Pucon

The weekend is over and we are now back in classes but it was amazing! First on Friday my host dad and my sister took me to the coast where the Pacific Ocean comes into Valdivia and starts dividing into the three rivers. It was absolutely beautiful. There were many spots around the beach with fishing boats and mountains on both sides of the water. I thought it would be the most amazing thing I would see on this trip but I was definitely wrong. After going to the beach we then had a get together for all of the Otterbein Students and our host siblings. It was really fun getting to know some of the other people and enjoying the times together with everyone. After such a great night on friday I didn't think the weekend could get any better. On saturday morning we all got up and met at the school and then left for Pucon.
Pucon is a small tourist town about 2 hours north of Valdivia. The town is known for its amazing views of the mountains and it's Volcano. As we drove into the city this giant volcano just came out of nowhere from under the clouds and it was the most amazing this I have every seen. It felt much like the first time I saw the grand canyon. (But thankfully we couldn't fall into the volcano so it was less scary). Upon arriving to the hotel we get something to eat and then decided to take a closer look at this natural wonder. We drove up the most rocky and dusty road ever and then finally made it us pretty far that we decided to get out and take some pictures. From our first location we could see the volcano and then the other direction looked like we had entered Jurassic Park. There were large hills covered in trees and a great lake off into the distance. Then we were all feeling pretty good so we decided to hike up the mountain. No one anticipated going very far however the higher you get the more beautiful the view and it became somewhat addicting to go higher and higher. After hiking about twenty minutes up I decided I had gone far enough and I turned around and I gasped because not only could I see what I was looking at before but also the andes mountains which crosses into Argentina. It was amazing. I stayed in that spot for a while but the guys on our trip climbed all the way up to where the snow was and made a snow man. The rest of the night was filled with eating and resting from the excursion that day.
On sunday however we got up and ate breakfast and then embarked on another adventure. Rafting down the volcano river. Now you must remember that it is spring time here so it is just beginning to get warm. In other words the water was absolutely freezing! But the company that we went with gave us wet suites, shoes, jackets, coats and helmet to wearing on the raft. I had never been rafting until then so I didn't really know what to expect but it was so much fun! I loved it. We had to stear through rapids and we got splashed with waves all the time. I think another thing that made it so great we the view of the mountains and volcano the whole way down. We even could drink the water because it was so incredibly clean and clear. After rafting we came back to town and shopped around at an open market and then went to the beach. The entire town was just amazing, most of the buildings were made of wood and it was very pretty. As the day came to an end we drove back to Valdivia.
Monday we had another visit to the school and I taught my class the song, head shoulders, knees and toes, in english and they seemed to really like it. The rest of the day is free but we have another long day tomorrow. Then this weekend is Bariloche, Argentina.