the rain started to fall

As the rain started to fall, we set off on a walk through the native forest. It was lovely, but the increasing rain and time constraints meant that we indeed did not get very far at all before we had to turn back and slosh our way through the mud to be counted back on the bus.

Returning to Pucón, we finally had the chance to sample some local trout, which Carlos had been dreaming of ever since we noticed it on a menu in our first five minutes in Bariloche. We also had a starter of seafood soup (again local) which was just delicious.

And that was that, bar an hour or so knitting in the bus station while we awaited the ten hour return trip back to the smoggy city of Santiago. Thank you to the regions of Los Ríos, Los Lagos and La Araucanía, you definitely prove the saying here that "Santiago no es Chile" (Santiago isn't Chile).

City of rivers

Pinnacle of the holiday finally achieved, we moved onto Valdivia - the urban centre and capital of Los Rios region. Valdivia is famous for being the location of the world's biggest ever recorded earthquake - a huge 9.5 on the Richter scale in 1960. It's also famous for its German influences, beer, fish market, rivers and sea lions!

The day began shrouded in dense fog as we ambled along the waterfront trying to avoid the grasp of the plethora of pleasure boat trip sellers keen to seize on a couple of tourists. In addition to the rather yummy looking fish market (a pity we couldn't cook that night), the waterfront also boasts a massive submarine and a pendulum clock that tells the time based on the curvature of the earth. And how could I forget? The waterfront is also home to loads of (rather smelly) sea lions, who lounge around all day except for when the market clears up at night...

My picture postcard of Valdivia's waterfront (and sea lions)

While we were waiting for the skies to clear, we decided to take in a few museums. The first was the Kunstmann brewery (cerveceria) - which we took a short micro trip to get to. Now, we were expecting something on the scale of the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin. Not to be I'm afraid; the brewery has a small museum and shop and a large restaurant. Still, it was interesting to learn about this family business, started by German immigrants who first arrived in the mid 1800s, which now competes on a global sale. The honey ale is particularly nice.

Philippi (right) and friend.
I love this photo, nothing says 'Victorian
explorer' more.

Back in the town centre, the sun had broken through so we enjoyed our sandwiches on the riverside - at a safe distance away from the hungry lobos marinos (sea lions). Afterwards, we crossed the river to the university side of town (Valdivia is an important student city) and visited two more museums. The first was an historical and anthropological museum that contained artefacts from the region's various colonisers, from the Mapuches to the Spanish to the Germans.

The second was the Philippi museum of exploration. The observant amongst you will remember I mentioned Philippi in my post about Puerto Varas. Despite the sound of the name, Philippi was a German explorer who 'discovered' a large part of the regions of Los Rios and Los Lagos. A palaeontologist and zoologist, he worked extensively to categorise and document life in this exotic land, which at the time consisted mainly of dense forest.

Full of information, we decided to finish off the day with one of the riverboat tours we had an initially been avoiding. Thankfully, we made a good choice - a sturdy boat, a very informative guide and a decent long tour along the Valdivia, Cau Cau and Cruces rivers. Another sunset in another romantic place.

Valdivia, city of rivers

More Valdivia photos on Flickr:

www.flickr.com jaynescarman's Valdivia photoset

A sprinkle of magic

By the time we reached Frutillar I was desperate to see Volcan Osorno. We'd spent the previous day on the shore of Lago Llanquihue under a damp blanket of low cloud and had woken up to hazy mist shimmering over the surface of the lake.

Frutillar

Having caught the micro (small bus) around the lake to Frutillar (a mere $900 pesos / £1.20 each), we alighted at Frutillar Bajo, on the lake side (Frutillar Alto being the main town slightly inland). We were presented with a beautiful view: a wide bay, lake waters lapping on a stretch of beach, an elegant wooden pier, tidy houses, more Germanic churches and the modern Teatro del Lago stretching out on stilts into the water. Still no volcano though.

So we sat down to have our lunch on the pier. Amusingly, we were joined by various other couples who divided into two clear groups. Chileans, dressed in normal daytime clothing, who walked straight to the end to take pictures of themselves with the view and partake in various public displays of affection. Then there were the internationals, dressed in their outdoor gear, who settled down on one of the side benches, opened up their backpacks and started assembling sandwiches from the various supplies stored within.

Ham and cheese hallulla (that's a bap to you and me) halfway to my mouth, I turned my head. "Mira!" I cried, "el volcán!" (Carlos and I spoke in Spanish the whole time we were on holiday in case you were wondering). Suddenly, the clouds began to part and, like a mirage, the shape of the volcano began to slowly appear out of the mist. It was a magical sight, and as the clouds rolled away and the sun shone brightly, we just sat and relaxed and admired this astonishing view of a perfectly symmetrical, snow-capped volcano seeming to rise out of the lake.

