Pucon, Lakes District, Chile
July 18, 2013 – We had a great nights sleep in our twin beds….haha.
We encountered our first rude waitress at our hotel in Chillan. We were supposed to have breakfast included with our room, so we were directed to the breakfast area and went into the restaurant and sat down and waited….and waited… Finally, a waiter came over and we showed him our room key and we ordered coffee. Then we waited….and waited….and got our coffee. A few minutes later a waitress came over and tried to communicate with us….I told her (en Espanol) that we wanted breakfast and she rattled off a bunch of things in Spanish and we couldn’t pick up any words….not one. The Chilean people tend to speak very choppy Spanish and cut off the end of their words, so it can be very difficult to pick up what they are saying. After several exchanges I told her that my Spanish was not very good (thinking she might slow down or play charades with us). Instead she responded, “ya” and walked away….nice! I ended up going to the pastry shelf and ordering an apple pastry and we ate it up… We sat there for a few minutes thinking that maybe they were gonna bring us something, then we went to the cash register and paid. Oh well.
The drive today was amazingly beautiful. We entered into the area that we came here to see…The Lakes District, which a portion of is in the Araucania Region. The country of Chile has 15 regions. Each region elects a governor who reports to the president of Chile. When we entered into the Araucania region everything seemed to change. It was almost like we entered into another country. The landscape along roads and freeways was trimmed and cared for, there was no trash on the sides of the road, the cities appeared to be better taken care of.. it was all well clean compared to where we have been in the last week. The scenery became even more beautiful with the Andes closer in view, crystal clear skies, pine trees and evergreens becoming more prominent and volcanoes everywhere. Chile is home to 36 active volcanoes and over 100 more are considered dormant. They are so beautiful and awesome to see.
Our friend Mauricio told us to be sure to see the Salto del Laja just outside of Los Angeles. So we made sure to exit off of Routa 5 to check it out. As we travelled along a side road we came over a bridge and saw the most beautiful waterfall (salto). We stopped and hiked down the river closer to the falls to get a better look and take pics. We ended up staying a couple of hours and shopped at the little stands that the vendors had set up there and we had lunch. (Debbie….I found a Gato :))
After we left Salto del Laja we continued south into the lakes region toward Villarrica and Pucon. The area just kept getting more beautiful. I was snapping pics left and right. We knew we were getting close when Volcan Villarrica came into view and then Lago Villarrica. For you gringos that is “volcano and lake”. We arrived to our hotel just in time to check in, bring our things into our beautiful lake view room, and go check out the sun setting over the lake…amazing….oh and our room is titled del pescadore – “the fisherman” and it has rods hanging, flies framed and trout pics…was that meant to be or what?
It was so beautiful out so we decided to go watch the sunset over the lake… Stunning! After the sunset we went out and found a market, bought some meats, bread, cheeses and fruits and brought it all back to our hotel room for dinner and we opened a bottle of wine from one of the wineries that we visited. It was a tasty and a very relaxing dinner. Later we went down to the hotel’s living room to go through our pics and blog….such a great day.
P.S. There are still dogs everywhere…not as bad as in Vina del Mar or Santiago, but they are just cruising around….Occasionally chasing cars…We have not been kept awake at night anymore though. Thank God.
Comments
The Stockbridge on July 20, 2013
Okay, so far the Lake District is a clear winner for where to visit, right? Also, it sounds as if they are not a Representative Republic as the governors report directly to the president. Let me know if Wayne has a chance to throw a line in the water and what the hell is a Gato?
Janet Pignuolo on September 12, 2013
Amazing!!!
LaVelle on July 20, 2013
You both look so happy and the area is gorgeous. Go back to Los Angeles and look up Jorge Acuna–Clark has talked to him on his ham radio. Then in Santiago look up Pedro Barroso as he as talked to him, too. Enjoy and be safe.
Dad and Sue on July 21, 2013
Just found out how to respond. Love all the pictures and comments, looks like a wonderful country, we love go with the flow. Be safe and can’t wait to see and hear your thoughts. Thanks for keeping us abreast of your adventures. Luv ya. Dad and Sue