Pucón

So, in my last post I talked a little bit about places in Chile that you should definitely consider taking trips to, one of which was Pucón. Now, I didn't give a whole lot of details about those places because I have yet to do any traveling and don't have much more time to do traveling. To travel anywhere takes a lot of planning. Who are you going with? What does it cost? How do you get there? Where are you staying? What are you eating? What are you going to do when you get there? Not to mention you have to let people know where you are going to be and how to get ahold of you, just in case. Anyway, last weekend I went down to Pucón with ISA (International Studies Abroad) for a three (3) day and four (4) night trip.

Pucón is a tourist town, and clearly looks it. There are hostels and hotels everywhere, most of which are called cabañas, or cabins, because, well, that's what they are. Most buildings have a large component of wood at the building material since trees are very common in the area. I think all of the wood structures make the city look even more beautiful. My group stayed at Las Cabañas Rucamalala. Wifi, pool, and full kitchen available in the cabins. There is even a little chocolate shop right outside the front gate (also part of the Rucamalal cabins).

While there, the ISA group did a grand tour of the area. We went to the hot springs, saw the main river (Río Trancura), visited a waterfall, and ate lunch with the Mapuche (one of the native tribes in Chile). We stopped at each place for at least 20-30 minutes to take pictures. We stayed at the hot springs for about two hours and with the Mapuche long enough for lunch and a round of field hockey. The lunch with the Mapuche consisted of homemade breads, delicious honey, hard boiled eggs, and wheat coffee (no caffeine, doesn't really taste like coffee, and even non-coffee drinkers liked it). I believe the tour was through the company Politur, it not, you can easy just walk the main road (O'Higgins) and find a company that would do the tour. Like I said, it's a tourist town, it won't be too difficult to find what you want.
After the first day, we got to go off and do what we wanted to do. We had many options both with and without Politur. With Politur, you could climb the Villarrica volcano and slide down it, Rafting in the Trancura river, ride horses (cabalgatas), visit the volcanic caves, and/or zip lining. Outside of Politur, you could go on a boat tour at La Poza, go kayaking in the Villarrica lake, visit the national park of Huerquehue, go to artisan fairs, and/or rent bikes to travel the area. Just a warning, the same one that was giving to me, if you want to rent a bike, do not let it out of your sight. Even if people don't steal the bike, they might try to steal the seat and tires.

This was my raft group. Manuel the rafting guide was
absolutely wonderful. All of the guides were.
(But Manuel was obviously the best!)

While I was there, I did ziplining, (white water) rafting, kayaking, a boat tour, and visited two of the artisan fairs. The ziplining and rafting each took half a day. Politur has itineraries for both and the times that each are done and the levels they are done at (be sure to check the level of the rafting before signing up, but new coming can definitely do the higher level with out any problems, I did). Make sure you take your passport with you as identification for when you sign up to do activities with Politur.
For kayaking, you pay 2,000 CHP (about $4) for every half hour. You can also rent a paddle boat if you prefer that method of traveling the lake. The kayaks are single and double, but there is no where for you to put your things. I would suggest just bringing the money that you need to rent to kayaks/paddle boats and a watch/phone (that is waterproof) to keep track of the time. The water is a little bumpy, but not too bad. I don't think it would tip you over unless you were messing around.
The boat tour was 5,000 CHP (about $10) for an hour ride around the lake. The guides only speak Spanish, but even if you don't understand them, the views are absolutely the best you will find. Especially of the Villarrica volcano.
The artisan fairs were wonderful, at least to this crafty nerd. Most of the things in these fairs were made of wood (kind of obvious since that is the easiest access natural resource of the area). There were also many places with yarn crafts and even candy places. I would recommend that even if you aren't interested in buying anything, stop by these places and look at what they have and talk to the people that are running the booths. The people are the heart of the town and they like to know who is visiting, why, where they come from, and just to talk with new people. Sometimes, if you talk with someone long enough and show genuine interest in what they do, they might just give you a little something extra. Just for talking with them. And this doesn't just apply to the artisans in Pucón, it applies to all of the artisans in the country. They appreciate telling people their stories and hearing those of  others. Try listening, at least you'll get some culture out of it.