28 November - Puerto Varas to Pucón, Chile
The day dawned brighter than the previous two days, the sun finally shining and giving us beautiful views across the lake and beyond from our room. We got downstairs for breakfast by 7.30am and ordered our taxi, then had to deal with checkout... unfortunately another checkout experience that left a bitter taste in the mouth: trying to screw us over on the exchange rate again! But you can't fool the Backs. We got the taxi to the supermarket and purchased lunch and goodies for the five hour bus journey to Pucón. JAC buses were not the nicest we have travelled on but, my goodness, what music choices: purely medleys of songs from the 70s, the 80s and 80s/90s films. Glorious. The five hours ended up passing by quickly, helped by lunch being an absolute mission because we'd decided to make gourmet rolls complete with avocado, chutney and merquén (a delicious Chilean spice mix that Olli has become obsessed with). We got off the bus in Pucón in glorious weather and our hostel was helpfully located less than 300 metres from the bus station. We had very little by way of expectations for Hostal Müller, knowing that it would be only $200 for three nights and we'd had to go for a twin room. However, it is fast becoming our favourite hostel on the ENTIRE TRIP. Walter, the host, is so helpful and lovely. The twin beds easily slide together to allow for snuggling. The breakfast is amazing and includes (i) choco flakes (a must), (ii) brown bread (this is really not a thing at many breakfasts in South America), and (iii) real honey. There is a kitchen that can be used by the guests, well-stocked for cooking. It has decking with comfy chairs outside. Plus, it is only a few minutes walk from the centre of town. Amazing! We were due that afternoon to head to the agency with whom we would be climbing Volcán Villarica, the impressive, smoking volcano that provides the backdrop to Pucón. We arrived there at around 3.30pm and duly had the briefing, equipment check and filling in of forms and waivers. Then we walked through the town, into the supermarket, back to the hostel and back to the agency to pay for the excursion when we found ourselves delaying and sitting on some steps nearby. We were both having doubts. The risks involved with climbing the volcano are real and well-documented. We are in good physical fitness following the W Trek so our ability isn't in question, but the doubts around the risks were hard to reconcile. We feel so grateful that, thus far on our trip (touch wood), we have remained fit and healthy (other than the food poisoning) with no injuries and we both were feeling that we didn't want to compromise that so close to the end of our trip. We also have already trekked with crampons (Perito Moreno), seen stunning scenery (everywhere) and been to the crater of a volcano (Hawaii) so the trek hadn't made our bucketlist for the trip in the first place. In the end it was an emphatic, joint decision to not go through with the trek. We returned to the agency to cancel and felt an overwhelming and emotional sense of relief when we walked out of the door. We carried on walking, out of the main part of town and to the lakeside beach in order to walk off the adrenaline. Turning back, we headed to the supermarket to buy ingredients for Olli's famous spaghetti bolognese. We didn't expect to be able to cook again this trip, such a nice change from eating out! We slept soundly, happy in our decision and grateful for the chance of a lie in.