My Week in Pucón

My vacation is off to a wonderful start! I have been in Pucón this whole week and have been thoroughly enjoying my time here. Tomorrow I head to Valdivia, but first let me give you an update! I have been staying at Hostel école, which was founded by Californians to be an environmentally conscious space. It reminds me of a Door County cabin, and it has a vegetarian cafe! The same people also initiated a private conservation project which involved creating a forest sanctuary. El Cañi, meaning 'vision that transforms' in the local Mapuche language, contains 2000-yr-old araucaria trees and is now run by local villagers. The steep 8-hr hike was well worth it, although I think I heard my knees crying on the way down! We were a small group, so the only ones in the forest that day were me, a girl from Colorado, her mom (who did the Peace Corps in Ecuador!), and our guide. Very tranquil.

The town of Pucón is quite touristy, although that does entail a plethora of great restaurants. There are also lots of Israelis (one could say overrun by Israelis, but I didn't say that), lots of kuchen, and lots of volcanoes. And beautiful lakes, national parks, and much friendlier people than in Santiago. Much much friendlier. I have eaten dinner out every night (my hostel lacking a kitchen, that is) and almost every time have been invited to join Puconians at their table. In fact, my first day here I started chatting with an elderly couple from Pucón and they gave me an open invitation to come to their house. It sounded like a genuine offer, so I called them the next day to work out the details. I met them in town, and we drove out to their house in the country. Describing it as idyllic doesn't do it justice! Eduardo and Adriana live in a cute house on an enormous plot of land surrounded by flowers, gardens, and horses. I felt like I had walked into the Secret Garden. After Eduardo made a fire outside, we ate at the picnic table, which was a first of the season for them. I was immediately served many pisco sours, a Chilean national (strong!) drink. Then came the choripan (and how did I like my meat cooked, he asked), which Eduardo had grilled. Then came the wine (and did I want red or white, he inquired). Then came more wine. Just as I was thinking what a great meal it had been, Adriana announced that it would probably be only a few more minutes until lunch. And I thought I had just eaten enough to last me the weekend! I hid my look of confusion and heartily accepted the huge steak I was served, along with potatoes, salad, and more wine. During the meal (which lasted three hours), they regaled me with tales of their youth and their children. Very charming people. I was quite touched by their warmth and generosity. After a hike around their property and more chatting, they told me to come visit them anytime and that when I came back to Pucón I was always welcome to stay at their house. When I left at 7pm, Eduardo said, "You're leaving so soon?!" That after seven hours! It was one of those experiences that really moves you and gives you faith in the kindness of strangers.

One highlight of Pucón is Volcán Villarrica, which is visible from nearly everywhere in town. About twenty companies guide people on the climb, but I just picked the first one I talked to because they were the nicest and smallest. After a hearty breakfast at their cafe at 5am, we drove to the base and put on all our gear. Our group consisted of two guides, me, and four Israeli girls, who were initially fun but turned out to be big complainers (more about that later). Most groups take the ski lift partway up to save time, but since our guide called it an 'accident waiting to happen,' we did the 3-hr initial climb instead. It was fun to be back on the snow again! It was much steeper than I imagined so a bit more challenging but very energizing. We stopped quite often to snack, rest, or look at the beautiful view. I tried to ignore the whines of the girls. Have you never walked uphill before, child?! Yes, sometimes it's tough! Halfway through one of the girls decided to turn back because she had hurt her ankle a few days earlier, and it was bothering her. Before she returned with one of the guides, I asked the other girls if they wanted to continue or if they wanted to return as well. "We'll keep going," they muttered half-heartedly. We continued our trek and could see the other climbers further up, little ants marching across a bright white plane. By this point the smoking summit, in all its glory, came into view. It was also at this point that two of the three remaining girls started whining louder and refused to keep going. "Our legs hurt. We're too tired to continue," they insisted. I tried to reason with them, saying we should take a break, stretch, and keep going. After all, we had already hiked 2300 of 2800 meters. They hiked another few steps and then declared that they didn't want to keep going. Could they wait for us while we summited, I asked? No. Could I go up with a different group? No, not possible either. You could tell our guide felt awkward about the situation and tried to let us discuss it. But neither party was willing to give in, so in the end we had to turn back down. I was initially pissed at them and then mostly disappointed about not reaching the summit and peering into the crater. But it was still an amazing experience with gorgeous views. And then you get to sled down most of the way!

Many indigenous Mapuche people live in this region, so I inquired about learning a bit of the language. One organization said they could arrange transportation to a Mapuche community, where I could learn about the culture and language and eat traditional food. For $50 US dollars, that is. I considered it briefly but decided to go to the village on my own. Yet again my travel philosophy held true: unless not possible otherwise, never go with a tour group! I took the bus to Curarrehue (Kurarewe) and headed to the museum I had heard about. The museum turned out to be one room and a library. And the owner, who apparently is in the know, was out of town. The woman there didn't have much advice, but she did suggest I could walk to the ruka, a traditional Mapuche house supposedly 2km away. After an excessively long 2km, I saw a sign for it and wandered down the path, past the cows. What I thought was going to be an exhibit turned out to be a woman's house. She was busy tending her garden but wandered over to see what I was doing there. I explained how I had come upon her house and that I was interested in learning more about the culture. She explained that normally the tour company advises her when people are coming, but she decided to indulge me just the same. So apparently I had ended up at the place the tour would have come anyway! I spent the whole afternoon at her house, learning a bit of the language (mapudungun) and about the culture. She's the only one in the community who maintains a ruka, and she lives in a house attached to it. She talked about the difficulties of being Mapuche and how even her sisters would rather speak Spanish with her than their mother tongue. The people are actually called Mapunche, but the wincas (white people) found it difficult to say so they took out the 'n.' In fact, I had never seen or heard the word with the 'n' until meeting her. It's good to go to the source. She was very open with me, talking about how it can be stressful to always be called upon in her community but that she sees it as her obligation. She lamented the fact that not many people speak the language anymore and many kids aren't interested in the traditions, but numerous times she said she knew the Mapunche identity would survive. Of course it was her people she was talking about, but it just as well could have been any indigenous group. History repeats itself, and you have to wonder if there are any indigenous peoples who aren't threatened, exploited, and devalued. I felt grateful to receive her insight and impressions and learn from someone who is very invested in her community.

So Pucón has treated me well. I have had a very pleasant and meaningful week here, and I'm a bit remiss to leave. But I'm also looking forward to my next adventure and the people I will meet.


P.S. Merry Christmas to those of you for whom it's applicable and Happy New Year to all of you!