Pretty Things

Pucón, Chile

All the Chileans I had met in my travels had recommended Pucón to me. Beautiful city with beautiful beaches and beautiful weather surrounded by beautiful landscapes and filled with beautiful people.

It had kind of a Cancún feel. Everything was super expensive and everybody was dressed for the beach or the club.

The tour that everyone (except me) did in Pucón was a day trip hike up a snow-capped volcano. It cost $150 and included ice picks and a sled ride down part of the volcano. The sledding sounded fun, but I felt like I'd seen enough volcanoes in the past year. And $150...

Instead I opted for solo exploring the nearby Huerquehue National Park. I took a bus out to the park and spent a day hiking a mountain full of ancient Araucaria trees.

Also known as "monkey puzzle" trees, the Araucaria is the national tree of Chile and can live up to 1,000 years. It's from the family of pine trees but way cooler than a run of the mill pine. If you live in Seattle you should plant them in your yard. I think Minnesota is too cold for them though.

Besides hiking, I ate an expensive steak and signed up for expensive skydiving. But the day I was supposed to go skydiving it was too windy, and I didn't want to extend my stay just for that. The steak was delicious.

I was staying in a $30/night dorm room at a hostel that had $100+/night private rooms! So the crowd wasn't your typical change-your-underwear-once-a-week backpacker crowd.

I participated in a pub quiz at the hostel bar. It was decently fun but I felt like it just wasn't my scene. Everyone seemed with it and stable. My stories about contracting scabies and puking at the airport didn't go over so well.

I guess you could say Pucón was just too pretty for me.