Thrilled that Volcan Osorno has appeared behind me

Volcan Osorno

Kuchen and hot chocolate

Of course, no blog post of mine would be complete without mentioning food. In Frutillar, we had been recommended a place to sample kuchen, which is German for cake. At "Duendes del Lago" (goblins of the lake) we had something similar to apple crumble and a hot chocolate - mine mint flavoured and Carlos' caramel. Plus some biscuits. Yum!

Afterwards, we were treated to another sunset. This time, with the mist and haze, the sky and sea turned shades of dusty pink and blue, like a pastel picture. Truly a sprinkle of magic.

Volcan Osorno at sunset

More Frutillar photos on Flickr:

www.flickr.com jaynescarman's Frutillar photoset

A flavour of Germany

Moving on from a life of luxury, at our next stop, Puerto Varas, we returned to earth with a bit of a bump. Unfortunately, the owner of the hostel we had booked didn't know we were arriving; neither did he have the double room we had reserved available; and neither was his hostel in the best of states, being as it was low season and the hostel was (I think) technically closed. That said, he let us stay in a dorm room on our own, dropped the price and was keen to make us feel welcome. But sadly, it wasn't the best of starts to a day that continued to be a bit of a let down.

I had been told marvellous things about Puerto Varas; about its quaint German architecture and stunning view of the near-perfect Volcan Osorno. The one thing you can't organise though is the weather. And this was the view:

Believe it or not, there's a massive volcano behind those ships

Nonetheless, we ploughed on through a freezing cold afternoon/evening to take in a walking tour of the town. Starting off by scaling Cerro Philippi (you'll find out who he was once we get to Valdivia) and then navigating the town via the tourist circuit marked into the pavements. This took us past various Germanic churches and wooden-structure houses built by German immigrants at the end of the 19th century.

Sacred heart church, Puerto Varas

Darkness had fallen before we finished and the air was thick with wood smoke. Shivering, we went in search of dinner and came across a funky cafe with the most awesome food - Cafe el barrista. Tempted inside by the $5000 peso (£6.50) deal, we enjoyed squash soup, the most delicious salmon and roasties soaked in wine, plus mineral water from Puyehue. It was that good we went back the next night.

The following morning, the skies looked promising and in the early morning light and with the hazy sunshine beginning to break through the fog, my spirits lifted. We finished off the circuit and popped into the artisan marketing before hopping on a micro to nearby Frutillar...

Comes the light, the spirit lifts

How the other half live

Cross the border back into Chile from Argentina's Bariloche and the international road will take you right past Termas de Puyehue. A little all inclusive stay at this super-luxurious spa and wellness resort was my treat from I Love Chile for the voluntary work I've been doing for them over the last six months. Seriously, this was some present.

We were up early to catch the international bus from Bariloche's terminal. Amusingly, we were shown the same film as on the inbound journey, but hey, it was an enjoyable one (Tony Scott's 'Unstoppable' about a runaway train if you're interested, dubbed into Spanish of course)! After passing through customs without incident, the bus dropped us off at the entrance to the termas. 

A progressive series of 'wows' followed, as we entered a huge reception area and were shown to our enormous and sumptuous room complete with balcony, lake view and various little freebies. After we'd picked ourselves up off the floor, we decided to find out about the various activities on offer before having lunch.

The view from our window

The all inclusive deal involves a buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner, at least three courses each time. Needless to say my jeans were a little tight by the end. The main restaurant has an idyllic view of the grounds and the lake beyond and we even managed to watch some birds of prey outside while breakfasting on the last morning (sorry, this was a rare occasion where I didn't have my camera with me).

The view from the restaurant

Following lunch, we were taken on a short guided walk (caminata) to the complex's hydroelectricity plant - the turbine dating from the 1930s - before hitting the pool. Hot spring pools are one of the best discoveries I've made here in Chile (you'll see why in a forthcoming post about Nevados de Chillan). Naturally heated by the area's volcanic underground (more on that later too), the pools are extremely relaxing and the minerals in the water make your skin feel really soft.

At Puyehue, there is a large indoor pool heated at around 36 degrees with various hydro-massage jets which we had great fun trying not to get thrown about by. Next to it there is a semi-covered Olympic-sized pool, in which I had a gorgeous early morning swim the next day, and lastly an outdoor 'fun' pool. We messed around in the outdoor pool as the sun went down, being swirled around in a whirlpool, bumped around by water jets and generally acting like big kids.

Local yarn

The next morning, Carlos took advantage of a horse riding trip (cabalgata) while I returned to the pool and pottered around the hotel. I figured my first time on a horse in a language I'm still learning was not the best of ideas. Part of the pottering involved a quick visit to the hotel shop, which to my dismay, held an ample collection of local yarn. You guessed it, I bought some (and it's green).

