Whilst in Pucon, we went on a guided climb to the top of Villarrica, one of Chile's most active volcanoes. This perfectly-shaped volcano (just how we used to draw them at school) looms over the town and despite erupting every 10 years or so, life goes on as normal for the local Chileans.
The climb to the top is amazing. First, a minibus takes the group and our guides up a gravel road to a chairlift in darkness. As the sun starts to rise, you take a chairlift up to the snow-line, as the Andean mountains turn shades of pink and blue all around the horizon.
You make your way up the glacier, with crampons and ice-axe, as the slope gets steeper and the sun gets higher. At the top, you stand on the edge of the massive crater, peering down into the depths, whilst toxic sulphurous gases waft out. The view in every direction is amazing - the crater, the mountains, other volcanoes, lakes, forest and the town far below.
To top it off, you don't walk down, you slide down the snow, using your ice axe to break before you reach the rocks. What an awesome day out, smiling so much our faces ache!
