Day 22: Hacienda Vira Vira
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| The star of the morning show |
Weather: Cold at 8am, high 40s, increasing throughout the day
to the mid-70s; clear
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| The volcano in sunrise glow |
Quotes of
the Day: Do helicopter pilots really wear their
jump suits to breakfast?
Department of alt-answers to the Pictorial Pop Quiz: for those of you that answered "compass" give yourself 1.5 times (or is it 2.5 times?) DJT credits:
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| Angie hasn't had much luck getting this device to work (and she thinks only Macarena among the guides has the magic touch) |
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| THB got his compass/binocs/magnifying glass/telescope for $7 at REI...and it does way more than this cafe' device |
The breakfast pastry display is beyond even
Arizmendi Lakeshore. The pastry chef comes out to take a picture of her
handiwork and THB gets a pic of her, and a pic of the helicopter pilot who is
also admiring her work.
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| THB got this shot in the early evening |
The pilot tells me that there is an outing today to
tour the volcano and then hot springs that are 2.5 hours by car each way, so
the helicopter is the way to go. Room for three…is THB tempted? Nope
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| Angie (short for Angela) |
Our guide for today, Angie, is right on time at 9:15
and the kayaks are loaded in the truck. Off we go for a big doubleheader: kayak
across a lake, take a hike to two different waterfalls and back to the lake,
kayak back to the truck, a picnic lunch, and back to the Hacienda. Wait, maybe this is a triple-double!
Amazingly, THB keeps up! So, maybe that necrotizing
myositis is now in the rear view mirror. There was one uphill on the hike that
seemed very challenging, otherwise it was pretty much business as usual. The
kayak in the morning on a crystal clear, smooth lake was very easy. The kayak
back around 2pm was into a gentle breeze (the wind was only on the lake, the
trees around the lake weren’t moving) and we conquered that.
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| As always, the picnic tastes a lot better after the hike |
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| The guy next to us? He's having porridge... |
A quick dip in the cold lake water, then Angie has
set out a very nice (and way too much food) picnic from the Hacienda and we
proceeded to chat away about her life, life in Chile, life in America, etc. She
lived in Canada for a year and a half, and is committed to turismo, as her
partner; they have been together for 6 years, he leads mountain trips.
Back at a bit after 5pm, feeling the sun and the
exercise. THB has a local brewski and some pistachios. A rest up, and off to
pre-dinner drinks.
G&T for THB, pisco sour done the traditional
way for DB, olives, cashews and cheese to accompany us on the outside deck:
lovely!
Dinner same-same but different: DB subs out the main
course of beef done confit style with small ravioli served in a rich parmesan
sauce; good move on her part, the beef is
even richer than the ravioli and THB only eats half the beef.
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| Lemon pie |
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| A sub from off the menu: chocolate! |
More pics (or maybe just repeats of above) from the day's excursion:
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| Reflection on the water...the lake was very pretty and just the right length: about an hour on the outbound when we took our time, and half that (even into the breeze) when we were eager to get the kayaks back in the barn and to enjoy the dip and picnic |
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| Similar to Japan: take a pole at beginning, return at the end |
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| the falls are full because of all the recent rain and snow, another side benefit of THB's weak thighs was pushing us into better weather and scenery for today's outing |
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| Fully grown |
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| The infant version |
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| THB thinks this tree is not red, the marker sign is covered in moss |
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| This is how THB knows it is 1/4 mile down to the Cascada and at least twice that to get back to this sign |
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