Pucon and New Years

Looking like an extra from Dawn of the Dead, carbuncles protruding from every possible part that a carbuncle can protrude, with Ad walking ten paces in front of me ringing a bell, shouting "unclean, unclean!" we leave Bariloche for pastures new and hopefully a cure to the tropical disease to which I have succumbed........We are off to Pucon in the Chilean Lake District where we have booked up a week's Spanish course, on a one to one basis.

We have a hostel booked that looks from the website to be a good cheap place to stay, however when we arrive the door is opened by a sulky teenager who mumbles so fast that we haven't got a clue what he is saying. We nod and pretend to understand and he shows us to our room. Unfortunately the advert and the reality do not collide. We are basically shown to a varnished garden shed which smells of damp and and would be more appropriate to storing shovels and possibly bags of turnips. We are supposed to be staying here for a week, but decide that unless we want to catch woodworm of rising damp that we had better look for something better tomorrow...there is cheap and there is cheap and nasty!!! One does have some standards...however low.

First day of school and I am really nervous. Ad is dressed up in smartly pressed shorts, tie, knee length socks and has an apple for the teacher, I look like an extra from the Bash Street Kids...not to worry I shall nick his dinner money at play-time!! We both have our own teachers and they ask us how much we already know. Swotty Ad tells them he knows lots, I tell them I'm stupid and although I've studied Spanish for years can barely say "hola". It's always better to let people think you are stupid than to prove to them that you actually are.....The first lesson (3hours) goes really well, I just go over stuff that I have already done but need reminding of, and Swotty Ad is bombarded with more tenses than I knew existed.


Pucon is a great little town nestled on the shores of a lake and surrounded by beautiful scenic countryside. Dominating the skyline is an active volcano rising high above the town. It makes you wonder why on earth people would build a town in the pathway of one of natures most destructive phenomenons! Still it looks good.

There is so much to do and to see in this area that it is the perfect place to combine classes and sightseeing.

After our first lesson we have booked up to do some white water rafting. This is a totally new experience; this is the first time on the whole trip so far that we are about to undertake an adventure type activity where, because I have done this twice before and Ad is a novice, that he is more scared than I am. Tee hee. We take a minibus out to the river and Ad is going paler and paler by the second. When we arrive we are togged up in wet suits, life jackets, helmets and for some bizarre reason cagoules...we all look right plonkers. The guides give us a safety talk first of all and because they are emphasizing the do's and don'ts of what we should do in emergencies, Ad is looking slightly ill. I've never noticed this before but when he is nervous he gets very serious. I think it's all a hoot!!!

We clamber in the dinghy and for some reason I'm put right up the front. We set off. The guide goes through more safety instructions, how to follow his commands and what to do if we fall in. The river is gentle as we paddle off trying desperately to row as a team. I had forgotten how much hard-work rowing is and after ten minutes I'm bleeding knackered. The first rapid approaches, just a gentle class III, and we zoom through the chopping churning splashing water with no problems. Ad is still nervous and keeps asking if he is remembering the guides instructions properly. The next rapid looms, a class IV, we go into it backwards, the guide is shouting instructions to paddle backwards, we get stuck in a swirling rapid just by a huge boulder, the guide is hollering, I'm leaning out the boat trying to paddle between the rock, the boat suddenly swings round facing front and I go flying backwards over the side!!! The boat carries on and I get into the safety position, feet first, to ride the rapids and catch them up. Fantastic!!! The best part of rafting is when you fall in. We pass through a few more rapids and all goes well, we get absolutely soaked but the exhilaration is great. We then come up to a class VI, this is too dangerous for us to go through, as it is just too powerful and incorporates a 25 foot drop; so we paddle over to the side of the river and disembark; we have to walk around this one. However without all of the passengers the guides can shoot this mother on their own... we all gather on a rock to watch them go through...they make it look easy, but watching them go through makes my valve vacillate.....We return to the boats by jumping off a 20 foot high cliff into the churning waters below and swimming to meet it...for me that was the most scariest part!!

We have rented a car and go off exploring the nearby countryside, a 20 minute drive and we arrive at a gorgeous lake surrounded by forest clad mountains and a lovely beach. I don't think that I have ever swam in a lake before and as it is absolutely boiling we go for a swim ( when I say swim I use that term very loosely..in reality I'm flapping and thrashing my arms and legs around like a drowning baboon having a seizure).

We continue our lessons in the mornings, mine are going quite well and reminding me off stuff that I had forgotten that I ever knew. Ad is, to put it mildly, being stretched to capacity. As Thursday is New Years Day we have a day off from lessons, and we are given heaps of homework to do for Friday; Ad has to write a 20 minute presentation. We decide that we really should try to complete our tasks before we go out tonight, NYE, so that tomorrow we can have a full relaxing day...yeah right, that was the plan but after a couple of large vodkas the plan is abandoned in favour of more drinkies. We have a table booked at a restaurant which turns out to be quite good. However after a few Pisco Sours and a bottle of wine we is both feeling a little squiffy-fied. Approaching midnight practically everyone from the town has made their way down to the beach where at the stoke of 12 all the lights in the town are switched off and a firework display takes place for 15 minutes. Considering that Pucon is a tiny little town the display is actually pretty good and the atmosphere on the beach is fantastic, well everybody is drunk I suppose. After a few more sherbets, unfortunately the ravages of alcohol get the better of us and we fall home a collapse in bed at around 2am...we is turning into real lightweights.

New Years Day. Uuurgh. We awake late and a Salvation Army band seems to have taken residence in my head and Allied Carpets appear to have fitted an Ax-minster inside my mouth... I feel rough. Its a funny thing to realise that on the first day of each year there are millions of people around the world all pledging that they will never drink again...we never learn. Once we finally pull ourselves together we set off for an afternoon on the beach...what a way to start the new year....sunbathing, swimming and relaxing in 27 degrees of heat...aaaaah! After a few hours of slowly crisping ourselves we decide we'll go find a good spot to take some pictures of the volcano as the sun sets. We have a place in mind and set off, unfortunately once we get there it doesn't appear to be so good, therefore we drive off in search of a better location. After a couple of hours through windy twisty country lanes we stumble upon a tiny, exclusive-looking village nestled against another lake. Across the water rises the volcano. We stay for sunset and are rewarding with pictures that are nice but not that fantastic. Never mind. We set off for home, however after driving for about an hour we realise that we are going the wrong way and have no idea which way we came. Oh dear. Three hours later, after a little bit of trial and error we finally return home...knackered. It's really late, and we haven't done our homework for school. Naughty boys

Bumple-ation Update: I have been to the Doctors and apparently I've been having an allergic reaction to bed-bugs. After a couple of days taking anti-histamines, they are slowly disappearing and one is feeling tip-top once again.

We actually stay in Pucon for 9 days. It is a great town although a bit touristy. In our remaining time we spent each morning at school which was really worth the money. For me I can now converse in present, past and future tenses ( although they are very simple and apparently there are still loads more tenses to learn) and Ad is a pretty good with the more complicated stuff. Each afternoon we took the car and explored the surrounding area. There are some great places to visit, beautiful waterfalls, lakes, hikes, the volcano ( which can be climbed but we were too lazy and couldn't be arsed to get up at 4 in the morning - which is the time that the guides set off) and one particular laguna (Laguna Azul) that is such an unbelievable colour that it looks like someone must have poured food colouring into the water.

We have really had a great time here and we even toy with the idea of staying another week and continuing our studies, but we decide that the time is right to move on....to Santiago de Chile.