2016 Tour of Chile

Journal Pages
 Click a pic

Getting There

Santiago

San Pedro de Atacama

Vina del Mar

Talca

Pucon

Puerto Varas

Pucon

Friday - March 11

We left Talca and drove to our hotel between Villarica and Pucon. It was quite a long drive but most of it was on highway. Our hotel is absolutely fabulous. The room is quite large and the bathroom is great. The restaurant is excellent, which is a good thing because there are no others within walking distance. The hotel is unusual in that it is built on a hillside overlooking a lake. As a result, reception is on the sixth floor and you take the elevator down to get to your room. Every time you take the elevator, you have to stop and ask yourself am I going up or down. We referred to it as an upside down hotel.

The hotel has a delightful indoor pool on the first floor. We both felt that a swim after the long drive would feel good, so we got on our suits and headed for the pool. Later that evening we took the elevator up to the fifth floor for the restaurant and had dinner in the hotel. We both had Patagonian Hake served on a lobster bisque, and it was incredible.

Saturday - March 12

After breakfast we went for a drive to see some of the local sites and stopped for lunch in Pucon. We returned to the hotel and in the afternoon again went to the pool for a swim. We had dinner in the hotel restaurant and it was again a very fine meal.

Sunday - March 13

After breakfast we went for another drive, this one to see one of the local waterfalls. Unfortunately it was down another one of those dirt roads, this one on the order of 10 miles or so, and across a wooden bridge.

The waterfall is close to 300 feet high and is truly beautiful. The name of the waterfall is Salto el Leon.

          Salto El Leon

From there we drove back to Pucon again to have lunch. This time we settled on a little café that does a variety of coffees and suites. They have a more extensive menu for those with a bigger appetite, and some of the plates we saw come out were enormous.

On the way back we saw a llama or alpaca or whatever. We can't tell the difference. We also saw a number of signs that advised motorists about the distance they should allow between their cars and bicycles.

We have had many opportunities on these drives to see the local volcano called Vulcon Villarica. When you look closely you can see that there is a little steam coming out of the top. It is truly beautiful.

    Vulcan Villarica

After lunch we drove back to our hotel and I must admit I took a nap. Later in the afternoon we went down to the pool for one last swim before leaving here. This evening we once again had dinner in the restaurant and it was a fine meal.