Pucon lies on the banks of Lago Villarrica and is in the heart of the lake region of Southern Chile. The quaint town (about the size of Breckenridge) is normally a vortex for backpackers and adventure tourism but our visit was a bit “out of season” having missed summer and too early for winter.

The most active volcano in all of South America is Villarrica which lies at the Eastern edge of Pucon on the Andes Range dividing Chile & Argentina. It erupted just a year ago in March of 2015 as it has many times before and as it continues to frequently.  Following is an excerpt from Wikipedia describing the March 2015 eruption and a link to a youtube video of it:

“Approximately at 03:01 AM on March 3, 2015, Villarrica erupted raising the alert to red up to 10 kilometers around. The eruption exceeded the height of the volcano, causing a loud explosion that woke the neighbors, and forcing the evacuation of 3,385 people in nearby communities.

“On February 7, 2015, Villarrica triggered a yellow alert at both Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería and Onemi.  Minor explosions and low emissions of ashes were visible.  Ten days later, another eruption occurred. The National Service of Geology and Mining (Sernageomin) declared a yellow alert after volcanic and seismic activity increased again, while the National Emergency Office of the Interior Ministry (ONEMI) kept the yellow alert. The Southern Andean Volcano Observatory (OVDAS) indicated that a new imminent eruption would continue until 12:30 of March 19, 2015.  As of July 2015,the eruption is continuing.”  Link to video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGbPpxyZvdk

We arrived at Pucon late on a stormy night in the midst of dark clouds, rain, and hail and were expecting a similar forecast for our entire visit but, much to our surprise and appreciation, the sky was clear the next morning and we enjoyed a spectacular glimpse of the smoking volcan! While it was “begging” to be climbed, unfortunately, the winds were too high (as was the cost of hiring the required guide) so I had to pass on yet another volcano climbing opportunity and enjoyed a week of “chillaxin”.

It turned out to be sunny almost all week although a bit cold and windy so we enjoyed some relaxing down time at Hostal French Andes.  Link to Hostel:  http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/Hostel-French-Andes/Pucon/93204?dateFrom=2016-05-07&dateTo=2016-05-10&number_of_guests=2

Since Brenda loves France and I love South America, it seemed only appropriate that we’d stay at a hostal in the Andes owned and operated by some very friendly French folks who hit the mark with their hostal planning.

The place was extremely comfortable with a choice of cozy “pods” or traditional rooms and an awesome common area perfect for cooking and socializing with other guests. Outdoors there was a fire pit which was nice on the cold evenings. We did get out and about for some easy hiking, some “four wheelin” in our rented Chevy Spark, and a dip in one of the many nearby termas which felt pretty good in the chilly air.

North & West of Pucon is the heart of wine country where some of the finest wines in all of South America are born. We were fortunate to have sampled some almost daily for the nominal cost of about $3.00/ bottle.

After a relaxing week, it was time to move on so we aimed the car back towards Santiago with a brief stopover at Salto del Laja, a beautiful waterfall near Chillan which proved to be a bit of a teaser for our forthcoming visit to Iguazu Falls.