Las Termas

In Chile lay more hot springs or termas than I could possibly imagine. And when there are termas, there are also volcanoes. Fortunately none of these magma-tossing phenomenons has erupted since the 80's or so I am forcing myself to believe. Therefore the past two weekends I decided to visit two different national parks, their trails, and the hot springs that they have to offer hoping for clear skies and a readable map. Since school was out of session last Monday for some holiday, I arranged to go spend all day Sunday at Puyuhue National Park located about an hour east of Osorno. It's one of the most popular parks in all of Chile and has some amazing trails. I went with a fellow volunteer and for lack of better words, I plan on going back there many, many times.

In Osorno, we boarded the Lago Puyuhue Express, which for less than $4 will take you all the way to the Aguas Calientes, and spent slightly more than an hour watching the passing scenery of cows, more cows, miniature soccer fields, cows again, and finally the mountains and Lago Puyuhue. The lake sneaks up on you especially on a cloudy day. After passing the prestigious Chilean hotel, Hotel Termas de Puyuhue we finally arrived at rainy Aguas Calientes. Unfortuntely my best purchase thus far in 2010, my REI-waterproof-like-a-pair-of-dockers-pants-rain jacket was dirty and smelling like smoke due to the permitting of cigarettes in city bars and hangouts, so I was relegated to my vintage 2001 Helly Hansen rain gear. Nothing against this jacket-it has been through it all-but when it rains constantly for four hours, you're gonna get wet!

So in the nagging, steady rain we hiked a two hour trail called El Pionero. We hiked up through giant trees, crazy flora that Alex recognized, and a soothing river, before reaching a rest area overlooking the entire national park, the termas, and Lago Puyuhue. It was fantastic. We took pictures, met a teacher from Osorno who teaches...English, and ate some of my pizza-flavored Pringles to reward ourselves. You could even see the heat rising from the hot springs! It felt great to get out of Osorno and visit a place so close yet with such different natural features than anything you would ever see in the 'Milwaukee' of Chile. While we didn't go for a dip in the hotsprings (the idea of swimming in an unfiltered hot pool with 100 half-dressed Chileans, mostly overweight men, just didn't appeal to me), we both felt relaxed, re-focused and grateful for the proximity of this park. You all will hear much more about this park as the weather gets warm and skies clear!

I have much more to tell but must finish a worksheet containing questions about The Sandlot. In light of the 4th of July, I decided to show a movie containing America's favorite past-time!

On a emotional note, being in Chile has made me love my country even more and we are all truly blessed to call America home. I think about family and friends, Tex-Mex, and all things American many times a day and this experience has been everything I wanted it to be so far in my first five weeks.

Coming up next I will talk about my weekend in Pucon, my upcoming backpacking trip, as well as my winter vacation to Punta Arenas, Torres del Paine (weather pending), and Tierra Del Fuego. Oh, and this week is anniversary week for my school and I have been asked to dance and play sports with the high school freshmen! Can't wait.