BOTTOM LINE:
Picon, Chile
NOTEWORTHY:
We have seen a lot of waterfalls but the setting for "Ojos" was one of the most spectacular we have seen. 5 different falls plunge into a circular pool of crystal clear water with a profusion of blooming wild red fuchsias streaming from the sides of the rock walls.
BACK STORY:
Thankfully breakfast came with our room. Once fed and packed up we were off to the east of town to hike to the Salto (waterfall) Carileufu and see the Ojos del Caburgua.
The roads were passable and wound back into a rural community of little farms and very primitive houses. There is no such thing as financing a house. You make changes as you can afford to pay for them. Each farm seemed to be fully sustainable with animals, gardens, water and some with electricity. Each plot of land had an abundance of wood piled every which way. Hot water is fueled by fire which needs to be fed 24/7.
The entrance road to the water falls became private and an entrance fee was required by the landowner. We have begun to realize that many natural formations and sights in Chile and Argentina are only accessible through private property. They are also maintained by the landowners. We aren't quite sure if the government ever steps into inspect the safety of the sights as we have repeatedly found the conditions of trails to be very primitive with tree roots, fallen timbers and lack of any kind of safety barrier on cliffs. People seemed to freely climb over wet, mossy rocks above high waterfalls not considering any danger.
We parked our car in an open field and began our trek. Thankfully once again, I had my walking stick! The trails were narrow, very steep and filled with roots and things to trip on. With all that said, the falls were magnificent! We continue to be amazed at the beauty behind the risk. We were also amazed at the volume of water pounding over the jagged rocks so late in the summer season.
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| steep trail filled with roots |
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| Salto (waterfall) |
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| River below waterfall |
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| Wild fushia along river |
As we walked along the rim I spotted a teen group trying to walk across wet rocks at the head of a waterfall. A girl was freaking out at the challenge of her friends. I quietly made the comment, "no way, Jose!" A woman next to me said, "me either" in English. It turned out that she and her mother were on a three week trip together from Vancouver, BC. We delighted in a lengthy conversation as all four of us were starving for an exchange of complete understanding! Often our conversations with locals are fragments of Spanglish...somehow coming to a mutual understanding but most of the time without complete satisfaction. We hated to leave them, but needed to continue our journey.
Before heading to the car we spotted a much needed Bano (bathroom). Not to our surprise their was a little old woman collecting a charge and passing out wads of toilet paper. Bless her heart! She had an important job for the family run business. The tiny dark, wooden stall was spotless and I thanked her as I vacated.
The next point of interest was up the road to Lago Caburgua (lake) to take a glimpse of the Playa Blanca (white beach). The mountain lake was beautiful even with the wind and white caps that were kicking up. Again, we found that the entrance to Playa Blanca was private. After Bruce negotiated with the young man the understanding that if we got down to the beach and didn't want to eat at the family restaurant, we would immediately exit and he would refund our money. We drove down a very steep lane, saw the restaurant and exited! He gave us back our entry/parking fee and we left.
We decided to call it a day and made our way back to Pucon for an early dinner before returning to our hotel.
It was a full and blessed day!
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