Volcanic Activity

Leaving the Baobab Hotel behind we drove the truck northwards along bumpy dirt roads and through dense forests with occasional views of lakes shimmering in the sunshine. In the course of the first hour we saw just one other motor vehicle and a couple of ox-drawn carts.  Most of the locals in the only village we saw waved to us - we don't think they get much passing trade.

Leaving the developing world behind, a few kms up the road the scenery becomes more like England's green and pleasant land.  Our next stop was the thermal springs at Huife, one of a number of places in the Lakes where the volcanic activity results in hot springs. We spent a very nice 24 hours at a spa hotel there soaking up the heat of the 41 degree outdoor pools and having some hydromassage.

The highlight of our week in the Lakes was saved till last as we climbed to the summit of Villarrica, the active volcano that towers over the town of Pucon. It's a picture-book volcano, 2850m high and shaped like an upside down cone with the top half covered in snow. Best of all it actually smokes!

Volcan Villarrica - with smoke

Starting halfway up we climbed the remaining 1400m in five hours, trudging slowly but steadily upwards following our guide's snowy footprints. We were lucky as it is often too cloudy to climb or the wind blows the noxious fumes in the wrong direction. We were able to see inside the crater and enjoy the panoramic views of lakes and several other volcanos until the wind did change briefly and we got a couple of lungfuls of water vapour laced with sulphuric and phosphoric acids - time to descend.

The group pauses on the way up

The fuming crater

The descent is quicker. At the crater we donned waterproofs and helmets and tobogganed down the mountain on what looked like green plastic toilet seat covers. Hilarious!

Having grown up in a colder climate than me, Su mastered the toboggan technique more quickly but once I had put it the right way round I managed high speed - mainly because I kept forgetting to use the ice axe as a brake. The other problem was trying to stay feet-first and usually after a few meters I would be hurtling downhill on my back head first.

On one occasion Su had the presence of mind to shout "rocks!" as I rocketed past her which meant I managed to stop myself crashing just in time. It is difficult to see where you are going head first on your back and the briefing didn't cover how to stop yourself in that situation! We got to the bottom in one piece, Su rather more gracefully than me, and my sense of self-preservation has returned.