Tired day in Llao Llao Parque

The next morning I slept in until 9am. I was so so tired after 2 action days and big nights of drinking.

Marissa left that morning, so we had a quick look around the shops. I gave her a hug and waved her off. Now I was faced with a whole day alone.

I started with a nap until 1pm. The Brazilians had invited me to the Swiss Colony but I turned them down thinking they would be going early. Despite this, I saw them on the bus. They missed both their stops. I got off at the hotel and Llao Llao park for some actual hiking because we’d been too late the previous day to go into the parks. I pointed some German girls in the right direction before walking to the park entrance I’d seen the day before with a green Jesus shrine.

The park was beautiful, huge towering trees with a spacious forest floor. But I hadn’t walked far until all the plant life signs disappeared, the road noise was blocked and I was in complete silence. It was the part of the forest that had spooked me the other day. I stopped and couldn’t hear a single noise, no
birds, no traffic, no voices. But I told myself not to be silly and try walking for another ten minutes.

The only sound was my feet on the leaves and my jacket rustling against my backpack. Occasionally, I thought I heard a sound behind only to realise it was beanie brushing against my scarf.
Just about when I was considering going back, a family appeared out of nowhere by some crazy knotted trees growing in water.

Encouraged by the fact there were other people on the path, I kept going. I soon saw another few couples. A lakefront beach appeared, I ate a muesli bar on the waterfront while other couples sat around. Then I went another leg further to the mirador. The beautiful green water reflected the mountains above in ripples. It was a big stone outcrop with a dog barking at a stick in the water. Some Brazilians took photos of each other. When I walked back I saw the American from my room and another couple from the hostel. Everyone was here today!

I tried finding the beach walk by the hotel but couldn’t, instead of looking at the strange wooden church on the hill. Then I caught the bus back to town, arriving at 6pm. I went to Manush for happy hour and eventually got a seat at the bar, I chose to sit next to another solo girl. She laughed and spoke Spanish when it took them 15 minutes to give me a menu. I had two chocolate milk stouts and a bacon and mushroom burger that took an hour to arrive (I needed to eat something with high cholesterol after all the vegan food). They gave me another beer for free for the wait. By this time, I was talking to the girl next to me, she was from Colombia. We talked about work, boyfriends, travelling and Argentinian food. Between my terrible Spanish and her marginal English, we somehow managed to hold a conversation. I would’ve liked to hang out more if I wasn’t leaving the next morning.

Back at the hostel I packed and saw the bus was at 8.30am – it seems so early when that is literally
sunrise! The American was back in our room and invited me to more drinks with his hiking friend. I
declined based on the bus time.