World Chile Araucania Temuco

Tom's Trip to Peru, Bolivia, Chile, New Zealand and Hong Kong 2/05-5/05

Pucon Apr 6, 2005

I am currently in the very tranquil lake-district town of Pucon, south of Santiago and Temuco. I came here yesterday in the hopes of climbing Volcan Víllarica, but the weather is distinctly English and hence is preventing all volcanic ascent activities. As a result I think that I may hitch as ride with some English people I have met to Bariloche, in Argentina, tonight (though their car has a cracked transmission. Fingers crossed). It's like being in the Adirondacks or the Alps in summer around here. The smell of coniferous trees in dominant in the air, the vegetation is lush, green and abundant and there is a very popular lake which I skirted today on a mountain bike. The houses resemble those of a ski town, though there are a few gems (apparently a horde of Frank Lloyd Wright's students came here thirty years ago to flex their own creative muscles). I'm staying in a very friendly hospedaje with around eight other English people in it, including plenty of boys to have watched the Champions League games these past two days with, and two lesbian-neurologists from Manchester who are vegetarian cooks supreme. I'm afraid that not all is sun and games, however. Today a few pieces of hard news passed over the radar; I'm afraid that a Yale rejection letter came through. They deferred my decision when I first applied in November, which is why I had not heard until now, but to be honest, it's slightly relieving just to have a decision either way after so many months of being in limbo. Now it is time to look forward to SOAS, which I know will be a great fit, and at least there are few better cities to live and study in than London. Secondly, Saul Bellow passed away, which means that between him and Hunter S. Thompson, two heroes have been lost in recent months. Thirdly, after a couple of weeks of discomfort caused by some social outcast of a stomach bus which had somehow got a'hold of an invite to the very exclusive party which is my lower gut, I visited the doctor today and I have gastroenteritis. Not wanting to put on too much of damper, however; I'm not really incapacitated in the slightest, and hopefully will have Bariloche to enjoy for a day or two before I catch the Navimag ferry from Puerto Montt on Monday.

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