The Lake District: Pucón, Puerto Varas, and Frutillar

Quick! What has lakes, mountains, cake, and artisanal beer? If you guessed Jenny's ideal environment you'd be correct, but what I was actually describing was the Lake District down in Southern Chile. I've spent the past week in a couple different towns here, and it's been one of the most beautiful places I've been so far on this trip.

My first stop was Pucón, a tourist town on Lake Villarrica. I had taken the night bus out of Valpo, and when I woke up I wondered whether I had somehow accidentally gotten on a bus back up to Vermont or maybe the German Alps. There were mountains covered in snow, a sparkling blue lake, and trees! After about two months of desert and other such arid landscapes it was lovely to see something larger than a foot tall coming out of the ground. Even better, the buildings were all wooden and adorably built in an old German-like style - all the better to illuminate the delicious treats displayed in every window: fresh bread, pies, cakes, and strudels! All my downfalls, luckily there were enough outdoor activities available I probably about equaled out the calories I consumed by kayaking, biking, and notably climbing a volcano.

Definitely earned after a 30 mile bike ride 

Yeah, those mountains I mentioned earlier - they were actually volcanos, some more active than others. For example, Villarica billowed smoke the whole time I was there, and at night you could actually see the glow of lava. Don't worry - I didn't climb that volcano, that's the one people do climb typically, but I guess it's still a little too active after its eruption this past March to allow hordes of tourists to go trekking up it. Instead we climbed Quetrupillán which gave us a lovely view of Villarica and the other volcanos/mountains all around. It was a hard hike, mostly because it's early enough in Spring here that the volcano is still totally covered in snow - meaning the summertime four hour hike to the top was just a little under six hours up. However, the upshot was that we hiked up with gear to sled down the volcano! It was the best way to get down a mountain, especially for a girl who's sled hills never seemed big enough. Can't get much bigger than a volcano!

All ready to sled down! 

After spending an extra day in Pucón to exhaust all the fun activities to do there, I hopped on a bus to Puerto Varas, basically just a larger, less touristy version of Pucón. Puerto Varas is also on a lake, Lake Llanquihue, and also has beautiful snow capped volcanos in the background. I didn't climb any here - it's not really something you need to do twice in one week, but instead enjoyed the view of them as I biked to another adorable German town, Frutillar, where I once again enjoyed the view while enjoying some strudel - which a 30 mile round trip bike ride definitely entitles you to.

I've definitely enjoyed my time in the Lake District, and I'm glad I'm here now, before high season hits because apparently tons of people come here in the summer. I can clearly understand why, but it probably ruins the charm a little to have people swarming in your scenic views. Also it's nice to be back in a familiar environment, as I was biking along I had to keep reminding myself I wasn't back home in New England. In any case, I still haven't run out of South to go, next up is the island of Chiloé!