Posted 12:50 PM by MelanieandSteve
PUCON AND VILLARICA VOLCANO, CHILE 8-9 March

HERE IN PUCON, CHILE, our main reason for staying was to climb the big volcano - one of the two most active in Chile. We´ve been ready for it, but until yesterday, the rainy skies were not ready for us. We, however, were persistent...

MULTI-MORNING MYSTERY: After three nights of setting early morning alarms and three mornings of dragging ourselves out of bed before there was a glint of light in the sky yearning to climb the volcano before leaving town, we set out once more on Tuesday morning to make an attempt for the summit.

TIME RUNNING OUT: Thanks to travel commitments in other cities, we were running out of time to wait it out in the city of Pucon, so our desire to make it to the top grew more urgent, but our success was subject to the whims of mother nature.

A MYSTERY TIL THE END: First, we woke up and it was still cloudy. Then we suited up in gortex boots and heavy weather gear and it was still cold. We drove to the volcano´s base and on the road it was still rainy, and then we reached the mountain and it was still snowy. Whether we would see the sputtering firey eye of Villarica that day remained a mystery every step of the way.

NEAR MISS: We began our climb, still unsure if the weather would hold. Half way up the mountain, when it came time to put on crampons for the glacial trekking, our guide announced that due to poor whether and dangerous ice conditions, only the fit and experienced should proceed. He advised the rest to turn back. About half the climbers took his advise. We kept going.

THE FINAL ASCENT: Soon the skies cleared revealing plumes of white volcanic gases from the caldera above. The hike with crampons and ice picks was tough and steep, but we are happy to say we made it to the top. We looked into the crater´s eye with its red glow, gurgling and spitting up molten lava. A roar that sounded like a jet engine preceded each sky high explosion of red hot rock. Our eyes noses and throats burned with the sulfuric fumes. We could barely believe we were standing right above such a violent geological power center. We finally made it to the ``House of the Devil`` as it is known to Native Americans, and it was worth the torturous wait.

MORE M.O. OF MEETING UP: Funny, but consistent with our M.O. of running into people we know, we had another chance encounter high on the glacial terrain. Way up there, we noticed a pair of strangers, unrecognizable buried under layers of warm clothing, waving at us. Not strangers at all, it was friend´s Scott and Nori, on another guided expedition. The small world of travel.

EPILOGUE: Today, we are still in Pucon. One group who attempted to climb the volcano today set off in clear skies but had to turn back half way up the mountain when foul weather hit. This made us feel fortunate. This morning, we made our way to the charcoal black volcanic sands of the lakeside beach. It was time for some radiant relaxation before we head off by overnight bus for our next destination.

ALL IS WELL, Melanie and Steve

Posted 12:51 PM by MelanieandSteve
PUCON (5-7 March)

PUCON, CHILE: We are in Pucon, Chile today, waiting out rain storms and hoping to climb their picture perfect Villarica volcano. It is an active volcano sputtering lava and sulphuric fumes from its caldera. For safety reasons, good weather and visibility is required to climb it. For the last two days, we have gotten up in the dark hours of morning ready to trek, but the weather has sent us back to bed. As we write this, the clouds are gushing rain. Our guides think there´s a good chance the weather will break tomorrow.

ZIP-LINING: In the meantime, we took a ziplining safari on metal wires strung high in the forest trees. Dressed in helmets and harnasses, we climbed rickety ladders to clip in and zip from tree platform to platform. We soared over rivers and through branches in the pouring rain.

WISH US WEATHER LUCK.

Posted 12:46 PM by MelanieandSteve
ESQUEL, BARILOCHE, AND SAN MARTIN, ARGENTINA 26 Feb - 5 Mar (written 7 Mar)

ESQUEL, NOT JUST PASSING THROUGH: From Futeleufu, Chile, we crossed over the Andes into Argentina with our sights set on backpacker-attracter-town, Bariloche. A stop along the way was transit-town, Esquel. Nate, our Futeleufu Kayak guide lives in Esquel and recommended a stop there. He felt it was a hidden treasure that most people neglect. We liked the idea of a less touristy more local experience.

