Pucon miscellaneous

It's always a great feeling when you realize you don't have to do something you don't want to do. I had a bus ticket for Buenos Aires but after a night of, um, celebrating our volcano summit and thinking about all of the places in Chile I still wanted to visit, I ran down the street to the bus company and refunded my ticket with minutes to spare. I happily spent another day in Pucon and made plans for my next stop.

 

In the meantime, here are a few miscellaneous Pucon memories.

 

El Refugio Hostel was great and I loved getting to stay in a dome tent!

 

An attempt to hike to Ojos de Caburga was thwarted by a sudden and heavy downpour. Fortunately, we managed to take this shot of me crossing the Delaware before the rains came.

 

On my second hike to Salto el Claro, I was able to cross off one item from my to do list for the year. There are no photos of this event but there was definitely a witness who was kind enough to hold a towel open for me as I ran out of the ice cold water. (Haha! Thanks again!)

 

Pucon's picturesque lake was busy with visitors, including hungry dogs and fake lifeguards.

 

I found a great tree to climb...and then realized I had no one with me to take the photo.

 

A sunny afternoon was put to good use sipping on terremotos and beer at a sidewalk cafe.

 

Until I saw this sign, I hadn't realized the town had such unique parking regulations.

 

When the clouds finally parted after a week, I caught my first glimpse of the volcano that was the entire reason for me lingering in Pucon.

 

The clouds then reappeard, but only to create a vivid sunset.

I loved my time here and the people that I met. Goodbye Pucon! I hope to be back someday.

 

Miscellaneous Colombia

Colombia was everything I had hoped for and more. It is a beautiful country with kind people and a seemingly endless supply of fresh mangos. What else do you really need? When I return, whenever that may be, I will be sure to get to Cali to visit a friend's family, San Gil to check out the country's adventure capital, Medellin again to see the enormous outdoor escalator (google it!), and Bogota to see the big city.

 

In the meantime, here are a few parting photos from Colombia.

 

Empanadas and other fried treats can be found on practically every corner.

 

There are a few local beers, but Aguila was the most prominent...

...and this was a beer I thought only existed on The Simpsons!

 

In Cartagena, my curiosity was piqued when I saw monumento a los zapatos viejos, monument to the old shoes, on a map. Famed local poet Luis Carlos Lopez wrote a poem celebrating his love for Cartagena as you love your old shoes, so the city built this large and quirky monument in 1996.

 

And because apparently I am developing an internal accordion radar, here's a shot I took only because I succeeded in temporarily stealing another traveler's camera, jumping over a railing, and off a small patio!

 

Next stop Ecuador!