Activities Around Pucon

Cuevas Volcanicas

  At the foot of the Villarrica volcano you'll find the entrance to a series of volcanic caves. These caves form from large lava flows- the outermost layer of lava cools to form the cave walls and ceiling, while the inner lava continues flowing. When, the lava levels fall, they leave an extensive series of empty caves. The tour begins with an introduction to volcanoes- how they form and develop. This talk is given in a room with all kinds of helpful volcano-related posters and infographics. For example, a series of posters illustrated the types of volcanic disasters that can happen, the dangers they present, and how to avoid them, all with little egg-shaped people demonstrating the proper evacuation techniques. In the tsunami image, the egg people were smiling on high ground. For toxic gases, they wore gas masks. And in the pyroclastic flow image, they simply frowned, and the poster explained that, moving at hundreds of meters per second, a pyroclastic flow will kill you before you even know it's coming.

One of these rocks weighs *WAY* more than the other.  They're both different types of volcanic rock but formed in different processes.

  The talk also featured a few kinds of volcanic rock, including 3 spheres fused together. Apparently when ash is thrown into the air, it generates static electricity, which causes the ash to clump together into dense spherical rocks.

  We followed the natural pathways of cooled lava. Lava can either cool into smooth, lumpy stone (Pahoehoe) or sharp, pointy stone (Aa). This was the pahoehoe variety, making very pleasant smooth walkways. The stony ground deprives many trees of nutrients, causing them to grow into natural bonsais. In the place where a section of the cave roof has collapsed, we descended and entered the caves. They're large- at least 20 feet high in some places. Our guide pointed out where new lava flows broke through the wall and created small side tunnels. Large chunks of rock that were carried by the tide of lava now lie wherever they became wedged and stopped moving.

  Moisture dripped constantly from the ceiling and after walking for around 10 minutes we saw thin, wispy tree roots dangling from the ceiling.

If you squint at the arch, you can see the roots of a tree above-ground peeking through the lava cave ceiling.

  A special part of the cave is called the "chocolate cave," and sure enough the walls look exactly like they are covered in melted chocolate. Most of the cave is reddish rock, and spiky. But the chocolate area is a deep brown, and smooth like someone smeared it on with a spatula. At the end of the caves (they go on but the rest hasn't been tested for safety) we turned out all of our lights and stood quietly. "A moment of silence for the revolution," our guide added just before the lights went out. In complete darkness, we really could not even tell the difference between when our eyes were open or closed. Which is obvious when you say it, but it was still pretty crazy to experience.

Chocolate Lava!

  When we got back to the entrance, we were struck by the way the dark stone cave gave way to sunny greenery. Photos don't really do it justice but it looked like a portal to a bright, beautiful other world. Which in a way, it was.

Just outside the volcanic cave

And of course- another volcano photo

Lagunas Andinas

  Driving east from Pucon, into the Andes, you'll come to a region of Araucaria forests, lakes, and a horizon dominated by the Lanín volcano. Just 40km from the border with Argentina, we paused next to a lake (Lago Quilleihue) for lunch alongside a group of schoolchildren out for a field trip. From there, we hiked through a forest of not only araucarias but also coihues and lengas. The trail was relatively flat and easy, which was a nice change of pace compared to Huerquehue and Matt's volcano ascent in the preceding days.  When we reached Laguna Huenfuica, we found it was flooded and we couldn't get very close- though we could glimpse it through the trees. Karen got her one and only mosquito bite on the trip here, while trying to navigate the trail around the over-filled lake.  At our next stop, Lago Escondido, we had more luck, and we were able to sit for a while watching fish make splashes in the water and talking to some Chileans and New Zealanders who got there after us.

The woods around Lagunas Andinas

This waspy-looking insect was no less than 2 inches long :0