Photo: Volcan Villarrica from Pucon
On Tuesday night I took an overnight bus to Pucon, Chile in the Lakes District. Upon arrival, I checked into the Hostal ecole. I signed up for a tour of the Cani Sanctuary and bought food and 96% alcohol (for stove) for a trip to Huerquehue.
Pucon is very touristy small town. Most of the young tourists came to Pucon just to spend $90 on a day climb of nearby active Volcan Villarrica. Much of the area around Pucon, on the west side of the Andes was very green and rich in plant life.
Photo: Araucano trees by Lago Negra
The Thursday tour of Cani Sanctuary started at 9:30 AM. The others on the tour were an Ontario couple, Bruce and Josefina. We were fitted for climbing boots prior to our departure. A van took us to the base of Cani Sanctuary, about 15 miles northeast of Pucon where we met our guide Manuel. He was married to a local Mapuche Indian woman.
He took us up a steep jeep track to a hut that was a base for exploring the sanctuary. We saw several small lakes and many 1000+ year old araucano trees. Manual told us that the area gets an annual average of 3 meters of rain. We only saw two other hikers there.
Photo: Manuel at Cani
Photo: Manuel, Josefina & Bruce by Cani Sanctuary hut
Photo: Cani foilage
Photo: Marsh in Cani
Photo: Top of araucano tree
Photo: Overlook of Cani
Photo: Spider on trail
Photo: Close up of araucano tree branch
Map of South America trip
