parque huerquehue near pucon is really beautiful. i went on a four hour hike which climbed up a bit over a kilometer in altitude to some lakes and waterfalls. it got a little tricky further up, since there was still snow/ice on the trail. on the way down, i met one girl stuck in one spot for 5 minutes (granted, she was from vina del mar, which is kinda like the 90210 of chile).

from there, i drove to valdivia, which lonely planet describes as the ‘hippest urban living in southern chile’. it kinda felt like cape cod, which is ok, but certainly not hip.