Axe Throwing, Toronto, Canada (January, 2017)

San Alfonso Del Mar and Algorrobo, Chile (January, 2017)

With Eliza's parents in town, and knowing of Eliza's mom's love of the ocean and the beach, we decided to take a quick weekend trip out to the Pacific Ocean and check out one of the items on our Chile bucket list, the largest pool in the world at San Alfonso del Mar near Algorrobo, Chile. It was a quick 90 minute drive from our house in Santiago, Chile and in no time we were enjoying the hot weather and beautiful views from our 12th floor, 3 bedroom condo facing the beach and pool. We were able to book it for about $250/night, which is hardly a bargain, but there are no other options if you want to have access to the largest pool in the world. We spent 2 nights at the resort and had a very relaxing weekend together. 

Basically, San Alfonso del Mar is a private resort complex with 10-12 large buildings with condos that face the pool and the ocean. The only way people can come in to check out the pool is to rent or buy a room at the resort. There are gates and guards all around the complex, and, although many people try to get in (we witnessed dozens of instances of people trying to sneak into the complex from the beach just to snap a photo of the pool), they do a great job with security. Consequently, the pool is pretty private and you pretty much have the place to yourself.

The pool is 1,013 meters long (3,323 feet) and covers 20 acres of land. It contains 66 million gallons of seawater (water is pumped from the ocean, filtered, and treated). The maximum depth of the pool is 115 feet (35 meters). The big pool is not for swimming, but you can kayak and paddle board on it. Each one of the buildings has a smaller (but still very large) pool that is sectioned off from the large pool where people are allowed to swim. The pools are not heated, but with the sun as hot as it was, this was not a problem for us. The pool is between the hotel/condos and the beach. There is a wide boardwalk all the way around the pool and a couple places where you can exit the pool area and head to the beach. The resort has brought in sand from the beach and put it between the hotel/condos and the pool and there are beach chairs and umbrellas for the guests to enjoy. This is an enormous resort (it takes like 30-45 minutes just to walk around the pool). In addition to the giant pool and the smaller swimming pools, there are smaller baby/child pools that are about knee depth as well as showers to wash off the sand/seawater.

We spent the first afternoon and the next morning at the pool, just swimming and exploring. We were able to do some paddle boarding and all that wanted to were able to try their hand at it. Even paddling out to the midpoint of the pool was quite a bit of exercise and from the paddle boards it was amazing to see how huge this pool actually is. We had excellent weather, blue skies and sunshine, with gentle breezes coming in from the ocean. We spent the next afternoon at the beach, playing in the water and the sand and just enjoying the breeze and the sunset. One one of the nights, the adults headed into Algorrobo and had some dinner and dessert and explored the night markets on the edge of the beach. 

We pretty much had the resort to ourselves and it wasn't until Saturday afternoon that we really started seeing other families begin to show up and enjoy the facilities. We headed back to Santiago on Saturday to get Eliza's parents and Savannah ready for their flight back to the US that night.

The pool (largest in the world) at San Alfonso del Mar, near Algorrobo, Chile.

The pool (largest in the world) at San Alfonso del Mar, near Algorrobo, Chile.

Burying Ryder in the sand at the beach at San Alfonso del Mar, near Algorrobo, Chile.

Eliza with her parents at the beach markets in Algorrobo, Chile on a summer night in January.

View of the pool (largest in the world) and the beach from our balcony on the 12th floor at San Alfonso del Mar, near Algorrobo, Chile.

View of the pool (largest in the world) and the beach from our balcony on the 12th floor at San Alfonso del Mar, near Algorrobo, Chile.

Sunset at the largest pool in the world at San Alfonso del Mar near Algorrobo, Chile.

Video of a time lapse of the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean (view from our 12th floor balcony at San Alfonso del Mar near Algorrobo, Chile).

Hotel beach on the edge of the pool at the largest pool in the world at San Alfonso del Mar near Algorrobo, Chile.

Cody, paddleboarding on the largest pool in the world at San Alfonso del Mar near Algorrobo, Chile.

 Cody and Ryder paddle boarding in the largest pool in the world at San Alfonso del Mar near Algorrobo, Chile.

Savannah, Sawyer, Nash, Ryder, and Zander at the largest pool in the world at San Alfonso del Mar near Algorrobo, Chile.

The kids on the edge of the largest pool in the world at San Alfonso del Mar near Algorrobo, Chile.

Ryder, Cody, Nash, and Zander at the largest pool in the world at San Alfonso del Mar near Algorrobo, Chile.

Looking back from one end of the largest pool in the world at San Alfonso del Mar near Algorrobo, Chile.

The kids wading into one end of the largest pool in the world at San Alfonso del Mar near Algorrobo, Chile.

Sawyer, paddle boarding on the largest pool in the world at San Alfonso del Mar near Algorrobo, Chile.

