The R&R Big Adventure

Be careful what you wish for

After saying we were looking forward to more humid climes, we weren’t quite banking on torrential rain lasting all night and into this morning. We are staying in an Airbnb mountain lodge for a couple of nights, which has amazing panoramic views over the forests, and snow capped mountains and Villarrica volcano that surround Pucόn. It is in the middle of nowhere though (up a steep and twisting gravel road to get here), and when we arrived, discovered it doesn’t have any locks on the doors, only an electric gate further down the mountain. As the night (and rain) settled in last night, we noticed the owner had an impressive selection of (very large and very sharp) professional Japanese cook’s knives. He also has a leather butcher’s apron hanging in the kitchen, an axe lying outside one of the (unlocked) doors, and an industrial incinerator in one of the outbuildings. If we were going to be murdered in the night, it didn’t stop us doing several loads of washing, so we were up to date with our laundry. I must admit when I awoke in the night due to the sound of heavy rain, in my contact lens-less state, I was trying to work out which shadows were which bits of furniture in the large, open plan space. Fortunately, nothing moved.

Having survived the night, this morning we decided to visit a nearby national park to hike to a lake and waterfalls. It was a gloomy, murky morning (there is a theme here) and we didn’t see another soul en route, but the two hour uphill and muddy trek was worth it to see the spectacular waterfalls and views down towards the forest below. The drive back though was initially through thick, low-lying cloud – it truly was a spooky, foggy landscape. Rather than any more walking or driving, we decided the best course of action was to get a bottle of Malbec from the nearest mini market and settle in for the night with some home-cooked food. The mountain peaks are just peeking through under the clouds as I type this – I’m hoping we have a clearer morning tomorrow for a good sunrise. ‘Wood cabin in the middle of nowhere’ is a another new experience for me, now ‘sleeping on the ground in a tent’ is ticked off the list, hopefully for the first and last time. I’ve also learnt how to use a wood pellet burner: if we had another couple of nights here, these W14 gays could be chopping wood and skinning rabbits.