14 Border Crossing from Chile for the last time: Junin, Volcano Lanin and the Lanin National Park

 Tuesday, March 20th to Thursday, March 22nd

(Illustrated with borrowed photos, following theft of camera)

Today there were some outstanding views of two volcanoes: in particular, on such a cool clear morning, the gas from the still erupting Volcano Villarica could be seen quite clearly, culminating in a large cloud somewhere above it. On such a beautiful day, it seemed a shame to be on a bus, but at least I couldn't complain that I was unable to see anything. (Many lost photos!) With a stop beside a pretty river, nobody seemed in a hurry to get back on the bus and continue to the border  - not even the driver.

The border guards would have had the benefit of amazing views of Volcan Lanin normally, as well as a pleasant outlook onto a pretty monkey puzzle tree just outside. But today, the cloud decided to come down on the mountain just as we reached the border, and even with the inevitable delays, it refused to leave the mountain top.

Monkey puzzle tree: photo Jan

Lanin Volcano. Photo Paulo Roberto - see below

http://www.summitpost.org/lanin-volcano/151038 

While waiting, and idly flicking through the pages of my passport, I suddenly noticed something odd. For the most part, exits from Argentina were paired with entries to Chile, and vice versa. But what was this? How could I possibly have entered Argentina on 1st December 2012, when it was now only March 2012? My actual first date of entry was 8th January, which was correctly recorded!

Working it out, I traced the stamp to the sleepy border guards at Lago Desierto, where six of us had camped at the border post, on the night prior to trekking 7 hours to cross from Argentina into Chile, and then onto the next Chilean border office. (See post 05, border crossing.)

This being 1st February, the guard had evidently correctly changed the day from 31 to 1, and intended to change January to February. He had evidently moved the month section the wrong way, and changed it to December, instead! (Well, it would only have been 8.30 in the morning, and with 6 campers to check out of Argentina,  the poor guy must have been under pressure, what with dogs and chickens to feed - maybe - before the 10:30 boat got in. He could also have been stressed by being more than half-an-hour late opening the office, having probably stayed up half the night watching TV - and maybe he hadn't yet had his coffee!) Thankfully (surprisingly or not), this bogos date hadn't been picked up by any subsequent border guards - or if it had been, they had wisely decided to ignore it.

After the border today, the scenery changed dramatically, from the very wooded scenery on the Chilean side (monkey puzzle and other), to a landscape with few trees, but with mountains and rock formations shaped in a way that was slightly reminiscent of photographs I had seen of North American national parks. (Please, has anyone got any photos?)

We arrived only an hour late in the small, sleepy town of Junin, and I made my way to the campsite, situated near the river. Here I was forced to communicate in my dodgey Spanish (which had to be good for me), and one of the friendly staff there showed me which part of the site was 'mas seco'.



Looking at the map, I was excited to see a promising looking valley, running north of Lago Huechulafquen: just south of Volcan Lanin. Enquiries revealed that although the road was ripio, it was not too hilly: so I set off to find the cycle hire shop. In this town, nearly everyone was on a bike (sometimes with 2 or 3 people to one), so things looked hopeful: besides which, the town had a 'feel good' atmosphere, making me feel that this could be the perfect place to end my trip.

However, it was not to be. There was only one cycle hire shop in town, near the bus station. (Separate from the busy cycle repair shop - take note, Vicky and Henrique!) Furthermore, the bikes they had for hire were in worse condition than the average one dumped at my local recycling centre, despite being the most expensive I was to see in Chile!

The one bicycle they had that was anywhere near my size had an unimaginable saddle, and the gear 'box' on the handlebars wasn't even covered. I could not imagine going even a mile on it, though it would have done for just knocking around the little town, I suppose. Deciding to delay the decision until I had explored other options, I wandered down to the river, where I watched a fisherman on the other side, as he threw in his line, then took to playing his mouthorgan, while waiting for the fish to think about biting.

Back at the campsite, a friendly couple in a campervan came and introduced themselves as Jan and Aurelie. They were both mechanical engineers, working as product managers for a company on the French/German border, and were on a year's sabbatical for travelling. http://aurelieundjan.webnode.com/uber-uns .We chatted for a while, and they told me they were going to go and camp at one of the many campsites in the National Park the next day, ready to walk up to the base of the Lanin Volcano the following day.  I was welcome to go with them, though they might be going from there directly on to Pucon. Perfect!

Next day was beautiful, and after a quick visit to the supermarket to get supplies, we were off. The van was not a 4-wheel drive, so Jan took it very slowly, and with clear blue skies, we stopped occasionally to admire the lake, the volcano and the  shape of the mountains - and for photos (ouch!).

