Ring of Fire

Sunday 31 January
Puerto Varas

Generally have a good night’s sleep. There is a bit of snoring from an old French guy but with a bit of mime I manage to get him to sleep on his side and it’s no longer a problem.

I decide to go on one of the hikes that the girl in the hostel told me about the day before, and get the bus to the edge of Volcan Orsorno. On the way I see my first llamas in South America, which is a big thing for me. Other than Iguazu, Machu Pichu, carnival, Galapagos and so on, llamas are the main attraction of South America for me.

So I get to the start of the hike and the first part is five kilometres up a road, which is a bit boring. Plus there are flies here. They’re big, about two centimetres long and one wide, but they’re a bit stupid. They move slowly and circle round you a few times before actually thinking of doing anything. With a bit of patience you can judge their movements and give them a good whack with your hand. If you’re sharp enough you can whack them and then they will hit the ground in turn, giving them a double whack. After one or two of those they usually leave you alone.

So eventually the hike proper starts and it’s kind of through a wood on the side of this volcano. The earth is quite volcanic – dark grey, dusty, a few rocks – and there’s this strange spongy, wiry vegetation that lives on it. There’s no great incline this time and given that there’s no time pressure like there was before, I take it at a much more relaxed pace. In the trees it’s cooler too so there’s less discomfort from that.

There are a few good views of the volcano from the trek even though its peak is covered in cloud today. A one point the trees stop and it’s just volcanic, rocky ground as I presume a river of lava had formerly cut its way through the trees at one point. There’s a good view of the surrounding hills from there. This is of course part of the Ring of Fire that surrounds the Pacific. Luckily this volcano is dormant.

Eventually I get to the other side and to a main road. I walk further up it to a place where there is an official park for some waterfalls. You have to pay to get in but as I only have 10,000 Chilean pesos the guy at the counter lets me in for free, which is nice. The water has a deep turquoise colour here and it looks pretty good, though I imagine it would be better in winter when there is more snow and water to add to the effect. I take a bunch of photos.

Just as I leave the park I see the bus back to Puerto Varas which is a miracle, as they come about once every 45 minutes. On the bus are the Dutch guy and some of the other guys from the boat group who have just finished doing another trek.

I recuperate at the hostel and then meet up with the same group of guys again for another meal in the evening and drinks afterwards. There’s no partying in Puerto Varas and I’m tired once again so I happily go to bed.