Pucon- River Rafting

Hi All! So we survived the super awesome rafting trip on the Rio Trancura. Due to the excessivly awful clothing items i was forced to wear (full body wetsuit, helmet, life vest, and men sized water blazer jacket thingy and surf shorts) i am not able to provide you with a picture of that adventure (also the fact that we were in the water the whole time, making carrying a camera difficult). Anyways, the trip was AWESOME, they had just opened the river last week, so everyone was super excited about the trip, including our guides. There were six of us in a boat (4 of us gringos, and 2 french peeps), along with our guide, and a guy in a kayak that was our saftey man (thankfully, the only person that had to be rescued was him when his kayak tipped over in some rapids). We went over the basic saftey rules and paddling commands and started on our trip. Being a rafting veteran (yeah maine!) i wasn´t overly concerned. Unfortnately when the adrenaline starts pumping, and the rapids are roaring, its hard to stay focused, especially when you´re guide is yelling at you in spanish. But we all came through it ok. The water was ICEY cold, but with all the layers they had us wearing, we acutally opted to get out and swim at one point. Though the river in general is class 3 and 4 rapids, the section we were rafting was a 4/5 rapid becuase of the recent snow melting. There were some crazy huge drops/ falls that we went down, and some big waves created by surrounding rocks, but all in all, super fun, had a blast. No one fell out, and at the end of the day, we had some Pisco Sours (national drink of Chile) with our guides.

The picture above is of Pucon, taken from the lake where we sunbathed. The Volcano in the background is Volcan Villarrica, which is still covered with snow and burbling. The town here is really nice, very clean, everyone friendly, lots of good vegetarian food (yes, i´m still a vegetarian), thermal baths galore, and lovely beaches to tan on, I could def stay here for a looonnnnggg time. Highly Reccommended!

Today Erin and I are taking an overnight bus (puke!) to Santiago, so we can spend the holidays with some of Erins relatives. I´m not sure exactally what kinds of celebrations the do here for xmas and new years, but i´ll keep you all posted! We might make a pit stop out of santiago, and get an apartment for a month, and really get to know the city, that all depends on weather, money and timing!!

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukah, and Happy.... everything else, and Feliz Navidad, and Happy New Year!