Delbert goes Camping (well almost)

I wasted a day in Puyehue waiting for the storm that never came to pass. I say wasted as when I found Pucon I knew where I would rather have been.

I tried to make the most of another short ride north by visiting Valdivia. It is on the pacific coast so I thought it would be worth a look.
Apart from the ride through the pine & eucalyptus forest there was nothing of merit (that I could see). It is a rather unhappy looking town and so, having persevered as far as the Plas de Aramas, I did a u turn and left. The only time my feet touched the ground was at traffic lights. Shame as this is probably the first town that I have not found any redeeming features.

I headed back to the highway Ruta 5 - only because it was the only road to where I wanted to go. As luck would have it I stopped for fuel and within a few minutes two bikers arrived, followed by a third. Alejandro I (father) and Alejandro II (son) were on their way back to Venezuela having been to southern Chile.
A bit of broken Spanish & English over a cup of coffee established that they had a friend/mechanic in Santiago who would fix my bike - much cheaper than BMW. They had his card (with a picture of a GS1200 on the front). They gave me their telephone numbers and even called their friend to explain the issue with the front damper.
They also went on to say - avoid Bolivia, dangerous! Senior had been knocked off his bike by a truck and by a boy racer "for fun". I didn't want to hear this as I had been planning my route through Bolivia for the past few days.
Interestingly they said the Venezuela was basically safe for Gringo's, this is the opposite to most comments so far.

As they left I struck up the a conversation with the latest arrival - Max. a Chilean on his way back to Santiago. He was on a heavily laden 250 cc trial bike having been riding in the South for 20 days..
He spoke great English and was on his way to Pucon to put his bike on a truck & himself on a Bus. Seemed odd as Santiago is only two days away of easy riding. It wasn't until I followed him as far as Villaricca that I saw the issue - he could do no more than 70 mph - flat on the tank downhill.


The drive, by the way was just like previously, soft rolling countryside.The road to Pucon lies next to a huge lake, so big it may as well be a sea. The sun was shining & I found my hotel on the first ride by. The Magma. The views of the volcano were obscured by clouds again.

As you can see the "rooms" are curious canvas eggs in the woods right next to the waters edge. I immediately tried to book an extra night, only to be told it was not possible as they were full. Bugger!

I threw my kit in to the Egg and put on shorts & flip flops for the first time since Mar Del Plata (I think).

The beach is black with the pebbles made of pumice, full of holes and as light as a feather. A steak and egg sandwich with two beers saw me to my siesta.

.

You see what I have to put up with? No Rusty Ferret of Ripped Badgers Arse ales here, just Heineken.

We arranged to meet for a beer before he went for his bus to Santiago. He makes commercial videos for companies but used to be a kayak guide in Pucon. We have arranged to meet in Santiago with a map so that he can give me the benefit of his experience in the desert areas in the north. His view was that Bolivia was OK and "anyway - it is meant to be an adventure isn't it"? True but i hadn't put being knocked off by the local youth on my list of things to experience!

 

A sunset view of the Villarrica volcano with clouds on top and another of the lake - no clouds there! I will try again tomorrow!

 When I checked in I got a message that I wouldn't get hot water until 8:00, which was not a problem for me. When i got back from my beer with  Max the barman was saying in an urgent fashion "your hot water is waiting".It wasn't the hot water in the Egg - it was my Thermal bath! The robe was waiting in my egg and i wandered into the woods where they have a few large wooden "barrels" full to the brim with hot water. It was rather nice & got a whole lot better when they bought me a Pisco sour.

I had to pack and move out which was a shame but i had found somewhere in Pucon the previous evening. the Patagonia hotel. I think this is the 6th hotel I have stayed at called "Patagonia" since I have been here!

The view of the clouds, sorry I mean the volcano, from my window is as a good as anywhere.

Earlier, I had ridden up to the park to see it closer at hand, but you actually see it better from further away. It was still covered with cloud but they promise me that there are days when it is clear!

As I had a day of leisure I wandered in to town and found a Hairdresser. she was very sweet and tried to help me with my  Spanish whilst she cut of my grey locks - there was quite a lot to come off after 2 months growth.

The snow goes from white to peach to red as the sun sets.

For the first time on the trip I am struggling to find the next spot to visit. There doesn't appear to be anywhere on the pacific coast worth visiting this far south & the next volcano is about 6-7 hours north. 

..............when i shut the curtains last night i could see the volcano glowing red at the top. I didn't realise it was still active, whats more it was puffing a thin stack of smoke this morning - how cool is that! (Well I thought so).