Our trip to the South

I just got back from my trip to el Sur de Chile (South of Chile). It was a lot of fun!! Up at the top of this page is the Volcán Osorno which is near Ensenada, Chile and is right behind the Laguna (Lake) Llanquihue. Volcán Osorno is 2,652 meters high (8,201 feet), and last erupted in 1869. The picture was taken right outside the cabañas (cabins) we stayed in, it was a very nice place!!!

This is Volcán Villarrica, near the resort town of Pucón. In Chile there are 2,085 volcanos, 55 of which are active, and Villarrica is one of the two most active! It's last eruption was in May of 2006, but was minor gas explosions. Villarrica is 2,847 meters tall (9,340 feet)! Also, when we were in Pucón we saw a triathalon going on, and decided to watch for a little while, and then realized someone we knew was doing it!! It was a lot of fun!!! I might be going back there and climbing the volcano, and my mom has a picture of what you see at the top of it (the picture below). Also, you hear loud growling, and smell a bad scent of smoke, and you stare down into a firey red pit of molten lava!

Here I am in the lava fields left by the 1994 eruption of Volcán Llaima in Parque Nacional Conguillío. We stayed in cabañas at a place called La Baita, that was a very nice place with wonderful food for vegetarians and meat eaters, too! Like I said in the beginning I am on lava fields in this photo, and you can see the huge rocks which came shooting out of the volcano. These rocks and a trail of lava covered all plants and trees in their path! Speaking of the plants and trees, it takes them hundreds of years to grow back. First lichen appear (which is everywhere right now), then small plants (there were a few examples of these), and then over a long period of time, trees begin to grow back (there were none of these yet). After another eruption, lava covers the ground again and they must start the cycle all over again. One of my favorite things in Conguillío was drinking the delicious water right out of the Río Truful Truful near a beautiful waterfall.

I really enjoyed my trip to el sur de Chile!