Yesterday, Locky stopped by and wanted to go mountain biking again, this time to a waterfall only 10km from Pucón. Compared to the 40km we did last time, I thought it would be a breeze. We rented bikes from his hostel (much better than my last bike) and rode along the main highway out of town for a while, but we didn't know where we were supposed to turn off to get to El Claro. I didn't mind much, for "not all those who wander are lost." However, I wish less of our wandering was up steep hills. We never found the waterfall, but we got nice views of horses grazing and beautiful mountains and pastures. And at least the way back was easy.
We stopped by Lago Villarrica, just as the sun was setting.
Then home to Runa, who was eager to sit on my laptop and force me to give her love.
Today we had a more concrete plan in mind. Last night we had rented snow-shoes (raquetas de nieve), and this morning we caught the 8:30 public bus to El Parque Nacional Huerquehue.
We knew that there were trails that could occupy a whole day, especially with the snow making it a little more challenging to navigate. We were off and hiking by 10:00, past the beach at Lago Tinquilco and onto the Los Lagos trail.
We had our snow-shoes strapped to our backpacks, unsure of when exactly we would need them. The trail started off in forests, then pastures with sheep, over a small stream, back into the woods, up a patch of snow, into the sun, up some muddy stairs, back into the shade, etc. Along the way (which was entirely uphill), we took turnoffs to see Cascada el Nido de Aguilas, two different Miradoras (lookout points), and Cascada Trufulco.
I love love love forests. The sounds, the smells, the light coming through the chinks in the leaves, the infinite varieties of vegetation, the subtle movements all around. Hiking through forests with snow on the ground is a whole new delight for me.
We were fine while the snow was sporadic and easy to walk on. When our boots no longer had traction, we put on our snow-shoes. At first, this was just to prevent us slipping rather than sinking, but as we climbed higher the snow got deeper. Then the snow-shoes were also keeping us on the surface...or at least mostly. Once every 10 steps or so, I would find myself knee-thigh deep in snow and have to dig myself out. As is indicated by the name, the Los Lagos trail takes you to the lakes. After climbing for a few hours, we descended into Lago Chico, which was mostly frozen and covered with snow, but was melting and flowing into a river. We hugged the shore for a while, then continued on to Laguna El Toro and Lago Verde.
Locky is pretty quiet, but I enjoyed only listening to the crunching of footsteps, the trickling of streams, and the chirping of birds. I wasn't even tempted to put my iPod on. With all of the lakes and streams, we had to navigate a few treacherous bridges with snow up to the handrails. Not easy.
We stopped occasionally for photos and trail mix breaks, then turned around for the "easy" downhill return. Locky is definitely in better shape than I am and has a faster pace (and longer legs), but the only way to get in better shape is to do things I feel I'm out of shape for. I liked letting him lead, even if he gained on me, because it made me push myself. But boy did it feel nice to sit down and wait for the bus at 5:00. He thinks today was harder than climbing the volcano. I'm not convinced, but I am going to sleep really, really well.
And despite most of my recent exercise being my legs, look what I have now!
Lastly, for those who want to see even more pictures, I'm onto my second facebook album, so here is the new public link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2060134&id=1055040014&l=38d6f76b38
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