We are met at the bus station by one of the ladies who run the hostal and taken to our spacious room. With a map placed in front of her she scribbles away pointing out various places of interest in the town chatting away in Spanish at ten to the dozen.

Known as a world class destination for adrenalin junkies (like us totally awesome dudes), Pucon is a small picturesque town surrounded by the Andes. It is set on Lago Villaricca and the snow-capped volcano of the same name can be seen gently puffing away a short distance from the town. It looks stunning today with the backdrop of a perfect deep blue sky.

The area around the lake is beautiful and looking across the boats in the harbour at the houses built on the hill we could be anywhere in the Meditteranean. The beach here has the usual black sand (ie black ash) but with perfect weather again we sit on the beach a while soaking up the sun.

We take a bus to the Lago Carburgua where there is one beach covered in black sand and the other in white (ish!) sand. There are a few families having picnics and swimming as we walk on to try and get around the headland. There are a couple of streams to cross and Steve gets the camera ready for Suzanne's inevitable fall into the water, however, much to her amusement it is he who ends up on all fours sinking into the wet sand. Unfortunately Suzanne didn't have the camera ready! We decide not to catch the bus and walk to the waterfalls that appear to be close by, however, it's an hour or so of walking by the side of the road until we reach there. Concerned we would miss the last bus we catch the next one and head back to town.

We leave early to get out to Parque Nacional Huerquehue to hike the 14km Los Lagos Trail. It's a misty morning and visibility isn't so good but by the time the bus reaches up to the head of the trail the sky is beautifully clear. A park ranger shows us a map and points us in the right direction for the hike. We can't take a paper map with us so we take a photo of it - good thinking Steve! The trail heads up through lush forest shading us from the sun. The trail is well marked and maintained with wooden bridges over the streams and steps with a wooden hand rail on some of the tougher parts. We go off-piste slightly to see a small waterfall but as it hasn't rained for a long time here it's not such a major one - still beautiful though. We had read in the Lonely Planet that in the autumn tarantula sized spiders can be found here and we are constantly on the look out. Admittedly, we are not taking everything our 'bible' is telling us as the truth as it's let us down on so many occasions. It is a tough walk that rises continually and we need a few pit stops along the way. It's also a chance to look back onto the Volcan Villarrica volcano and lake and also the valley below still covered in mist. When we eventually reach the first lake about three hours later it is a beautiful sight. It's so tranquil and there is hardly anyone around. We check the camera for the map and realise that we only have half of it on the photo (of course the half we don't need). Well done Suz!

We have our picnic sitting on a huge fallen tree and take in the beauty of our surroundings. We continue on to two more lakes hoping we are going in the right direction and wishng we had brought our swimming cossies as the day is getting warmer. The lakes are so clear and stunning and the air feels so clear. We believe we are at 1380 metres above sea level and when we start our descent we can really feel it on our thighs and knees, however, on the plus side it's a lot quicker than going up. There is a final bus that leaves at 5.30 and its a shame the only small cafe/bar we see is closed. We've seen the lago's, now let's see the lagers!

We have booked a white water rafting tour and having never done it before our minds are going between excitement and panic all morning in apprehension for the trip. The rapids are graded as grade 3/4 level, with grade 4 being the one before professional level. We are also told that we have to jump off a rock into the water below but are told not to worry as we don't have to do it if we don't want to. Although we can both swim we are not particularly strong swimmers, but hey that doesn't matter either - you don't even have to know how to swim at all! Once we have paid for the trip the smiling girl taking our money tells us she has 'flip-flopped' (turned all the way over) in the boat each of the three times she's been out. Great!

A mix of German, Polish and Brazilian are in our group and we find that no one else has done this before, however, once we are togged up in wet suit, boots, crash helmet and life jackets we begin to feel a little more at ease. The safety briefing is thorough and easy to follow (at least on dry land it is!) Armed with our paddles we jump into the rubber dingy for our adventure. We are given more instructions about what to do in a man overboard situation and we are seated in position on the boat according to our size.

We start on the river where it is flowing fairly gently but are soon into some rapids and without a lot of rain recently there are many rocks sticking visibly out of the water. We are told that less water makes the trip more technically challenging. Our team works well though and navigate through with much ease. Not so easy with the next one and there is a fair drop that means the whole boat is swamped in freezing water. We all stay on and some of us are shreiking and laughing at the fun of it. There are seven rapids in total and the boat doesn't flip flop and we have only a couple of man overboard situations. The scariest part was half way through where there is a grade six rapid that even the professionals won't take on. We have to get out of the boat and clamber up and over rocks and duck under branches. Here we realise is where we have to jump in. It's about a six metre drop into the freezing, swirling river and we don't actually have any choice as we were previously told and in reality it looks like if you couldn't swim you might actually die! Still, at least they got their sale. After a little deliberation we jumped in and it was cold - and deep. After a bit of a struggle swimming to the side, once there, we had another challenge in climbing out of the water onto the mossy slippery rocks. Exhausted we climbed again for a short way before getting back into the boat and taking on the last two rapids. It was a lot of fun and good to feel the adrenalin rush. Unfortunately the good mood started dissipate quite quickly when we could see the minibus with it's hood up. We were told that we would be back no later than 6.45pm which worked for us as our over-night bus to Santiago was due to leave at 8.10pm. The guides were being very laid back and were certainly not in a hurry. Eventually another bus was sent for us and with a quick turn-around time back at the hostel we made it in time for our bus. We are on the top deck and the Super Primio seats really do recline all the way back to flat beds. With a blanket and a pillow, wine, beer and picnic we settle down for our 10.5 hour journey.