puzzled monkeys and more volcanos

Volcan Llaima and monkey puzzles
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we left las siete tazas at 9am expecting a 4 hour drive to our next stop, however something went wrong in translating map distance into time and we eventually arrived at parque nacional conguillio at 8pm, in the dark.  we stopped at a waterfall on the way "salta de laja" advertised as a mini iguacu, which is itself advertised as a mini niagra.  still pretty impressive though, although very close to the main road and therefore quite a tourist trap.

after a chilly night in the tent (we have no idea how high up we were, but a sleeping bag and duvet were required)  we went for a really nice walk.  we parked at the playa linda carpark and took the sierra nevada trail (supposedly following marker 10, but we saw no such marker - its quite difficult to get lost though).  the trail climbed a ridge around the east side of the lake up to the snowline at the base of the sierra nevada - an extinct volcano.  There were magnificent views over the lake to volcan llaima and loads of monkey puzzle trees and we saw a really pretty beetle - see photo.  I felt quite dirty after the walk and as we had discovered there were no showers at the campsite i decided to have a dip in the lake - it was quite cold, too cold for wimpy alex.  we got back in time to sit on the beach and have an ice cream from the little campsite shop.