Chilean Holiday: Pucón Weekend – Pt. 1

Chilean Holiday: Pucón Weekend – Day 1: Valdivia – Pucón

I was going a little crazy after being in bed for over a week due to my road rash. I planned a trip the whole time I was at home and the day finally came.

Friday started with me boxing up my backpack for the weekend and mailing it to Pucón, I had some breakfast and rolled out towards my destination. 150 kms was the total for the day and I started at 10. The north exit of Valdivia is under construction and it was my only way out of the city so I had to deal with some rough gravel roads and big trucks/buses, pretty terrifying way to start the day to be honest.

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When I got to the main highway it was very flat until the next exit, the shoulder was wide but horribly bumpy and full of shit. Of course, that’s where I flatted and thankfully that was the only flat of the whole weekend.

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I stopped at a gas station after the puncture, filled up my water bottles and ate something quick. It was pretty hot already but I didn’t think it was going to be that much hotter than the other days I’ve been here, I definitely should’ve bought another water bottle to carry in my jersey pocket because it got out of control and ended up in a small corner store outside of Villarrica basically dying.

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I wish I had 5 of those filled with me that day // Very hot day on the way to Villarrica

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View from Villarrica of the Volcano [below]

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The road from the highway to Villarrica/Pucón is pretty much all false flat with no shade that goes next to farms so it gets pretty toasty and all I wanted was more water bottles even though I just filled mine up. I went right through Villarrica, I just wanted to get to Pucón and lay down/eat some food and drink a taste beer but all I could think of was the traffic between this town and my destination.

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Pucón is a tourist attraction, I used to go there with my family very often when we lived in Temuco (about 110 kms away) for the summer and sometimes during fall/winter for the hot springs. Villarrica Lake is a block away from the main restaurants, roads and grocery stores, making it easy to get around for everyone. Pucón also has Villarrica Volcano located a few blocks away from the main beach and if you feel like going out and having some beers everything is pretty much open until 4am so yeah, there is a lot to do there.

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Villarrica Lake, Pucón // View of Villarrica Volcano from the beach in Pucón

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After 150 kms and a delicious sandwich I was on my way to pick up my backpack I sent earlier, changed and jumped in the lake. The good thing about having a bicycle is that you can ride to the far end of the beach where nobody goes and avoid the crowd.

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Had 2 of these “Chacarero” sandwiches that day after the ride.

I met with a friend from high school later on that night and went back to the lake to drink some sodas, it was a good start of the weekend and I was very excited for the next ride.

Fabian’s ride to Pucón on Strava:

Valdivia – Pucon. Heat bois