Welcome to El Rancho Criollo!After seeing the dingy back room they had available, we decided to check a few other "alojamiento" options. We drove past the next gross option without even bothering to get out of the car, and the third (although more bright) only had a set of bunk beds for us. Bunk beds were fine by me, but Aaron felt strongly that it would be best to return to the first place, so the driver took us back to square one. Not feeling super comfortable with his recommendation, I was reluctant to stay at El Rancho Criollo. Luckily, they had a much bigger, cleaner room up front that although currently occupied, was going to be available later that night.
We dropped off our stuff and headed to check out the town. We ate delicious churrascos (like a Chilean philly steak sandwich), walked the market, and checked out how we could get to the slopes the next day. Of course the only bus left at 7:50 am and only took you to Las Trancas, 8 km from the ski resort. The rest of the way had to be reached "a dedo," a.k.a. hitched. We woke up bright and early, had breakfast, packed sandwiches and finally made it to the slopes! After figuring out my shoe and board size, we set out on our first snowboarding lesson: Instructor Aaron and Pupil Daniela!
Looking ready??After testing our patience for nearly two hours, Aaron released me to go practice on my own. I decided to take one of the "easy" routes down through the forest and only hoped to make it down in one piece. Needless to say, I was like a shit show, wiping out every 10 seconds... full frontal face plants, side swipes, 360s, and ass plants. I had a 9 year old ask me if I needed help, that she and her 6 year old sister whizzing around me on skis could help me get up! Additionally, the Chilean Carabineros (police) were on a two week winter camp learning to ski, and this also happened to be their first day. They went down in groups and would gather on the side of some runs to continue instruction. Finally standing, "riding a snowboard," feeling the breeze in my hair, I approached a group of Carabineros and without fail, ate shit right in front of a whole line up! I couldn't disappoint! After practically an hour and a half, I finally made it to the lower lodge... in rare form, but alive! Aaron and I rounded out the day and headed back to town, exhausted. If only I had a video camera on me all day, you'd be able to see why Aaron had to rub tiger balm on my ass! Surprisingly, the hostel turned out to be wonderful; tons of hot, hot water, great water pressure, and a nice breakfast. Couldn't ask for anything more...
