We woke up this morning with the intention of going to a lake that is about 2 hours away.
We went out to get in the car and noticed that our front tire had a bulge in it. As we were driving, Jimmy said he felt like we shouldn't go that far. We decided that we would head up to the volcano instead. The road up to the volcano is right there in Pucon, super close to our cabin. We started on our way up and as we neared the top there was a lookout point. We all piled out of the car and it was FREEZING! I was dressed for the lake, not the mountains! I had on flip flops and was without a jacket. Luckily we dressed the kids pretty warm and had their jackets with us. We took a few pictures. It was funny how unaffected by the cold Jonas was. He was just super happy to be outside. Lucas was really excited about collecting rocks and soon had his pockets full. Madeline was stylin' in her sunglasses and just as cold as I was.
After we took a bunch of pictures we kept driving and hoping that the clouds around the top of the volcano would clear up...no such luck. We drove towards the lava tube caved and when we asked the kids if they wanted to go check them out, they said they were too cold. They quickly changed their minds and we ventured off to see the caves. It was cold. Man, it was cold. I was freezing!
We were in a group with two other couples. They started the tour with some information about the volcano and how eruptions happen and how lava tubes are formed. I understood very little of the Spanish and the kids weren't having it, so we took turns standing with them outside. Once that part was over, we got our hard hats and hiked down in. The kids did fantastic! Madeline was the leader and stayed in the front the entire time. I was impressed, the last time we went to a cave she was so scared. She seemed to really love it this time around. Lucas was determined to hike with his hands in his pockets the entire time. Jonas held my hand and at one point told me I was holding it too hard. I was so nervous about him slipping or falling on those hard rocks. The cave was pretty cool. We hiked down and at the very end they turned off the lights to show you how dark it really is. Jonas started crying and Madeline snuggled in close to me. I am not sure they really appreciated that part of the tour. To get out, you had to hike back the way you came in. I was glad I had a hard hat on because I probably bumped my head three or four times. The kids did awesome. Jonas even did the entire thing with a poopy diaper and no complaints. Now that is truly awesome!
We were all pretty cold by the end so we headed up to the little station at the top and bought some hot cocoa and cookies. The kids were so happy and having so much fun. It really was so beautiful. We loaded up and stopped at a few souvenir stations on the way down. I bought a cool wooden box for our allowance money. We then drove down into town and got some empanadas.
The boys quickly fell asleep so we took the empanadas to go. We stopped in Pucon so I could look for a blanket to buy. I have started buying blankets on our trips. They are pretty awesome. We found a handmade one that I love made from sheep wool. It is white and thick and warm. We came home and snuggled in it. Jimmy watched a soccer game and I fell asleep.
The kids bounced around and ate some food then we got ready for the circus.
Oh the circus. There just happened to be a Mexican circus in Villarica. We couldn't pass up the chance to go. Madeline was SO excited. The kids were not disappointed. They got to buy glow in the dark toys and ate candy while watching dancer, clowns, trapeze artists, motorcycle stunts, and trampoline stunts. There was even a midget that did a flying act. It was funny because Madeline noticed a midget for the first time on this trip and she has been asking a lot of questions about them. So to see one doing a flying act was pretty amusing to her.
After the circus we headed to the grocery store in the POURING rain. We then headed home. The boys fell asleep in the car, but Madeline was wide awake and hungry. We came inside and snuggled with her under our new blanket, at a cheese roll-up and headed to bed. She snuggled in between us and we all feel asleep.
This is the life. Simple little pleasures.
