My last day in Santiago consisted of a large walking tour of the city to visit some of my favorite places and explore some new places in the process. First I returned to Parque Metropolitano for the early morning view of the city from top near the Virgen de la Inmaculada Concepción. After that, I headed to the Central Market for brunch: a seafood feast consisting of the Chilean fish Reineta, mussels, shrimp, etc. I then headed to La Moneda Palace, the seat of Chile’s president. Finally, I returned to visit Marcos at his apartment for a few hours before grabbing my bags and catching a bus to the airport for the flight home.

The past three weeks in Chile and Argentina have been amazing, and as I said earlier, it’s hard to believe all that has happened in that time. Thanks to everyone who has helped to make it a huge success of a trip – until next time, enjoy some wine and a lomito completo for me.

Traveling in your country and other countries opens your mind.

The money spent traveling is not an expense but an investment.

They [Big Oil] will make you think that you cannot live without it [oil].

The quote on Big Oil was in response to our surprise of how few people in South America have (or even need) cars. With plentiful inexpensive taxis, impressive intercity bus networks, and an efficient metro in Santiago, traveling around Chile and Argentina was a breath of fresh air (literally) when it comes to inexpensive, reliable, and sustainable transportation.

Finally, Teri introduced us to the concept of a traveler’s “honeypot” when Tiff, Greg, and I were talking about tracking shared expenses (i.e., who paid for lunch, the taxi ride, bus tickets, etc.). When paying for most things by cash as we were, consider having everyone who shares expenses to chip in the same amount to a honeypot, and pay for shared expenses from that bucket of cash. When the honeypot is dry, simply have everyone add the same amount more. We began using this tactic after Mendoza, and it worked great.

Pucón has been fun and it clearly lives up to its reputation as a town for fast-paced adventure tourism; it’s worthy of a return someday for extended trips into the nearby National Parks, which look very picturesque.

I ended up booking transportation through Aguaventura with another Volcán climber, and we left to the hot springs at 8pm. The drive was scenic and took us through the farming countryside, with Volcán Villarrica looming in the distance. We met two other friendly travelers on the shuttle, so we made a group of four once we arrived to the hot springs, Los Pozones, at around 9pm; we had two hours to soak in one of the five or so pools.

I’ll try to upload pictures once I can connect my camera to a computer, but the area was very well maintained, and the hot springs were clean, not too crowded, and quite soothing (especially after a day of hiking). The three pools that we tried all varied in temperature, from being just a bit too hot, just a bit too cool, and just right. We spent about half of our time in the pool that was just right, wishing that we could have some more time here… Next time!

Our day began at 6:45am with a 45 minute drive to the volcano. We were provided with all of the hiking gear that we’d need for the day: helmet to protect from the falling rocks, ice axe for hiking through snow/ice, and all equipment required to slide down through the snow.

The moderately strenuous hike to the top took about 4 hours, with rests every 45 minutes or so. There were many people climbing the volcano, but as some of the first for the day, we were less prone to getting hit by falling rocks loosened by parties above.

Upon reaching the summit, the first thing I did was walk to the edge of the pit to see what this volcano was all about. We couldn’t see lava, but we could hear it – it sounded like small jet engine. Mainly, the volcano was belching smoke and toxic gases, which the wind was thankfully blowing in the opposite direction from us. When we did smell the gas, though, it smelled of chlorine and made you cough.

After about an hour enjoying the view from the summit, we put on the gear that we carried to the top that would allow us to descend in an hour by sledding through snow chutes. This was quite fun, and you could really gain some speed when you sat on the small piece of plastic! Before we knew it, we were back to the beginning of the snow line and hiked the remainder back to the shuttles. Overall, a great day with lots of sun and stunning views, and I can now see why this is such a popular activity for Pucón.

My plan for Sunday is to climb Volcán Villarrica, one of Chile’s most active volcanoes. Should be fun in the sun and on the snow! Following that, I may visit the local hot springs for the evening if I’m not too tired from the climb.

Today I also parted ways with Greg and Tiff, who return to Bariloche and continue south on the Carretera Austral by bike, which is sure to be the highlight of their four month sabbatical. Some would call me a “third wheel” traveling with a married couple, but Greg and Tiff did an excellent job of not making me feel like one. We have known eachother since 2005, and our time together on this trip further solidified our friendship through the numerous highs and thankfully few lows. Towards the end of our time together, I often remarked with awe about how much has happened in just a matter of two and a half weeks – visiting Valpo and enjoying Pisco Sours (Chile’s national drink), spending New Years Eve in Santiago with Marcos out until 5am, visiting Teri and Oscar in Mendoza and touring the local wineries by bike, traveling by bus to the ash land of Bariloche (which was actually kind of cool to experience for a few days thinking back on it), biking around Bariloche’s nature preserve, eating the best steak of my life two nights in a row, ordering meals and bus tickets completely in Spanish, rafting and kayaking the Petrohué near Puerto Varas, and hiking to the farthest point from home that I would travel to on this trip. That farthest point, Lago Todos Los Santos, is where Greg and Tiff continue their adventure today. I wish you well on your journey, and I have no doubt that you’ll find what your’re looking for. Bueno.

The Saltos offered spectacular views of Volcán Osorno, and the hike to Todos Los Santos was scenic but took us through horse fly city. Upon arriving to the lake, we were rewarded with spectacular views and refreshing water. I made a comment to Greg and Tiff that this would be the furthest from home that I would travel on this trip, but given the beauty of this area, I could definitely see myself returning someday.

The fly, scaptia lata, is called the Tábano by locals. It’s about an inch long, and it will sometimes deliver a moderately painful bite if it lands on you. According to our guide Niccolo, he has never seen a baby fly, and not much is known about them except for the supposed fact that if you catch one and eat it, you will not get bit by the fly again. Tiff and Greg might have to resort to that when they encounter them again on their trip south via the Carretera Austral.

Greg has posted a few of his photos on his blog that capture more of what it was like on the water.

In all we paddled over 40km and saw some breathtaking scenery. As my first kayaking trip, I’ve learned the basics and look for to the next adventure paddling across the water.