Pucon and Santiago

My next stop was Pucon which is south of Santiago. It is such a lovely wee town and it is overlooked by an incredible active volcano called Villarica (see photo). It was also built on the edge of a lake and the water is so clean and fresh and cold! The water comes from the snow and ice melting in the mountains and running down the rocks into the lake. The sand around the lake is black because it is not normal sand; it comes from the black lava that once erupted from the volcano and it is quite pebbly.

I did some cool sports in Pucon. The first was called Canopy; this was 4 big zip wires (like a flying fox) over the forest. It was amazing! Very high up so there were great views. The second was called Hydro-Speed and I did it on the River Trancura just outside the town. It is hard to explain but I will try my best! First of all you wear a full wet suit, wet suit jacket, flippers on your feet and a helmet. You rest your arms and upper body on a big triangular shaped float and then you go down a river with lots of rapids. It was pretty scary stuff but very exciting too.

After being in Pucon I went back to Santiago and stayed in a house up on the hills. There was a brilliant view of Santiago at night (see photo) and lots of wildlife. I saw blue and yellow lizards and even a humming bird drinking the nectar from flowers. It was far too quick for me to take a photo though!

Soon I head up to the north of Chile in the desert to towns called La Serena and San Pedro. I have heard the stars in the sky at night are amazing.

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Santiago

I have spent the last few weeks in Santiago, the capital of Chile. It is a great city. I have been to visit 2 schools here. One is called The Grange and is has an English website you can look at. The children here are taught in English, although they mostly speak Spanish at home. I helped in a P1 class and they even have Biff, Chip and Floppy reading books! It was a great school with friendly children and I really enjoyed my time there. The bottom classroom picture is The Grange.

The other school I went to was charity run in a much poorer area. The school did not have a lot of resources in the classroom but it was still a lovely place. The children were very friendly and keen to ask me questions about where I was from and to show me around their classroom and playground. The top picture is me helping them with their work which was all in Spanish. I will be going to this school again and I will take a few wee gifts for Christmas.

As well as visiting schools I have been exploring Santiago. One of the best things I have done is a cable car over the city, (see photo) pretty scary as its VERY high, but great views. There is a big statue of the Virgin Mary at the top of the hill and people go there to ask her for help and give thanks for good things that have happened to them.

I have also been to a crazy town just North of Santiago called Valparaiso. It is built on 42 hills, and I thought Edinburgh was hilly! There are lots of steep steps and interesting buildings. A few days ago I visited the sea-side town of Isla Negra, an hour away from Valparaiso, where Pablo Neruda's other house is. It is very beautiful.

Soon I travel South to a town called Pucon which has a smoking volcano!