Volcan Lanin (photo Jan)

It cost us 50$ each (approximately 8GBP) for National Park entrance, but at the campsite, there were no further charges: the season was over, and although there was still hot water (you could see the steam coming out of a tank on stilts), there was nobody to collect camp fees. A lovely peaceful campsite situated near a lake, and with views of the snowy volcano Lanin to die for, monkey puzzle trees, chickens running around - and a small dog with almost irresistable pleading eyes: one of many that seemed to be everywhere in Argentina.

Araucaria (monkey puzzle) trees -  Photo Jan

 

Aurelie had a headache and needed to rest, so I took myself off up the track to look at the El Saltillo waterfall: spectacular, with the water pouring down from the volcano, through some rocks to a river below. http://irudi.photoshelter.com/image/I0000s6STN_Ap8SM (follow link for photo).

Notices explained that the area had its own microclimate, ideal for plants and animals. It also warned of an insect whose sting/bite could hurt. (You were advised to take precautions if you were allergic to it, but that was something you were unlikely to know, unless you were from South America.)

The trees here were nicely spaced out, so that they let some sun through. Near the waterfall, the rock formations were spectacular, with sobering evidence of major landslides all around. Later, as the sun went down, we were treated to a beautifully pink view of the snowy volcano: a photographer's delight.

Lanin Volcano - photo Jan

Later, at the campsite, Aurelie was feeling better, and Jan got a fire going, on which to barbecue some beef for us all. They had WOOFFed for a while on an estancia, when they first arrived in Argentina. Here they had been told that the best way to barbecue beef was slowly, with only salt. A couple of hours later, we feasted under a sky full of stars, on beef, salad, bread and wine. All the while, we were watched by the little dog . . . .

With the food and the wine, it did not take me long to get to sleep that night. But sometime a few hours later, something woke me. The first thought that hit me, was how snug I was - my feet in particular. But what was that? Something was resting against my feet - something that moved!

I sat bolt upright - but there was nothing inside the tent.  Cautiously lying down again, it suddenly hit me - could it be the little dog?  But if so, where was he? He definitely wasn't inside the tent. And if it wasn't the dog, then  what on earth was it? It was something live, because I could feel it breathing! I jerked my feet, and whatever it was, was launched into mid-air. I went back to sleep - or nearly. Five minutes later, I felt something curl up again, but I was too tired to bother about it - at least whatever it was was warm.

Next morning, with my live 'hot water bottle' still in place, I slowly withdrew  my feet and manoevered myself to the tent door, peering cautiously round the corner, to the back of the tent. Sure enough, there was the little dog, sleeping - curled up against where my feet had been! It was not until I started taking the tent down that he finally woke up, and then went bounding over to Auchalie, as she emerged from the camper van.

Today, the sky was an even deeper blue than the day before, and after registering at the National Park office (here in Chile, they were very safety conscious, and for many treks it was compulsory to register your intention, and then sign back out when you got back). We were told that the trek up to the volcano base and back should take about 7 hours: pretty accurate, as it happened: the first half did in fact take 2 hours, as estimated - though we made up time on the steeper second part. Walking  fast, as we were, we were up and down within the 7 hours, even with quite a long lunch stop at the top, enjoying the stunning views of the snow, and the rock formations either side of the volcano. 

At the start of the hike: with Aurelie (photo Jan)

Jan (photo Aurelie)

 Though the first part was through trees, the forestry here was not as dense as in many other areas I had visited, allowing the sun to get through, as well as occasional views of the volcano - even in the first part, as we followed the river up. As we neared the base, we passed through a section strewn with volcanic and other rock of all shapes and sizes.

Volcan Lanin (photo Jan)

For more photos, see http://www.superstock.com/stock-photography/Watkins

Down again, we went to sign off, and found that the staff had left for the day, but left the list of names to be signed off. At first I didn't appear to be on it. But then, next to the other two's names, I saw that there was someone called A Rozxva (or something similar), from the UK - it could only be me!

We returned to the campsite in Junin: the others had decided to have another night there before going on to Pucon. For my part, I decided that I really did want another day on a bike, so I would take the evening bus just an hour up the road to St Martin, where there would be a lot more options.

Having collected the rest of my stuff, and booked myself into the 'Puma' hostel in St Martin de los Andes by phone, I said goodbye to Jan and Aurelie, loaded up once more, and walked the 20 minutes to the bus station.

As I arrived, one of the men from the campsite reception came running towards me. He had left a paper for me at the booking office, he said. Puzzled, I followed him: he had marked a map of St Martin with the exact location of the hostel, and torn down to the bus station with it - probably in a car! Just another example of the kindness of these people. (I already had a map, but of course I didn't tell him that.) And so, to my last couple of days in Patagonia, before heading back to Buenos Aires . . .