Pucón - last day

It's Sunday now, Marte and I are a bit sad that we have to leave already. It's much warmer in the hostel than in our apartments. We have come to love this small tourist town over these days. By the way, it's built in the beautiful style of wooden bungalows. I'm sure a visit in the summer would be worth it again, with canyoning, stand-up paddling, rafting, or just lounging on the beach. Whether we will come back again, I have no idea, there are so many beautiful corners here that still want to be explored.

The last day brought 20 degrees and bright sunshine. Finally, we could admire the Villarica volcano (that everyone always talks about) for ourselves. (See the photos for comparison) It's a bit eerie. All the mountains around are covered with trees... except for Villarica. It is completely white and if you look very closely, you can even see little smoke plumes rising from the crater. Maravillosa!

Great weather for a little city stroll. Unfortunately, I have to disappoint all the people I was supposed to send a postcard to. You can't even find them in any store in Pucón. I think the Chileans prefer collecting fabric patches for uniforms from the places they visited. If I can still get postcards, I will let you know. However, we did find the best oven-baked empanadas so far in a small bakery here. For those who don't know, empanadas are filled pastries. A kind of savory wheat dough without leavening agents, usually filled with chicken, pork, cheese, or seafood. It's sometimes difficult to find a vegetarian version that doesn't contain ham. (Because that's not meat) (But today we were lucky and even got spinach ones in Valdivia) There are empanadas baked in the oven and fried. Marte and I prefer the baked ones, which is judged by many Chilenos. (They say fried is always better) I recommend everyone to try them, we like them so much that now we have an empanada day every week to find the best bakery in town ;D. Strengthened, we climb the cemetery hill, because from there you have a good view of the city. 6 stray dogs await us up there and follow us all over the city, which was a bit annoying. Overall, there are a lot of stray dogs and cats here, but they are all very clean and well-groomed. When they bark, it's usually at passing cars or strange men with beards. Thank God we don't have either.

After a 5-hour bus ride, I spontaneously decide to attend the national celebration of the Chilenos. It's like the Oktoberfest here. The "Fondas" are during the week of September 18th, Chile's Independence Day. After a short visit, I have to confess: it's like a beer tent festival in Germany. Just replace beer with Terremotos, bratwurst with hotdogs, and garlic bread with empanadas. There is even a "lucky games corner" with roulette, shooting, and tin can throwing. Craft stands and traditional dances like Queca can be admired. However, the Fondas here don't have a fairground with big carousels, but many many many bouncy castles, climbing and playgrounds for the kiddies. It's a shame that nobody wanted to accompany me there...

Frieda (28th Sep, has eaten enough empanadas for now)