It was a chilly night in Puerto Fuy but with warm blankets on the bed we were fine. We had arranged to have breakfast in the restaurant at 9am, it was simple bread, eggs and jam but sufficient to get us on the road. We paid the bill, only CLP 56,000 (about $100) for all four of us and that included accommodation in the cabin, dinner with a bottle of wine and breakfast... not a bad deal.

We drove down a gravel road instead of taking the longer asphalt road to Coñaripe. We had some exceptionally nice views of the lakes and Volcan Villarrica. We didn't bother stopping, we wanted to get to the hot springs at Termas Geometricas which was a further 17km on a more hilly and windy gravel road. We had stunning views of the river and snow covered volcano and mountains as we drove further into the hills. At one point we came across dozens of goats walking up the road, they weren't too bothered about getting out the way even after honking the horn.

We arrived at Termas Geometricas just before 12pm and managed to get our entry fee at the cheaper rate of CLP 20,000 (about $40) instead of CLP 24,000. Whilst this was quite an expensive price to pay, it was actually worth every penny. The resort stretches back 450m up a chasm and there are over 20 pools of varying temperatures. We were given towels and lockers and the entire resort is kept in immaculate condition.

After changing into our togs, we walked the 450m to the end of the chasm, taking photographs on the way, before ending up in front of a powerful waterfall. As we walked up the red boardwalks we passed through the steam rising from the pools, the walls were covered in ferns and there was lots of greenery around. The water in the river, coming from the waterfall, running through the middle was freezing cold. All the pools were made of flat stone, maybe volcanic rock with steps and seats built in - it was a very thoughtfully designed place.

We decided to work our way back through every pool. It was a bliss, some were over 40c, some just under that, some in the sun and others in the shade. There was a cold water pool half way down that had a natural waterfall going into it - it was only 6c but we still went in.

It took about 2.5 hours to leisurely make our way through all the pools and as much as we would like to have stayed longer we had to hit the road to return the hire car on time.

We did make time to check out the two beaches in Lican Ray, Playa Chica and Playa Grande. The lake looked stunning too, perfectly calm with the sun glinting off it. We were hungry after the hot pools so we grabbed an empanada from the bakery and ate it at the plaza. David also treated himself to a biscuit which turned out to be two big rounds of shortbread, sandwiched together with dulce de leche before being totally submerged in white chocolate - indulgent to say the least.

The drive back through Villarrica and on to Pucon was relatively uneventful with a view of another twin peak volcano in the distance, perhaps Volcan Llaima.

We arrived back at Pucon Rent a Car well on time, just after 5pm and returned the car with no problems. We checked back in at Hostel La Nuez, and got the same room, "Rauli", again. There were 3 girls staying so we didn't have the house to ourselves but it was big enough not to feel crowded.

We walked into town to Patagonia Exprience's office to pay for David's volcano tour tomorrow and then to try out the equipment. The equipment included everything necessary: boots, pants, jacket, crampons, gators, gloves, backpack, helmet and ice axe. We were told it was going to be pretty warm on the volcano so a thermal layer and fleece would be fine with their jacket and pants.

We took a walk down to the lake to see the sunset. The lake turned gold and the sky turned pink. Even the volcano turned pink for a short while.

We picked up some food at the supermarket to cook at the hostel, it seemed a waste not to use the huge kitchen. It had been a while since we last cooked, maybe Honduras in June, but Maria managed to knock up a half decent pasta.