We were in
We spent a week at a timeshare in
As for the scenery, it rained the two days we were there. In fact, there were major rain storms both days.
We picked up a rental car in Bariloche to be returned to Porto
What a morning with the Argentine border patrol. We were hysterical, rolling in the muddy road, looking like keystone cops racing in and out of buildings, in and out of our auto, sign language, everyone speaking loudly and slowly (why can’t they understand us? Why can’t we understand them?) papers flying in and out of pockets, back and forth, forty people, all trying to help at once-Argentinans, Chileans, a couple of Americans, Brits, border patrol. A traffic jam was forming because no one wanted to leave until they found out how the story ended.
After nearly two hours (light bulb) we deciphered they wanted the auto papers saying it was OK to take the car into
Thirty seconds later we were on our way, only to be stopped after five miles by the
Absolutely gorgeous scenery along the way. A little problem going onto the 
Pucon is a beautiful, rural small town with an active volcano. They were suffering from too much rain and much flooding. The village residents soon found out about the crazy Americans. Many roads were impassable. Bridges were out. It didn’t take much rain because the roads were dirt and the bridges ancient. We were continuously turning around and backing up.
One scene I remember vividly was an elderly farmer walking on the road beside his wood cart with wood wheels. Two cows were pulling the cart and a dead (drowned) cow was on the cart. That picture said it all. A poor area hit by a devastating act of nature.
We tried to drive to the monkey puzzle tree forest but had to turn around. Then we drove several miles on a volcanic rock/muddy, rutted road trying to get to the mineral springs. We finally turned around, afraid we’d slip into the ditch. Everyone was surprised we turned around, said the roads were always like that, all over
Bridges are board planks over wood framework going over rapids and rushing streams. They were the good ones; others were just dirt banks with boards across the water, one or two planks for each tire.
This is a rope and bucket for people to cross the river when the bridge is out.
Roads finally dried out so we drove to the “posh” mineral spa. Not noticing the posh spa, we drove past for a couple of miles. Turned around and decided the
little shack in the middle of nowhere was
the posh spa. We paid at the shack, then
drove to the end of a cow pa
th and parked
on top of a high hill. We looked down and down to a little rock-lined hot tub and shanty alongside a rushing brook.
To get there we walked down hundreds of worn, eroded steps, some wood, some stone, some gone.
Landslides, grass, rocks everywhere. Going down was bad enough, but we had to go back up the same way It was strange to see a couple with two kids there when we arrived and another three people came along while we were lounging.
After several days of rain, the sun came out. We saw the volcano for the first time. It was spewing smoke.
We took a tour through one of the volcanic tubes.
Never get your hair cut in a small town
in a foreign country unless you can
handle surprises. Through a slight
miscommunication, my head was shaved
shorter than a buzz. Interesting! I could
wash my hair with hand soap and forget
about conditioner. There was nothing
to condition.
Pucon is one of the highest tourist destinations in Chile. Few Americans visit. They should; it is an interesting area, but we were ready to move on. Next stop...Chloe Island with its many small, old churches.
