Pucón or bust

Friday, September 15-Sunday, September 17

Early Friday morning we climbed back onto a bus, our supermarket-inspired breakfasts in tow (Travel Lesson #1: a yogurt spoon, whether brought from home or acquired while away, is an excellent choice), enroute to Pucón, one of many outdoorsy/adventure capitals of Chile, about three hours east, near the Argentine border. With about half-an-hour left in the trip, we started to see the conical white outlines of Volcán Villarrica cut against the impossibly blue plate of sky bathing the normally rain-sodden ninth region. It rises up in a fairly perfect triangular cone, set curiously apart from the surrounding circus tent-like threads of hills. Its snowy slopes look odd next to the rolling greens and tans and browns of everything else.

We were met at the bus station by a highly convincing hostel owner named Germán (pronounced Heir-mahn), who offered to drive us to his hostel so we could check it out. We later decided that the cute puppies playing on the patio were really just a ploy to snag the weary gringos who have a soft-spot for warm fuzzy things that chew your fingers and stare endearingly at your shoe laces. It didn’t matter, though; puppies aside, I was sold the moment I saw the 24-hour fireplace that promised warmth and happiness.

Pucón is a bit of an oddity. About fifteen years ago, tourist agencies and adventure-seeking travelers began pouring into the tiny town, demanding condos and hostels, Arab and vegetarian food, package trekking tours and zip lines, English menus and low-season discounts. The town itself consists of about six blocks along la Avenida O’Higgins, Chilean everytown’s mainstreet. It reminded me of being in Breckinridge or Switzerland, but with a few more empanadas and that ridiculous volcano towering in the background. The decidedly outdoorsy, adventure-seeking slanted tourist vibe helped make the place feel a lot less disgusting than I think it could have.

We spent most of the afternoon trying to figure out what to do for the rest of our stay, and then came up with the great idea to let Graciela cook us dinner in the hostel (with our communal help and supervision, of course). Pasta in a mushroom cream sauce with cucumbers and hard-boiled eggs was amazing, not to mention the peanut butter and banana binge that followed (just before the coffee and chocolate course). Then it was off to bed in preparation for Pucón Saturday.