March 6, 2014 - Thurs. Pucon to Huilo Huilo, Chile

MARCH 6, 2014 - THURSDAY

BOTTOM LINE:
Drive from Pucon to Huilo Huilo, Chile

BACK STORY:
Today we parted from Pucon driving around volcanic mountains and up to Huilo Huilo (pronounced We-low We-low).  It was a rainy day, but the weather didn't dampen our spirits for exploring a new area.  We had grown weary of Pucon and were ready for a change.  Although we were thankful for a nice place to stay, it was dark and a bit dreary.

Our drive was to take about two hours or so the remarks were made by our travel agent.  It took us five hours do to the road conditions...some construction but mostly gravel roads.  We were thankful that we wouldn't have to travel back on the roads. We were scheduled to catch a ferry that would take us across a lake and reduce our road time by half.

lake views

We traveled through the towns of Villarica and Lican Ray which were reputed to be the fly fishing capital of this region of Patagonia...There seems to be a fixed price for guided fishing trips...$300 for half day or $450 for the whole day!  I could sure buy a lot of fish for that! I know, it's the experience!

Lican Ray was a town that tourists and car drivers should be warned about! Vehicle parking fines are taken very seriously. Within two blocks we saw four meter maids anxiously checking for expired tags in the wind shields of cars.  We chose to drive on through the town and not stop.

Our destination was somewhat of a mystery.  We weren't certain of anything other than it was one of two hotels within the Patagonian Biological Reserve.  We found it deep in the heart of a very moist rain forest.

Our hotel was the Montana Majica Lodge who's architectural design was like a volcano.  The lodge was covered in moss, vines and ferns and was moistened by water that pours from the tip top like an eruption.  The lodge stretches skyward into the surrounding canopy.

our volcano shaped resort

We walked into the reception area and knew that we were in a very special and unique place.  The floors banked to accommodate a stream in the floor that was covered by glass and eventually cascaded over a broad piece of glass creating a waterfall within the lodge.  Huge glass windows created the walls bringing all forms of outside life inward.

There were fireplaces, conversation pits, reading nooks and areas where people could quietly sit, relax and enjoy nature.  Although this was a high end facility the guests were very earthy wearing hiking boots, zip off pants, Tilley hats and carried walking sticks.

one of many cocktail bars

hallway with glass waterway

one of many sitting areas

conversation area

inner waterfall

inner staircase

stairs

Within the lodge was a spa, mineral pool, outside pool, two restaurants, excursion desk, and a gift shop. Because of the remote location everything was available that a person might need.


After checking in we were confirmed to have  room in the volcano!  We decided to go check out the room and to access the luggage toting situation.  With room #5 we were hopeful that it wouldn't be too close to the top of the staircase.  We were right.

So, imagine a cone shaped building with a spiral staircase that was in the middle.  Now imagine that each bend in the staircase led to a door to a guest room.  Opening the door we found a sizable room with a closet and private bath.  The exterior walls all slanted inward from the floor to the ceiling.  The window sills were about one foot thick and the glass opened out for fresh air.  We actually felt like we were in a tree house with the exterior of the building looking like a life sized Wally Pocket.  It was very cool!

Once settled into the room we headed out the the little village of Puerto Fuy to check on making ferry reservations for Saturday.  The crossing would put us one hour from our next destination of San Martin, Argentina. Our second time share trade was in San Martin.

last ferry

When we showed up to the ferry office a woman rattled off something in Spanish and quickly switched to a translation program on her computer.  As she typed in Spanish, Bruce and I read, "The ferry has discontinued service for one month due to yearly maintenance!"  The ferry that we saw arriving into port was the LAST one for a month!!!  Go figure...our luck.  We were left with only one option: drive back to Pucon on the same gravel roads, head east up over the Andes, through a mountain pass and border crossing.  Instead of a one hour ferry ride, we were looking at seven!  Oh well, an adventure awaits!

Dinner was very relaxing and gourmet in our unique hotel.

dining room

With a cabin feel, we snuggled in and had one of our best nights sleep.

bedroom