The further south we traveled, the greener the surroundings became, until we found ourselves amongst snow-clad volcanoes rising over verdant hills and lakes. We also saw our first rainfall for nearly a month, a theme set to continue. The Germans colonised this area in the 1850s which is still clear to see today from the fruit pies, lace curtains and architecture.

Pucon is a village-turned-megaresort due to its idyllic setting on a lake (with 'beach') under the huffing cone of 2,847m Volcán Villarrica . The masses come to hike the smoking, lava-spitting crater of this volcano which we had also planned to do. However, the incessant rain and thick cloud cover prevented us, apparently a common occurrence. Indeed during our walking tour of the town when our guide, Javier, continuously referred to Volcán Villarrica we had difficulty believing it existed at all, as he pointed into a cloudy, bleak landscape. We cheered up the wet evening with a visit to 'Beanies and Bikinis', a bar which is not as dodgy as it sounds...!

Fortunately, the next day the clouds had parted slightly and we intermittently caught glimpses of the volcano. However, climbing conditions were still sub-optimal so we opted for a day trek in the nature sanctuary El Cañi. The most striking feature within this ancient Araucaria forest was the odd-looking monkey-puzzle tree. We ascended a very steep 9km trail, passing by tranquil lakes, before arriving at the summit for great views across the region. On reflection, we were pleased to have spent the day in this remote, calm environment rather than joining the hoards in-line to climb Volcán Villarrica. We had the forest to ourselves and it was beautiful.

Onward bus to Valdivia, 3hrs.