Sunday, November 30, 2003
On the Road, Jack Kerouac. Load of cobblers. We arrived at our surfers paradise last night and it was surprisingly very similar to Westward Ho! Felt right at home. It was cool and overcast but beautiful and the sand was black. We stayed in a very cute hotel with cosy blankets and yellow bed covers. There were a million restaurants with no one in them. We were too scared to be the first so we bought pizza, empanadas and cake and ate them with orange juice outside our room.
The next day we set off early to get to Pucon 400 K as the crow flies - the extrreme sport capital of Chile. However this meant going down the Panamerican Highway, thousands of km of 4 lane tarmac. Great, but we have a 4x4 and I wanted to use it. We read about a place called "The Seven Cups" a place where a waterfall had carved seven perfect pools out of the rock face and was only reachable by a 55Km dirt road. After getting a little lost we found the way and headed off asking every hat wearing Goucho if this was the correct way. They just kept waving up the mountain. The road was great fun to drive and after about an hour bumping and grinding we arrived. What an adventure......only to be greated by a bus load of school kids. How did they get here in that bus? This was supposed to be extreme! I felt a little deflated. But hey the waterfalls did not disappoint.
So after a little picnic we headed back down the road. I was feeling more confident behind the wheel, stuck it in 4x4 and hammered it. It took about 40 mins to get back to the tarmac. Brilliant. As we hit the paved road again we stopped to get a map from the boot. Nomes got out and related that we had a flat tyre. By the looks of it we had been driving on it for about 10 mins. Donīt panic, now where did the Hertz guy say the spare was? Now were you one of those kids who did Airfix models without looking at the instructions, got glue all over the place and realised in the end you had forgotten to put the pilot in before sticking down the cockpit? Well I was. I put the jack in the wrong place. It went high enough to get the tyre off but not high enough to put the fully inflated one on. I couldnīt then get the old one back on either. Rats. Now have you seen "Ice Cold in Alex?" Great movie. There is this bit where they lower the ambulance down onto some rocks to change the flat (which then collapses on the German spy) So we did that. Hey it worked with no undercover incidents! Got the jack out then put it in the right place and did it all properly. I was then just tightening the nuts when the car came off the jack and somehow the end got jammed in the suspension. Finally got it out by driving up a pile of stones. I am a spanner, serves me right. Just kept thinking of that sketch in the Fast Show where they those two idiots are all talk then yell, "Letīs off road!" only to get stuck 3 feet later. Naomi was fantastic she stayed very calm as I flustered about.
We decided it would be a good idea to get the spare fxed which we did, finding a lovely guy with some glue and a bit of old bike tyre. Cost a pound. We are running a bit late, it was 5pm and we have 450km to drive to our next stop. So we did. We arrived at 9.30pm and checked in to great hostel and had veggie food. We have just signed up to climb a volcano tomorrow (you have to wear crampons and a gas mask) and this avo Iīm going white water rafting. Nomes isnīt. So we have to finish up here so we can go for a bit of trek and get some exercise.
Thanks for all the comments
The next day we set off early to get to Pucon 400 K as the crow flies - the extrreme sport capital of Chile. However this meant going down the Panamerican Highway, thousands of km of 4 lane tarmac. Great, but we have a 4x4 and I wanted to use it. We read about a place called "The Seven Cups" a place where a waterfall had carved seven perfect pools out of the rock face and was only reachable by a 55Km dirt road. After getting a little lost we found the way and headed off asking every hat wearing Goucho if this was the correct way. They just kept waving up the mountain. The road was great fun to drive and after about an hour bumping and grinding we arrived. What an adventure......only to be greated by a bus load of school kids. How did they get here in that bus? This was supposed to be extreme! I felt a little deflated. But hey the waterfalls did not disappoint.
So after a little picnic we headed back down the road. I was feeling more confident behind the wheel, stuck it in 4x4 and hammered it. It took about 40 mins to get back to the tarmac. Brilliant. As we hit the paved road again we stopped to get a map from the boot. Nomes got out and related that we had a flat tyre. By the looks of it we had been driving on it for about 10 mins. Donīt panic, now where did the Hertz guy say the spare was? Now were you one of those kids who did Airfix models without looking at the instructions, got glue all over the place and realised in the end you had forgotten to put the pilot in before sticking down the cockpit? Well I was. I put the jack in the wrong place. It went high enough to get the tyre off but not high enough to put the fully inflated one on. I couldnīt then get the old one back on either. Rats. Now have you seen "Ice Cold in Alex?" Great movie. There is this bit where they lower the ambulance down onto some rocks to change the flat (which then collapses on the German spy) So we did that. Hey it worked with no undercover incidents! Got the jack out then put it in the right place and did it all properly. I was then just tightening the nuts when the car came off the jack and somehow the end got jammed in the suspension. Finally got it out by driving up a pile of stones. I am a spanner, serves me right. Just kept thinking of that sketch in the Fast Show where they those two idiots are all talk then yell, "Letīs off road!" only to get stuck 3 feet later. Naomi was fantastic she stayed very calm as I flustered about.
We decided it would be a good idea to get the spare fxed which we did, finding a lovely guy with some glue and a bit of old bike tyre. Cost a pound. We are running a bit late, it was 5pm and we have 450km to drive to our next stop. So we did. We arrived at 9.30pm and checked in to great hostel and had veggie food. We have just signed up to climb a volcano tomorrow (you have to wear crampons and a gas mask) and this avo Iīm going white water rafting. Nomes isnīt. So we have to finish up here so we can go for a bit of trek and get some exercise.
Thanks for all the comments
