The cabana is very quiet. A few people pass by on their way to the lodge building but in the main, it's very private. Joan woke up to find it raining – not hard rain, but nuisance rain.

You can take breakfast here in the main building where they proclaim, we serve black coffee, which we took to mean they serve real coffee and not the powdered Nescafe which is common place. We preferred a take away breakfast which we could eat in the privacy of our cabana. The main house doesn’t open up till 9 and still Kevin and another woman had to wait. Kevin asked for a 2 person breakfast and vegetarian. However it was no surprise to open up our cheese box to find some ham slipped in! Breakfast consists of granola, satsumas, bread, butter, cheese (and ham), jam as well as individual tea bags, Nescafe powder and sugar. There was also a very generous 1 litre carton of milk. It all comes neatly apportioned in a big Tupperware-style box. For some reason, when we are in South America or Spain, we supplement the meal with tomatoes and avocados, though we would never do this at home.

As it was raining we decided to visit the Termas de Puyehue which lies some 15 km away. It is a grand hotel, clearly visible from the road. As we drove up to its gateway, the guard asked us if this was the spa we wanted. It was a very regal place, with neatly clipped gardens but virtually no one about though it must have at least a hundred bedrooms. In the gleaming atrium, we asked to visit the pools. It was explained that this came as a package, including lunch, afternoon tea (Onces), a free bar and use of all the hotels facilities. Initially the chap on reception gave us the price in US Dollars but we asked for the price in Pesos. It was seventy pounds….each! This makes it more like the spa days out one can purchase at home at Aqua Sana or Ragdale Hall, which we weren’t looking for. The chap did advise us that there was another spa at Aguas Calientes four kilometres away which offered different packages. We already knew this but thanked him nonetheless.

Our best guide book, the Rough Guide, is 9 years old and clearly thing have changed since one could spend the equivalent of £6 to visit their outdoor pools.

Up at Agua Calientes, there is a small resort complex that seems to be owned by the same company. There is an indoor pool which is £12 per day to use and an outdoor one by the river which is fed by the hot springs. This was £4. It was a simple concrete pool, unlike some of the more aesthetic ones such as Termas Geometricas or Termas Puritama. It’s about 40 Degrees Celcius so quite warm to step in to.

In the guide books and from the lodge we are staying at, we have been told about a free outdoor pool on the other side of the river, crossing a bridge. But the area seems to have been thoroughly developed now and access across the bridge to a new looking picnic area came at an excessive cost – about £8.50 – and it wasn’t clear even then if you could still access the old pool which we had been told, most people dug out with their hands or took a shovel.

The pool was uncrowded and a guard stopped any tomfoolery immediately, though he was very welcoming to us. As it was raining, there was the curious contradiction of the hot water and the cold raindrops at the same time.

We stayed a couple of hours, getting out every 15 minutes or so as the heat can make you dizzy. It seems we came just before the rush as crowds turned up around 2. We then took a drive up to the ski-resort of Antillanca, on Vn Casablanca’s scopes. The road was very narrow and untarmaced. In the winter, a one way system is operated. On the way there are several marked Miradors or viewpoints. The first was the Laguna de Espeje – the mirage lagoon. It was a private lake with fishing piers. As Joan got out she heard a splashing in the water, but could see nothing. On the pond, in front of us, was a large patch of beautiful water lilies. As we looked another couple jumped out of their car, took lots of photos and then speeded off. We waited. Occasionally you could see or hear a splash across the lake, but in general it was just dragonflies buzzing over the lilies. Then the lilies stared moving. It was difficult to see what was causing the movement but we both caught a glimpse of something arched, long, thin and black, like the hump of the Loch Ness monster. Though we waited longer there was no more movement. We drove further up the hill to outlooks of other lakes and waterfalls in the dstance. There were occasional rickety bridges over fast flowing streams. The ski-resort itself was shut and there wasn’t much to see. You can pay an extra £10 and drive up to the crater of Vn Casablanca but as the volcano was shrouded in deep cloud, we didn’t think it a good idea.

Back on the way down, we stopped off at the Laguna de Espeje again but still there was nothing. Kevin thought about moving on, but Joan said one more minute. Almost immediately to our right a small creature moved into the lilies and then stayed completely still. It was a beaver and even allowed itself to be filmed before disappearing once more.

Back down on the main highway we drove to the nearest store in Entrelagos, some 30 km from the Termas and 45 km from where we are staying. Entrelagos is built on the side of Lago Puyehue, and tens of cabanas tout for trade along the wayside. Once in town there didn’t seem to be many stores, nevermind a decent supermarket. There were several mini-markets, selling fruit and veg in several states of decay as well as random products. The common theme seems to be lots of bags of ketchup and mayonnaise and aisles of rice and pasta. We’ve had quite a bit of pasta since we have arrived so we opted for a cheese pizza and bought extra veg and cheese to tart it up and a few potatoes and other veg to make a Shepherdless pie tomorrow.

Back at the cababas we tried to use the WiFi in the lodge but it is not

fast enough to do anything. Christian, the young man who has looked after us since we arrived, told us that we could go horse trekking on the mountain tomorrow afternoon with El Caulle trekking. This was one of the main reasons we chose to stay here. He then produced several sheets of papers in legalistic Spanish which we had to read and fill in. What became clear was these sheets were designed to absolve the trekking company of any responsibility for our safety if we went with them. Though they are a big company, they do not have any insurance. Rather than fill them in, we took them away to read more slowly and one of the forms asked you to confirm that you had health cover and insurance to do trekking. Joan dug out our insurance policy in which there were long lists of activities excluded. It seems you can ride a donkey but not a horse, for which you need to buy additional cover.

Joan went back and Christian said not to worry, nothing ever happened and anyway his company had insurance and told some cock-and-bull story about how he was hospitalised after being bitten and he had been fully covered, despite the fact that he didn’t think he would be. No additional information about this alleged policy followed. Admittedly probably nothing would happen to us, but the consequences of even say a small sprain or breakage would mean we would have to pay all the medical costs ourselves. Health and safety here is also not what it is at home. And one thing we have discovered on our travels in South America is that everyone says it will be all right, until something goes wrong, and then you find yourself completely alone and a long way from home. . Joan also remembered a story on BBC Radio Derby about someone who had had an accident in Europe whilst doing some local activity and who hadn’t had insurance. He relied on fundraising by friends and family to sort out all his costs.

Independent travelling gives you freedom but it also means you have to take responsibility for your selves and your decisions. It was too much of a risk to take so we cancelled with good grace and a heavy heart. We had both been so keen on horseriding on Vn Puyehue’s slopes. We made a mental note to next time, take out extra cover for horseriding.

Dinner was the tarted up pizza with a few chips and onion rings and a glass of wine.