Yesterday we woke up around 6am to get to the bus station in Mendoza by 7. We had to check in at the bus ticket counter and the language barrier was a little tough for this interaction. The attendant needed our last date of entry into Argentina, which was during Iguazu, but it took us a while to understand him enough to get to this point. Finally, we got our tickets and got onto the bus. Thankfully, we paid the extra $6 dollars and got ourselves executive seats, and man were they worth it.
We took the same highway toward Santiago that we drove ourselves. We passed by Aconcagua again and the salt bridge. We made it to the border crossing and let me just say, this terminal was larger and more modern than some of the airports we have traveled through. The screening process for this crossing was by far the most strict that we have encountered so far. There was a clear no food/fruits policy and everything in luggage had to be declared. We had to additionally show COVID cards, border forms, and bus tickets, whereas in Argentina, a simple scan of the passport was sufficient. Not only did they scan our backpacks, they also unloaded everyone’s larger bags, scanned those, and reloaded them. Not even the other Chilean crossings were this thorough – must be a central hub or something.
The funniest part was that they asked us about our entire travel history since the start of the trip, from each location, to duration of stay, to types of transport used, to even the cost of food, tours, flights, housing, etc… needless to say I felt bad for the people behind us in line.
We finally boarded the bus again and ventured through the many switchbacks. We arrived in Santiago around 3pm. It is a massive city with nearly 7 million residents, and the climate and landscape reminded me of Arizona. The bus brought us to the city center, from where we took an uber to a suburb near the airport. The area was very residential and we felt like local Chileans for the night. What was most interesting was the amount of Chinese restaurants everywhere. Of course, we had to try some.
The airbnb was a cozy guest suit of someone’s home with its own entrance and even AC. It took a set of 5 keys just to get into the actual space after passing through several gates and doors. We ordered some Chinese take-out and watched some of Mission Impossible 4 in the room. The food was delicious, and a welcome change from all the sandwiches and fried food.
This morning, we got to the airport around 9am. The Chilean flag is nearly identical to the Texas flag, so it feels kinda odd to see everything seemingly Texas-themed around us. Chilean prices are not as forgiving as Argentina either. My salad bowl costed nearly 10 USD, close to double what it would have in Argentina. The McDonalds airport empanadas were also interesting to try.
When we boarded the plane, Hunter had put his seat belt on when he found his seat. Turns out, you need to wait for the captain to give you the all-clear to FASTEN your seatbelt. Otherwise, the flight attendant will yell at you to literally undo it. so strange. We landed near Pucon and were thrilled by the sunny cool weather. The nearest airport to Pucon is actually an hour away at the city of Temuco. A shuttle took us to our hostel airbnb, and, during the ride, the massive Villarica volcano slowly came into view. This area is inside the “Ring of Fire” of active volcanos. Villarica is the most active volcano in South America, and there are many others nearby that are actually climbable.
The hostel room was perfect for the two of us. As well, the common space, kitchen, and patio were also great to use. There are about 4-5 rooms and 2 share bathrooms built into this older hostel-converted-home. The host’s name is Magda and she lives here on the property too. It is located near the main street and right across from a supermarket – yay, we can buy more ham and cheese sandwiches for our day trips:/ We saw a lot of cyclists and scooters everywhere too, which definitely contributed to the small mountain-town vibe.
We walked the town and found tour offices to book our activities for the following days. It was hard to pick which things to do because Pucon has so many cool adventures to offer. After considering all factors including cost, availability, discounts, and weather, we decided on 3 excursions – class 4 rafting, ice climbing, and the famous thermal hot springs. Unfortunately, the Villarica volcano’s summit is closed right now due too too much volcanic activity, so we did not think it was worth the cost just to turn around 500m from the summit. The woman at the office was very patient with us as we deliberated for over an hour. She got us a great deal for the tour packages, and we are super excited.
Afterwards, we did a grocery run and bought stuff to cook dinner as Chile’s prices are less budget-friendly. Pasta bolognese was actually not too bad, especially with all the seasonings they had here. Another couple at the hostel had a similar thought and they cooked the exact same thing. Stay tuned for some cool pics coming up.