When we met-up again, we had a packed day ahead of us, starting with a mountain-biking circuit around the grounds, a big lunch and a lovely walk through the forest along the river - where I learnt lots of countryside related vocabulary such as seta (fungus), enganchar (to be hooked on something - i.e. a rama or branch), barro (mud), otoñal (autumnal) and oveja (sheep). I hope that's painted a picture...

Setas (funghi)

Back in the hotel we took in onces - the Chilean version of afternoon tea, which includes bread, ham and cheese, cakes and of course, tea! Rather full, we headed to the spa for a sauna, which after feeling proud of ourselves that it wasn't that hot, we realised wasn't switched on. We sorted that though, before returning to the pool for a refreshing dip.

That night's buffet consisted of traditional Chilean food, including empanadas and pastel de choclo. I enjoyed a kind of beef bourguignon and some of the best desserts - deep fried churro-like pastries and little meringues with fruits of the forest. Finally, we worked off dinner with an hour or so of ping-pong in the games room.

Termas de Puyehue is an oasis of luxury, in a stunning setting, with attentive staff and immaculate attention to detail. It sounds like a cliche, but we kept returning to our room to find more treats - baskets of fruit, chocolates and bottles of the spa's mineral water. Hands down, Termas de Puyehue wins the award for 'the most luxurious place I've ever stayed'.

Termas de Puyehue's grounds with Volcan Puyehue in the background
and the hot spring pool in front

More Termas de Puyehue photos on Flickr:

www.flickr.com jaynescarman's Termas de Puyehue photoset

The most beautiful place on earth

West coast of Scotland: I'm sorry. You've reigned for a while, but I'm afraid you have finally been pipped to the title of 'the most beautiful place in the world I have ever been (so far)'. If it eases the blow, you were only beaten by a bigger version of yourself. I hope you won't mind too much.

Muscling the Isle of Eigg and the Scottish Inner Hebrides down to the number two position was their Argentine heavyweight cousin, San Carlos de Bariloche. Quite simply the most spectacular place I have ever seen; an enormous lake surrounded by mountain peaks. Oh, and it has some of the best chocolate around too. You can see why it stole my affections.

Bariloche was the first stop on our trip to the Chilean/Argentine lake district, located around 500 miles south of the capital Santiago and at the start of the heavenly wilderness that is Patagonia. We arrived there via an overnight bus trip (around 10 hours) to Osorno. It's not as bad as it sounds - travellers are provided with blankets, pillows, dinner and breakfast (sandwiches, biscuits and juice), the seats recline with a foot rest, the lights go out and people sleep. Then it was another 5-6 hours across the border to Bariloche. As you can probably imagine, I had a stinking headache by the time I arrived at the hostel so it was straight to bed for me.

The lake shore, Bariloche

The next morning, the sun shone gloriously and I felt rejuvenated. We hot-footed it to the lake shore to see the waters sparkling in the sunlight. After ambling around the strangely gothic but modern cathedral and the Swiss-influenced main square, we took the teleferico (cable car) to the summit of one of the surrounding hills, for what was reputed to be one of the best views in the area. This was nothing short of an achievement, as I'm scared of cable cars and Carlos doesn't like heights!

The view from Cerro Otto in Bariloche

Once at the top, we were not disappointed. The scenery was simply stunning, with mountains and lakes as far as the eye could see. We enjoyed a guided tour around the sight by a very humorous guide, who pointed out the nearby landmarks, filled us in on the history of the area and made us act out a scene from some film or other (this was all in Spanish - I got a little lost).

Bariloche chocolates

Safely back down in the town, we treated ourselves to some of the unmissable local chocolate, which we devoured during a romantic moment watching the sunset on the lake shore. The sun turned golden, the mountains turned pink and the sky and sea changed from blue to orange to rosy to red, before finally darkness fell and it was time to bid this magnificent place goodbye.

Sunset at the lake shore, Bariloche

More Bariloche photos on Flickr:

www.flickr.com jaynescarman's Bariloche photoset

It's been a while readers...

I must apologise for my tardiness with writing. But you see, I've been away. Not once, but twice. I'm a very lucky girl. During my travels in the south of Chile I have:

• had one of the most amazing experiences of my life;
• been to the most beautiful place in the world I have (so far) ever seen;
• stayed in the most luxurious place I have ever stayed; 
• completed my longest ever journey by bus; and,
• witnessed one of the most astonishing views I have ever set eyes on.

Oh, and narrowly missed a volcano erupting.

I'll be filling you in over the coming days, but for now, here's a tantalising taster...

Nevados de Chillan

Bariloche, Argentina

Volcan Puyehue

Lago Llanquihue and Volcan Osorno

Valdivia waterfront

Parque Huerquehue near Pucon