ESQUEL DAY: We had a mixed first impression of Esquel. It was dusty and flat with un-unique architecture but was entirely surrounded by mountains. We were intrigued by crowds of people in the street, echoes of loudspeakers, and cheers of people. This was ``Èsquel Day``, the town´s 99th birthday, a day of parades and a night of festivities in the park.

ESQUEL NIGHT: At the park, there were food and art booths. Dancers performed and bands played. the firey sunset ampliphied the sky and sillhouetted the mountains on all sides. From our snuggly perch on the grassy hillside, we enjoyed the music, the view, and the atmosphere. Kids gobbled up cotton cancy and adults nibbled from picnic baskets. We loved having found this secret gem.

ESQUEL MORNING: At dawn, Mel hiked the into a pine forest for a simultaneous sunrise and moonset over city lights below.

BARILOCHE: Bariloche is no capital, but it dwarfs the other cities we´ve been to in Pategonia. As our bus pulled in, Steve announced that he wanted to pull out soon. As is usually the case, our impressions changed. It is beautifully perched on a huge lake and is a hub of adventure opportunities, scenic spendour, and a great social life. We warmed up to it quickly.

SERENDIPITY ON TRONEDOR: We hiked up the steep mount Tronedor to a glacier-side refuge. High on this clifftop we heard our names called - - amazingly, our Antarctica friends Viv and Heath were there resting on a picnic blanket. We joined them to enjoy the views below of icy glaciers and cascading waterfalls.

GLACIERS ON TRONEDOR: We spent the evening in the woody lodge, and slept on mattresses scattered on the upstairs floor. In the morning, we went ice climbing on the Castena Overa glacier nearby. Decked out with harnasses, helmets, boots, crampons, and ice picks, we explored the glacier surface and then delved into its depths. Our guide found an ideal cravasse, set up some ropes, and we went climbing. Inside the brilliant blue crack in the glacier, we enjoyed shelter from cold winds above. We scaled the vertical ice face with a pick in each hand and needle sharp crampons strapped to our boots.

A FRIEND TO RUN WITH: Iris, a triathlete living near our hostel, saw Melanie jogging to the lake. She invited Melanie to jog with her at her favorite mountain spot. They caught the bus to Mount Fry for an unforgettable lake view trail run.

OUT WITH FRIENDS, IN WITH FLICKS: After our Trondeor adventure, we enjoyed the famous Bariloche night life with Viv, Heath, and other Antarctica friends who were in town, John, Kaye, Scott, and Nori. We also loved our nights chilling in our Lake-View lodge, watching videos or playing cards.

SEVEN LAKES ROAD: Che Guevara from the movie ``Motorcycle Diaries`` took a route called the Seven Lakes Road that goes to San Martin, Argentina. We drove it by bus and Melanie imagined how he had felt as she read from his book.

SAN MARTIN IN LITERATURE: In ``Motorcycle Diaries``, San Martin was one of Che Guevara`s favorite places. Sitting on the shoreline of the lake, Che wrote ¨Perhaps one day, tired of circling the world, I´ll return to Argentina and settle in the Andean Lakes, if not indefinitely, then at least for a pause while I shift from one understanding of the world to another.¨ When we sat by the same lake, we could empathize with this wandering traveler.

SAN MARTIN BIKE RIDE: We rented bikes, rode to a viewpoint over the royal blue lake and then continued for the sixteen kilometer ride through curvy mountain roads ending at the nearly empty Catritre Beach. We found a berm to protect us from cold winds and enjoyed the lakeside.

NEXT TIME: Pucon, Chile and the beckoning live volcano.

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS TO: Felicity F., Charlie, Bob M., Lisa S., Josh B., and Kevin W.

Posted 9:48 AM by MelanieandSteve
FUTELEUFU, CHILE, 21 - 25 February

GRAND TIME AT A RIO GRAND: Our next destination in the high Andes near the border of Chile and Argentina was Futeleufu, a tiny town sharing the name with a nearby world class rafting river. Futeleufu, in the native American language means rio grand, or big river. Reasons to go there are to Raft, or to do nothing. Both options are good since the area is gorgeous and peaceful. The Rafting, however, attracts experienced rafters and kayakers from around the world. The rapids we shot were like none others we have seen.

