A quiet (and rainy) day in Villaricca

WARNING: this is looooooooooooooong! having a couple of restful days in Villaricca, a small town just north of the patagonia region. today´s big adventure was journeying out to a black sand beach. More like rocks than sand really but interesting as we expect it was volcanic rock. Unfortunately a sudden downpour and 2 crazy mangy dogs that wouldn´t leave us alone made it a short trip. But the local bus rides are always fun. And even better when you have a picnic onboard!

So what´s been happening...well the ferry ride from Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt was an experience and a half. It´s a cargo ferry that realized backpackers were looking to get up the coast and retrofitted the ferry to accomodate 200ish passengers. So the trip starts with walking on to the cargo elevator, a big platform that the trucks use to load cargo, and elevated up to the passenger level. The accomodations were pretty decent. A slightly too short bunk but warm blankets and hot water in the bathrooms. We lucked into a 4 person bunk, not really too sure how or why since we´d paid for the cheaper 16 person option. But logistics and plans changing at every turn doesn´t really surprise us anymore and we were happy with our very nice and quiet bunkmates.

After all the passengers are loaded the cargo (many many cows) are put onboard. Thankfully us passengers had a little more wiggle room than the cows - and we had to remember that when squashed up in the overpacked common room!

The journey was cold and windy but there really isn´t any better way to get a feel for this part of Chile. The ferry makes it´s way through the channels and fjords and the scenery is stunning. Lots of wildlife - birds, sea lions, and we think we saw a glimpse of a whale! also a good opportunity for stargazing and one of the crew pointed out some constellations for us.

There is one open water section that had 70% of the passengers grabbing the sick bags the crew were passing out. There was no problem getting a seat for dinner that night! Although we both were slightly green and opted out of any food. Thankfully we both just squeaked through managing to keep our cookies down. The crew were amazing - they put on coveralls and spent hours running around helping people to bed and constantly cleaning up after the sickies.

Arriving in Puerto Montt we decided it was going to be ´date´ night and found the local cinema. 2 movies we´d seen and 2 horror/thriller flicks so we opted for to join the kids at "Robots". Unfortunately when i´d asked if the movies were in english the cashier probably didn´t expect us to be going to a kids movie. There we were - all set up with popcorn and cokes and a bunch of spanish speaking cartoon characters! Kirk left to do a quick scout around and discovered that the thriller had just started next door. So we grabbed our stuff and made a quick move. (can´t remember the name but it was the one about using EVP to communicate with the dead).

Next stop was Osorno where we planned to get set up for our next big trek. 3 nights, 4 days in PN Puyehue (Park National). Most of our treks have started in towns that see a number of travellers and are all set up to rent gear. This one turned out to be a little different but it was definitely a highlight for both of us. We asked a couple of people and they seemed to indicate we could rent stuff in El Caulle at the trailhead...at least that was our understanding of the butchered english/spanish convo. The bus dropped us at El Caulle - a town which consists of a sign, a farm, and a restaurant. As we stood on the side of the road watching the bus depart we got a bit of a sinking feeling. And as expected we end up back on the bus journeying the 2 hours back to town. we find a hostal and the next morning make our way to the park office in town.

and this is where the fun starts :) we meet a guy in the office who is patient enough to speak relatively slowly and make a good effort to understand my version of spanish. He makes a call and from what i can make out he´s arranged for his friend to lend us his camping gear. we get in his car and drive to the friend´s office. sure enough 15 minutes later the friend shows up fully kitted out (apparently he just left work to go home and get the stuff). and just like that he gives us a tent, 2 sleeping bags, cookgear, and a phone number to call him when we return on saturday. still amazed at this turn of events and humbled by the generosity we make our way back to El Caulle.

by the time we get back to the trailhead it´s 5:30 ish - a little late to be starting the trek up to the first camp spot but by this point it´s a relief to be on our way. this trek is basically up a volcano and then traverses around the volcano to some natural hotsprings and geisers. so we go up, and up, and up. We climb for just over 2 hours with the daylight fading quickly around us. Eventually it becomes to difficult to climb and follow the trail even with our lights. We come to a small flat spot in the middle of the climb and decide we better stop for the night. There´s no water but with a litre and half we´re ok to make dinner and continue on in the morning. Two fellow trekkers we´d passed earlier arrive and decide to pitch their tent for the night as well. The morning brings renewed strength and we climb the last 40 minutes to the camping site relatively quickly. We stop to fill up with water and make coffee and we´re on our way to the hot springs. Definitely one of the most interesting days hiking - we´re above the treeline and on the side of a volcano. Rocky, barren, and desolate the surrounding cloud cover gives it all a mystical and surreal feel. It´s a bit how i picture walking on the moon - except without the weight of the pack on our backs! At one point the fog is so dense we have to wait for it to clear to find the trail marker. At one clear spot we see where the lava has flowed in a river down the mountain. 5 hours later we arrive and set up camp. The naturally formed hot springs are a must try! The bottom is a bit sludgy but we each take a quick dip and wash off the day´s dirt. The next day is a 12km round trip out to the geisers - a bit of a trek considering we have to walk the 15km back to the camping spot. but so worth it. a big steamy (and stinky!) pot coming out of the earth. and as we retrace our steps back the cloud has lifted and it´s a brilliant sunny day. the andes are spread out all around us and every turn opens up another spectacular vista. this park seems less popular than others in this region but it was definitely a highlight for both of us. neat terrain, great scenery, and challenging trekking.

We get back to town and eventually figure out our friend Ronald has left his phone with his nephew who collects the camping stuff and wine we´ve included as a thank you. The nephew is 15ish and hanging out with a friend - they have the google translator up on the computer and we have some fun using it to communicate.

we´ve been in villaricca for a couple of days chilling out. tomorrow we´re doing a day hike up an active volcano. it´s on ice and requires crampons so should be interesting. then we´re heading up another 100km or so north to just below santiago.

well done if you´ve made it this far! i´ve run out of things to say and our laundry should be ready in another half hour so will sign off...until next time...