Most small towns next to a lake with some pretty mountains behind would make a lovely scenic place to stay however Pucón managed to make its surrounding hills look a bit pathetic when it has a huge, snow-covered volcano dominating it - Volcan Villarrica. I (Katy) forgave the bus attendant for waking me up by drawing the curtains, when I squinted in the bright light and saw this immense sight before me.

We arrived into the bus station around 7.30am and walked through the quiet streets to our hostel, right on the lake front with a really beautiful view. The hostel was pretty nice with a lovely big kitchen in the garden, lots of outdoor seating and a huge puppy. We got a good introduction to the area and the activities on offer from the hostel then had to amuse ourselves until early afternoon when our room was ready. By the time we headed back into town, the streets had begun to fill up and by lunchtime they were really crowded with Chileans on holiday, walking slower than snails. We completed a few jobs including a supermarket shop and booking our tour up the volcano. That's right, I'd signed myself up to climb a huge 2847m snowy volcano- crazy? Yes I think so!

Later that afternoon we went to try on all our kit for the impending climb then spent the evening cooking, drinking wine in the front garden and going for a small walk along the waterfront to watch the colourful sunset, with the volcano looking on.

At 6.30am the next day, we arrived at the tour office to find Charlotte and Noemie, two French girls we met in Bolivia. Unfortunately the staff was not so optimistic about the weather and our chances of making it up to the summit as it was very cloudy, but we got our gear together anyway to drive to the car park at the base of the walk. Once at the car park, we were through the first layer of clouds but there were still some covering the top. The guides spoke to us with their guess that we had less then a 50% chance of making it and gave us the choice to go back (and we'd only pay the cost of the transport) or to give it a go to see how far we could get. We took a while to decide; in part due to the expense as however far we made it, we'd have to pay the full amount. In the end most people decided to take the risk and go for it so we all headed with the masses to the (optional) chairlift to get up the first bit quickly before the weather closed in. Even if we'd had all the time in the world I'm glad we took the chairlift as the alternative walk was gravelly and boring. We donned our helmets (ours was the only group out of about 20 who had our names written on the front of our helmets- maybe for easy identification if you fall off the top?)

Once we got off the chairlift at 1800m, the walk began. The start was really hard as I was getting used to carrying the backpack which I estimate to have been around 8kg and the stiff boots we were given to wear. We quickly got a bit behind the rest of the group and ended up with our own guide, Francisco, for the rest of the trip up as the rest went ahead.

Readers of a nervous disposition, you know who you are (Geraldine, Grandma) may want to skip through this next paragraph or two although clearly we made it back alive so all good! Not long into the walk, we started walking on snow. For the most part it was really steep and the switchback route we took involved walking in the footprints that were already there so as to avoid slipping down the steep mountain. It was quite terrifying but exhilarating at the same time. At the start we were given instructions on how to dig the ice axe into the snow should we fall and slide- scary stuff! Luckily we didn't see anyone need to do this and there were a lot of people climbing the volcano that day. We made slow but steady progress with a few food breaks. I had begun to get used to my backpack and kept on, keeping up with Francisco. Simon was a bit more cautious with getting his feet in the right place so lagged behind a bit. However the last half an hour was the toughest for me as I suddenly became really tired, we had extra gear on that restricted my movement and it was really steep, however Simon had more stamina so was fine. But we eventually made it! The view from the top was stupendous and the feeling of achievement was amazing. We flopped down with the rest of our group for some more food then went to walk the last little bit to the crater's edge. Unfortunately I didn't make it all the way as the fumes were stifling, making me cough and my eyes stream but Simon toughed it out for a photo with his ice axe.

Once we'd recovered a little bit from our exertions, we got prepared for going down: we were doing it on our bums! We put on what was akin to a large nappy, to protect against the wetness of the snow, some gloves and had our plastic bum boards attached to us. A short walk away from the top were some carved out chutes that would make going down the volcano so much easier and much much faster than going up it. As going downhill really fast is not one of my strong points, I took it slow to start with but ended up with some idiot pushing me down (he'd insisted on going last). After I screamed at him he stopped but not long after I was pushed again. After some more frantic shouting, I discovered it was the guide! He then helped me down the next bit and after that I was fine, if still one of the slowest. At some points on the slide down we got stuck and had to push ourselves forward, making us think that perhaps the ascent hadn't been as slippy/dangerous as we had thought. It was really fun sliding down the chutes on a piece of plastic so I was a bit sad when the snow ran out and we reached the rocks.

We then had to take off lots of the gear to walk down the last dusty gravel path to the car park. As it was so dusty, we got dirt stuck to our faces so apparently I resembled a miner when we reached the bottom (luckily no photographic evidence exists). But we had made it: up and down! The bus ride back into town was a quiet one as everyone's energy sources were depleted.

Back at the hostel we ran into Raphael who we'd last seen in San Pedro. It turned out he'd also climbed the volcano that day! As he also knew the French girls, he came out to meet them with us that evening, along with a British guy he was travelling with. We met to go for burgers so were disappointed when our chosen, and recommended, restaurant was full. After aimlessly wandering for a bit, we spotted another place advertising burgers and beer: perfecto! We all ordered huge burgers, all starving after the day, and silence descended at the table. As I still wasn't really full later when we left the restaurant, I managed to pack away the majority of an ice cream too on the walk home. At the end of an incredible day, we fell into bed, exhausted and aching but happy.

As we only had one more day in Pucón we wanted to get out and explore some more so headed out on the 8.30am bus to Huerquehue national park for some more hiking! This wasn't quite so hardcore and I was glad to be wearing my more comfortable shoes but it still wasn't an easy walk as half of it was up steep slopes. My calves were not thanking me. But it was a pretty walk through the trees, past a large lake and up to three smaller ones and we set off early enough that the way up was very quiet. We had decided to get the 2pm bus back as the next one wasn't till 5 and I didn't really want to be out all day but this meant we were powering our way round to get back in time. Simon had read on the park entrance map that the walk was about 3.5 hours but on return, this turned out to be one way! Still we made it back on time, passing many more people who'd arrived later.

Later that afternoon we took a trip to the supermarket for dinner supplies and picked up some Patak's Tikka Masala sauce from the international shelf. It was expensive but the curry we made from it was one of the best I've ever had after another day of walking and a curry drought of eight months. With a happy tummy, Simon managed to drag me on a short walk to see the other lake bordering the town then back to watch the sunset again. But I couldn't take my eyes off the volcano as I still couldn't quite believe we'd actually climbed it! It's definitely up there as one of the hardest and most challenging things I've ever done.

Katy