Leaving Pucon

I was hoping to be farther in this blog, but we have  been catching up on sleep, homework, and "real" living in Santiago...and then some additional adventures.
So...back to Pucon...or the leaving of Pucon.
So that Villarica Vulcan that has been making it's appearance in many of our pictures erupted on 3-3-15 and the effects of that eruption could clearly be seen on our drive up to the volcano.  Unfortunately, the mountains were shrouded in clouds, but somewhere right above us in those clouds around us there was the vent of the volcano.  Unfortunately it was not as awe-inspiring as it would have been, I'm sure, with a cloudless sky.  None the less, it was interesting and worth the drive up.
For those of you who are skiers, you'll see one of the two ski lodges in this picture.  Jason decided a trip to Chile for skiing wouldn't be worth the trip.

The landscape was quite barren, covered mostly in dirty, volcanic ash, and hardened lava rocks.  Madelyn had pockets full.

 The temperature dropped 15 degrees Celsius in our less than 40 minute drive up the volcano and we weren't far below the snow line.  We weren't prepared to hike and had a long drive back to Santiago, so we enjoyed Callie trying to catch the clouds and put them in her pockets and Madelyn finding cool rocks.

Our attempt to get a picture of the valley.  I'm sure but it is hard to do so in the clouds.

 As we hiked farther up to get a "better" view, the wind changed and the clouds below started blowing up the volcano.  It was an eerie feeling.

 Callie asked in earnest, when the clouds were blowing between these two "hills."  "Mom, can I run and jump off? The clouds would catch me, right?"    I'm glad she asked first so we could debunk that theory before she experimented.

The only motivation for Callie to climb this morning was to catch the clouds.  We tried to tell her she was in the clouds, but she couldn't quite comprehend that the mist she felt and the "fog" she saw were really the clouds.

Briefly exploring the chair lift.

 On our way back down we tried to capture the terrain, but as with any pictures, they never do it justice.   We also learned that their is a water shortage in this part of the mountain since the eruption, so human water usage was extremely restricted.

 Remember those gravel roads...This is the main road up the volcano and to the ski lodges.  It was a very interesting drive.

A common bird in the mountains...It seemed to be a strange mix of fowl and hawk.

As we were coming back down the mountain, one of the things the girls had on their bucket list in Chile was to ride a horse in the mountains.  So, we squeezed one last activity in before our 9 hour trip back to Santiago.  This was a highlight for both of them as they have never ridden horses before!

Entering the forest

Yup, we rode too.  Each of our horses were led by guides, so a 30 minute trail ride was plenty for us.  
Girl's highlights: hungry ponies stopping to eat the plants in the forest and horses pooping while we were on the trail.

Happy after the ride!

Jason's guide is seen in this picture...He jabbered the entire trail ride and clearly did very little with the horses...or at least didn't appear to have a knack with animals.  His family had re-located from Washington State to Chile 3 years ago because Chile was "safer."  (I should have reminded he lives at the base of an active volcano).  He's not made any effort to learn the language and few people up in the mountains speak English. 

 Lots of smiles after the ride.  Madelyn named her horse Pumpkin Pie.

We were thankful to have had so many great experiences in Pucon and were thankful for generally great weather and helpful tips from Jason's co-workers to guide us through this experience.   Now to enjoy a day of rest, laundry, and "normalcy" in our Santiago dwelling.