THE GREEN RIDE TO FUTALEUFU: Along the dirt road from Chaiten winding steeply into the mountains, the rivers and lakes shined brilliantly. The rivers were a rich aqua color and the trees were a deep forest green. Melanie laughed at Natures´s placement of these hues together. An outfit with those two colors would clash most unNaturally. Still, it was gorgeous.

THE TOWN: Futaleufu is built around its sports, but there was as much adventure in the scenery as the activities. On one side of the town, the river Espolon ran. A short walk away, on the other side of town was Mirror lake. Melanie spent one sunrise at the lake and one mid day running along the crystal clear river.

BIG WATER, RAFTING: We signed up for the ride of our lives. Most companies would not allow clients to ride the class 5 rapids of the Futaleufu until they first ``tested`` on the less dangerous class 4 part of the river (class 5`s call for aggressive participation.) We´ve had some experience rafting and we did not want to invest in the extra day of ``testing``. There was no way around it until one company who needed extra paddlers let us go straight for the big water. The class 4 section immediately followed, so we got to do it all in one day.

HUMAN POWER: There were only four paying clients during the class five section. There were eight guides: one guiding the raft, two added paddlers for strong rowing, four safety kayaks and a cataraft pontoon for possible rescues. We were amazed what was required.

TERMINATOR: Our best rapid ever was a huge wave in the Terminator rapids. Later, one paddler recalled the unforgettable sound of Steve´s voice during a moment of ``silence before the storm``. A wave three times our size loomed over our heads, and . . . ``OH MY blank-ing GOD!``. That was just before our boat ´´highsided´´ and we lost our guide and one paddler into the river. Melanie wondered why the guide was not yelling commands in this moment of ferment. Only later she realized that the person she was pulling into the boat WAS the guide.

THE EXCITEMENT CONTINUED: After Terminator, more rafters joined us on the river as we headed into Class four rapids named Puente A Puente, and then Mas O Menos (a class 5). The excitement continued when another raft flipped and we joined the rescue operation. To pull the rafters out of the water, we grabbed their lifejackets and hauled backward. Next thing we knew, we were lieing on our backs with a total stranger prone on top of our bellies. ``Nice to meet you.´´

GETTING THE HACK OF KAYAK: We and or friend Andrew took our first lesson in kayaking on the Espolon, with more mild waters of class 2. Our goal was to learn the ``Eskimo Roll``, a move to right oneself if the kayak flips. We shouted cheers of amazement when, one by one in quiet waters, each of us succeeded on our first try! Later, trying it in combat was different.

BIG WATER IS RELATIVE: Now, suddenly, class 2`s were big. Melanie overturned four times in the rapids. Each time she grew more exhausted and less able to complete an Eskimo roll ``in combat``. Three times, she ejected from her kayak, swam ashore, and began the arduous process of dumping water out of the boat, and getting secured back in it. The fourth time, she and Steve performed a special team rescue called the T-save. When Melanie was bobbing upside down oxygenless in the rapids, instead of ejecting from the kayak, she waited for Steve to paddle close. Reaching with her hands, she felt for Steve´s boat. When the tip of his boat made contact perpendicularly with her broadside (T-like), she used it for leverage to pull herself up. This was a big moment - especially for someone as drenched, cold, and tired as she.

STEVE`S CLAIM TO FAME: Just after saving Melanie, Steve himself flipped upside down. He, however, succeeded in rolling himself back up in the rapids.

DRINKING FROM THE BOOTIE IN FUTE: That night in town we went out with the guides and rafting friends. We learned that when the person in control of a boat gets thrown in the water, he or she must be punished later by drinking a beer from an old worn river bootie. However, our guide on Terminator was exempt because before he shot that rapid, he ``called it.`` Meaning he announced to the other guides that he was going to aim for the most heinous part of the wave knowing that it would likely flip. The guides pointed out, however, that the rules applied as well to kayakers, and Melanie would have to drink from three old stinky booties. Fortunately, we left before she received her punishment.

NEXT TIME: Heading back to Argentina, Esquel days and Bariloche heights.

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS TO: Dad, Norm, Jill P., Grace F., Monika C.