THE VOLCANO!

Friday, February 9^th – Pucon, Chile

At 7 AM we were at the outfitters, with four other victims. We were outfitted in jackets, pants, boots, ice cleats, ice picks, hard hats and gloves. Everything you need for a pleasant day’s hike. The thought occurred to us: WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?

With a guide and a helper, we climbed into a van and drove an hour to Villarrica National Park. We took a ski lift up to the snowline - an extra $10 each - worth every penny!

(The volcano looks short from this perspective but believe me, it isn’t! The volcano is

9, 340 ft. and the ski lift took us to the snowline, where we suited up and started to climb.)

At the bottom of the ski lift -

- before we donned our hike-to-the-top-of-the-volcano outfits

Okay … so we’re ready to go!?

The path up to the top is ice and crunchy snow. Not very reassuring for those (like Nan) who like to hike on solid ground!

“We’re doing this … why???” Photo of Nancy, as she questions our sanity (and pulls up her snow-pants … three sizes too large!)

Nancy was scared from the minute she put her foot on the ice (“Not much traction here, George!”) to the moment we reached the top (Rock! Solid rock at last!). We spent four hours climbing – slowly (“Lento, lento!” our guide kept saying). The last half hour, the guide held Nancy’s hand and helped her make it to the top. At the top we spent an hour peering into the crater, watching the lava explode. Awesome!

Our picture of the crater (above) and a professional shot (below)

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The town of Pucon and Villarrica Lake in the distance.

Nancy and our guide – her new best friend!

On the way down, our waterproof pants, parkas and gloves came in handy as we slid down the mountain in a series of luge channels cut into the snow. We used our ice picks to control our speed. It was scary at first, but after the first two seconds, it was lots of fun – even for Nancy!!

The ski lift was not working on our way down the mountain. By the time we hiked to the van, we were stiff and sore … but what a day! We were taken to our hotel, where we soaked in a hot bath and collapsed!