An eruption of good times

... and I´m back!

This morning, myself and Mike (friend that I went backpacking with, pictured below) finished the 4 day/3 night Traverse of Parque Nacional Villarrica. What an incredible place! Of the three areasI have been trekking so far, I think this was my favorite. A glorious trail that crosses the spine of a range of volcanoes, the views are jaw dropping, the volcanoes are behemouths, and the landscape is from another world. I wasn´t really aware of how geologically active this area actually is until hiking across the crater of Volcan Quatrepillue. Ancient lava flows, symmetrical rings of lava rock that made up the heart of an ancient exploding volcano, smoke huffing from atop Volcan Villarrica, and, viewable from the top ridge, a total of 7 major volcanoes that bulge from the horizon. I´ve never been to a place like this, and it was a spectacular hike. A unique opportunity and a really good choice!

Me and Mike (a botanist/hippie dude from Florida), in front of Volcan Lanin.

Look closely and you´ll see the center of an old crater in the above pic,
with two volcanoes in background.

Volcan Villarrica, with the bizarre arucaria trees in the front. They
are a pineapple looking tree that grows for over 500 years.

The park kind of sits off by itself along the border of Argentina, and is kind of difficult to get to. It required a lot of investigation to figure out the system of buses/taxis that we needed to get to and from the trail. I was a little worried about getting back today, because I have quite a few things to get done. Besides some errands in town, Mike and I made friends the other night with the owner of the campgound we are staying at and he has graciously decided to throw an asado for us tonight (a BBQ). Very nice family. Also, I have a bus ticket that leaves town for Santiago this evening, and arrives tomorrow at 6 am. Since a friend of mine that lives in Santiago has offered me a place to sleep for a couple of nights, I should have a pretty good time there. And, of course, the Radiohead concert is tomorrow night. That´s right. Radical!

If you can´t tell from this email, I am very happy. My vacation seems to just get better and better everyday. My language skills are improving, I have gotten really good at figuring out each place I arrive in, I am feeling really healthy (probably because I have spent about 15 days trekking, or a full 25% of my trip so far), and things are just working out for me. Stars are aligning. This, right now (well, not right now, while I´m typing, but these general days), is exactly what I was looking for out of my vacation. Adventure, beautiful landscapes, nice people, and fun things to do. Vacation is just good for people, and I think everyone needs to travel... this means you!!