MEM-SCL
December 22-Jan 2, 2011
- After a 9 hour flight into Santiago, Brad, Carrie and Adam picked up Angie and Nick from the airport. They had been in the country for the past 6-7 days, staying north of Santiago. We left Santiago via Route 5 and went south. We had a Toyota SUV for the time we were there. The drive to Talca would be about 5 hours, where we would stay the night at a hostel, then drive the next day the rest of the way to Pucón, where we had rented a house for about 5 days. Angie had the hookup (literally) for the SUV; she had brought a massive heavy duty power station that plugs into the car lighter, and you can practically plug a full size refrigerator into it. The one thing that the SUV didn't have, though, was an axillary input for our mp3 players.
- We planned on stopping at a few wineries on our way to Talca. The first one we came across was Casa Silva. We tasted a couple different wines, but the problem was they were very small pours for 8$ USD. The wine was good, so we purchased a couple bottles and continued driving south. In Curicó, we ate lunch at a restaurant called La Góndola. We ate empenadas and quesadillas (Angie had a small pizza), and also took in a few (very strong) pisco sours, Chile's national drink, as well as a couple beers. The food was really great; we filled up then got back on the road and continued south and stopped at Miguel Torres Winery.
The people were quite a bit nicer there and the pours more generous (and much less expensive). Purchased a couple bottles here as well. - We reached Talca around 5:30 and found Casa Chueca ("crooked house"), the hostel we had reserved for the night. The staff there was great - very friendly and helpful. Carrie and Adam's room was a double called Titicaca. Nick, Brad, and Angie stayed in Cusco, a room with 3 twin beds.
- We hung out at by the pool and had a few beers. A Dutch couple was also hanging out there with their child (in South America for 6 months).
Dinner was a communal affair at the tables outside. They served a cooked barley salad, squash and cauliflower, along with a salad and avocado soup. After dinner we all proceeded to get blitzed with our new Dutch friends and a couple other hostel guests. We drank lots of beer and wine and became the Loud Americans. Still, a great time, and we were in bed by about 12:00 or 12:30
- The next morning we woke up around 8 AM, not feeling so great due to the previous night's excess. We showered and made our way down to the gathering area for breakfast of toast, cereal/yogurt, fruit, tomatoes, and cucumbers.
- After eating we packed up our stuff and headed out. We drove south on Route 5 and after a couple hours of driving, stopped and had lunch at a place on the side of the highway called Campo Lindo.
It was pretty bad food (Angie picked apart her chicken/avocado sandwich, Brad and Carrie ordered ham/cheese but beef came to the table), and no one there spoke any English. We left there and continued south. A couple hours later we made it to Villarrica, just west of Pucón. There, we stopped at a grocery store and got some groceries for the rental house, then followed the highway to Pucón. Once we arrived at the house, we met the owner, a small Chilean Buddhist. The whole place was very zen, with Buddha statues and rock stacks and formations scattered around the property. Patricia herself was very soft-spoken and calming. She asked that when in the house we not wear shoes; slippers were provided at the entrance.
The property was impressive - several acres of land, overlooking Villarica Lake, with a view of the volcano out the kitchen window. 
There was a yoga hall, tree house, plunge pool, and several small cabins.
- After getting settled in, we went into Pucón and had dinner at an Italian restaurant (Fiore's). The service was bad (Nick didn't get his salad, Carrie didn't even get served her entree), but the food was excellent.
- Saturday - the 25th...Merry Christmas! We ate breakfast and hung out at the house, exploring the property. Nick, Angie and Carrie did some ab exercises (P90X) and yoga. We spent much of the day on the back deck, reading and relaxing. In the afternoon, Angie, Nick, Carrie and Adam decided to go for a drive and explore the area. Brad opted to stay at the house and unwind. The four drove to the volcano and went into Villarrica National Park. From there, it was up to the base of the volcano for some pictures then back to Pucón for some shop-seeing (a magnet was purchased).
Stopping at an outfitters, we inquired about a volcano summit excursion, then stopped at a sidewalk window bar for a couple pisco sours and empenadas (again, service was slightly surly here). Once back at the house, we all made Christmas dinner - chicken, pork, sauerkraut, carrots, mashed potatoes, and bread...very tasty meal. 
After dinner, we had a couple of drinks then went to bed. Something had been lurking in the bushes and we couldn't see what it was (puma?). Nick and Carrie decided to play it safe and stay in the house, even if it meant a loss of the others' lives. Actually, at one point, the rustling became what seemed like a full-on attack and Nick and Carrie reacted heroically by immediately jumping inside and slamming that giant door shut so as to save themselves while the others were still stuck outside. Salvase quien pueda - save yourselves. - On Sunday, we all ate breakfast (Brad made omelets), then went downtown to secure a volcano hike at the outfitters. It was 33$/person CLP. The owner was extremely intense and was involved in the planning to an annoying degree. After booking the trip, Brad, Angie, Carrie, and Adam decided to also book a white water rafting trip for the day after the volcano hike.
- We went to a bazaar near the park in Pucón where there were lots of peddlers selling handmade wares, mostly wool clothing, scarves and wooden toys, bought a few things then had a few drinks at a restaurant nearby.
During the quick lunch, we discussed going to Huerquehue National Park, which was only about 30 Km from Pucón. It was an easy drive there, and once in the park we paid an entry fee of about 8$/person, then started off on a hike. 
The hike actually turned into several kilometers of hills through the forest, up and down on switchbacks. Elevation gain was pretty significant and more intense than we thought it would be. 
We reached the first waterfall after about an hour and a half, then continued on to the next one, which was about 3 times as high as the first. 
All of this was through exceptionally beautiful scenery, but the hike completely took it out of us and by the time we got back to the car, we were pretty wiped out. - Once back in Pucón, we stopped at the grocery store for food and beer/wine. Once back at the house, we had a drink and Brad made a nice big salad and we had some olives, cheese, and crackers along with it.
- We opted to call it a night at that point. Thinking that it might help loosen us all up and get us ready for the big hike the next day, we did some P90X stretching for a while then went to bed.
