The nicest people south of the equator!

If friendly and kind had a face.
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pictures:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianandkim/collections/72157603275030796/

For us, meeting Jaime and Carola was like winning the lottery!

We set out from Pucon on the Scott trail, ready for adventure and a hike that wouldn't be cut short by toxic sulphur gas. We aimed for a small town called Choschuenco where there was reportedly good trekking, and not so many tourists. Being the prepared scouts that we are, we decided that procuring provisions (fuel, pesos, food, etc.) could wait until we arrived.

Choschuenco from above.
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As soon as the bus rolled up in a cloud of dust in Choschuenco, we realized that there was going to be a problem. Choschuenco is a tiny town of about 500 people, and has no gas station, no grocery store, and no ATM. It is also a town that caters to wealthy Chileans and foreigners in the summer season ( i.e. NOT November), so lodging was quite pricey--especially since our cash flow had dwindled to a dangerously low level. When we asked at the convenience store about camping, they all looked at us like we were crazy, and informed the poor, disoriented gringos that it was not yet camping season. Ruh roh. We did ascertain that nobody in town sold gas, the next bus out of there wasn´t until the morning, the ferry to Argentina was out of service for the month of November, that nobody was sure if there was any trekking in the area, that the information office was closed until 4pm the following day, that the bakery was out of bread for the day, but might have some by 10 the next morning, and that there was some tuna, chocolate, and ice cream for sale at the convenience store so that we wouldn´t starve or have to resort to eating the 2-day old salami and uncooked rice in our bag.

Hola from above, trucha!
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We decided that the convenience store woman (who most likely knew about all comings and goings-on in the entire town) couldn´t possibly know everything, so we set off down the main street in search of a reasonably priced hostel, a flat grassy area to pitch our tent, or anything that might give us a fresh perspective on our situation.

The main street of Choschuenco is about 3 blocks long, and ends at a tiny park on the shore of pretty Lake Panguipulli. As we walked by the last house, a German Shepard the size of a small horse came charging out to the gate, teeth bared, growling, barking, and letting us know that although he was on the other side of the fence, he considered the sidewalk his territory, and he didn´t want us on it. I think I set a land speed record getting as far away from that fence as possible. Damn that dog was big and ferocious!!!

A game of chicken with the steer!
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As luck would have it, a white Hyundai Galloper was pulling into that same yard, and we stopped to ask the nice man getting out of the car if he knew about any hiking, camping, lodging, etc. in town. He wasn´t sure, but introduced himself as Jaime, and offered to drive us around and look.

We shrugged, threw our bags in the back of the Galloper, shot a 'what the heck' glance at each other, and hopped in. First we drove to the campground, closed; then 3 blocks back to a set of cabins under construction--too expensive; then two blocks up to another hostal--cardboard walls and crying babies; then two more blocks to a hostal with thin walls and the scent of mold in the air, and a sour faced owner, but with rooms for $10/night per person--sold! We counted our pesos, signed on the dotted line, and inquired about some dinner. 6,000 Pesos for a meal was beyond our budget, so we headed to the convenience store for a can of tuna, some mayonesa, chips, and some cans of beer. Meal in hand, we walked back to the Park on the lake to prepare our feast and discuss our options and ill-preparedness.

Volcan Choschuenco.
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As we sat at the park, shivering in the cool evening breeze, finishing our delicious tuna sandwiches, and downing our last beer, Jaime and his girlfriend Carola crossed the street, and invited us in to their house for a hot drink. Carola just finished medical school and is doing a 4 year rotation in an underserved area (they´ll pay for her medical school in exchange), and they just moved to Choschuenco from Santiago 6 months ago. There´s an organization called People Helping People that provides clinic space, supplies, and housing for the doctors who come for their rotations. Like Jaime said, arriving in Choschuenco and getting put up in a nice lakefront house for free was like winning the lottery for them! We stayed and chatted until 10:30, and got tons of info about what to do in the area from Jaime. For us, meeting Jaime and Carola was like winning the lottery! They invited us to come back for breakfast in the morning, to take us to the trailhead for the hike to the Volcano, invited us to spend the following night at their house, and Jaime offered to drive us back to Panguipulli when we wanted to go!!!! Now that´s hospitality! We even made friends with the big guard dogs, Gaston, the ferocious German Shepard, and Homero (after homer simpson) the big happy boxer.

What strange customs these people have.
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Jaime walked us to the trailhead of the hike to the Refugio on Volcan Choschuenco the next morning, and about an hour into the hike, we met some more people, Sun and Andrea, on the ¨Scott Trail¨ who were coming down from the Refugio. They informed us that it was an additional 8-hour hike all the way to the Refugio, and that there was still a lot of snow and debris on the last part of the trail. I guess it was a hard winter everywhere! We scrapped the 18-hour round trip 'day hike' plan, had a nice hike for a few more hours with views of the Volcano the whole way, and decided to stop for our daily dose of mercury in a nice grassy field. MMM tuna sandwiches again!

Tuna sandwich with a view.
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On the hike back, we spotted a huge river, and even though fishing season didn´t start for 3 more days, Brian´s hands were itching to cast his rod. We had fished for 2 hours outside of Pucon with no luck, so we figured that it would be the same on this river as well. False assumption! On the third cast, he caught a fish!! Our first trucha, and illegal to boot!! Just a little guy, but very exciting. Back at the house, Jaime and Carola fed us dinner again, and we gratefully accepted hot showers! (we're pretty sure that they appreciated it too).

Cows with guns.
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We took the bus to Puerto Fuy and ran into Sun and Andrea again. We discovered that it was actually possible to cross the border into Argentia despite the big ferry being out of service for the month of November. What wasn´t clear was how one traveled the last 60k or so between exiting the boat and arriving in San Martin de los Andes, Argentina, since buses across the border wouldn´t start running until the summer. . .

We made an executive decision that we´d impose on Jaime and Carola and ask for another night of lodging instead of a ride to the bus station. Lucky them, they weren´t rid of us yet!

Bad ass!!
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Jaime welcomed us back with a homecooked meal (by their house helper Sra. Tati), and agreed to let us freeload for another night. We also discovered that it was Carola´s birthday in the morning. Jaime was heading back to Panguipulli to take a friend to the bus station, and offered to take us grocery shopping and to the gas station. We gratefully accepted, and hopped in the car for the 45 minute ride to town. We did our best to gather ingredients for chocolate chip cookies for a surprise breakfast for Carola, and a few bottles of wine to express our gratitude. We even managed to convince the gas station attendant that he could fill our fuel bottle with gas (although he refused to give us premium), and that we wouldn´t be making malatov cocktails with it.

Cookies for breakfast were a hit, and after one million thank yous from us, we hopped on the bus to catch the ferry to Argentina. The boat ride across Lago Pirehueico was very scenic, and when we got off the boat, a nice border policeman offered us a ride to the Chilean border. We're really starting to like this hitchiking thing! We walked another 5k to the Argentine border control, and contrary to other people's reports, the border crossing was easy! Since we were walking across, they didn't even do a cavity search! Our next challenge, getting to civilization, a mere 60k away. . .