How often do you come across a small town smack in between a divinely blue lake and a perfectly conical volcano? Just to add to the effect, the volcano's crater spends most of its daily billowing smoke - even the occasional smoke ring - and on clear nights it gives off an eerie red glow.
It sounded idyllic and just a little dangerous; we just had to go...
However, the Chilean winter had other ideas and unfortunately we had heavy rain and cloudy skies for the whole 3 days we were there - we didn't even glimpse the volcano, it's smoke and its glow - it was always completely hidden by cloud (we couldn't even tell which direction to face. The lake was big, but it was a bit grey and dark (not even a hit of blue), because of the inclement weather.
We did however spot a "volcano traffic light" in the middle of the town, outside the municipal building. A sign nearby told us what the green, amber and red lights were meant to show (green being a little smoke, red being a full-blown eruption). We kept looking at the lights every time we went past, hoping for a little excitement - it's a shame that none of 3 lights were even on (i.e. nothing happening at all).
Fortunately Pucon was a mecca for tourists, meaning a bar or restaurant on every corner, so we consoled ourselves with many Pisco Sours (strong grape brandy with lemon juice and egg white) and some excellent Chilean meals and wines.
The closest we got to the volcano was a spot of nighttime bathing in volcanic hotsprings - three hours sitting outside in ther freezing cold didn´t do much for Lesley's health (no matter how hot the water) and she's been coughing and spluttering ever since.
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