Nash, paddle boarding on the largest pool in the world at San Alfonso del Mar near Algorrobo, Chile.

Cody, swimming in one of the small pools on the edge of the largest pool in the world at San Alfonso del Mar near Algorrobo, Chile.

Sawyer and Savannah paddle boarding on the largest pool in the world at San Alfonso del Mar near Algorrobo, Chile.

Sawyer and Savannah paddle boarding on the largest pool in the world at San Alfonso del Mar near Algorrobo, Chile.

12 year old, Sawyer paddle boarding on the largest pool in the world at San Alfonso del Mar near Algorrobo, Chile.

Sawyer and Savannah at the beach at San Alfonso del Mar near Algorrobo, Chile.

Savannah, Sawyer, and Ryder, relaxing at the beach at San Alfonso del Mar, near Algorrobo, Chile.

The kids relaxing at the beach at San Alfonso del Mar, near Algorrobo, Chile with the hotel/condos in the background.

Our crew, including grandpa and grandma Haws (Eliza's parents) at the beach at San Alfonso del Mar, near Algorrobo, Chile.

Playing at the beach at San Alfonso del Mar, near Algorrobo, Chile.

Playing at the beach at San Alfonso del Mar, near Algorrobo, Chile.

Playing at the beach at San Alfonso del Mar, near Algorrobo, Chile.

Cerro San Cristobal, Santiago, Chile (January, 2017)

La Vega with Eliza's Parents, Santiago, Chile (January, 2017)

Puerto Varas, Frutillar, and the Osorno Volcano, Chile (December, 2016)

After a few days in San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina, it was time to cross the border back to Chile. We headed up the mountains, had a quick check at immigration and customs, and headed into Chile towards Lago Llanquihue towards the town of Frutillar, where we would spend the next couple days exploring the area around the lake.

We found a great little place to stay with some cottages on the top of the hill (Frutillar Alto, just before you go down the hill to Frutillar Bajo) that had stunning views of Lago Llanquihue. They had a pool with a slide for the kids as well as a playground that the kids enjoyed thoroughly since we had spent a lot of time in the car crossing over from San Carlos de Bariloche. 

We had a relaxing evening and played some card games, then got up the next day to explore the area around the lake. Frutillar is a quiet little town on the edge of the lake that many of our Chilean friends rave about and it was easy to see why. There isn't a whole lot to do, but it is very relaxing and beautiful. We headed south towards Puerto Varas and rounded the tip of the lake towards the Saltos de Petrohue and the Osorno Volcano (basically directly across Lago Llanquihue from Frutillar).

We took a short walk to the waterfalls (Saltos de Petrohue) and took in the power of the river as well as the up-close views of the Osorno Volcano. The riverbed was slick from the lava flows that had come off the volcano from the last eruption, which was very cool to see (very similar to the river where we went canyoneering near the Villarica Volcano near Pucón, Chile about a week or so earlier).

After spending some time at the Saltos de Petrohue, we headed toward the volcano. To our surprise, we were able to drive up some very steep hills all the way onto the base of the volcano and see it up close and personal. We bought some tickets to take the ski lift even further up the volcano, which was very cool. If we were closer to winter, they let you ski on the slopes of the volcano, which would be a great experience...possibly next time. There was a smaller volcano at the bottom of the cone of the Osorno Volcano that we were able to hike to from the top of the ski lift. We explored that small volcano for a few hours and were even able to hike right down into the crater (the small volcano is inactive, so no danger). We got some great views of the valley below and Lago Llanquihue from atop the volcano. We stayed until late in the afternoon and then we had to make our way back up north as our northern Patagonian journey had come to an end.

We drove from the volcano all the way back up to Temuco, Chile (well into the night) and stayed the night in the Holiday Inn that we stayed in the first night of our trip, redeeming 20,000 IHG points per room for the one night stay.

 View from our cabin in Frutillar, Chile...you can see Lago Llanquihue in the distance.

Ryder and Nash, playing on the playground at our cabin in Frutillar, Chile.

 The kids on the shore of Lago Llanquihue in Frutillar, Chile.

View of the Osorno Volcano across Lago Llanquihue near Puerto Varas, Chile.

 Volcanic lava flows from the Osorno Volcano down the creek at Saltos de Petrohue near Lago Llanquihue and Puerto Varas, Chile.

 The kids at the bridge at Saltos de Petrohue near Lago Llanquihue and Puerto Varas, Chile.

 Saltos de Petrohue near Lago Llanquihue and Puerto Varas, Chile.

 View of the Osorno Volcano in the background at the Saltos de Petrohue near Lago Llanquihue and Puerto Varas, Chile.

Zander giving mommy a smooch at the Saltos de Petrohue near Lago Llanquihue and Puerto Varas, Chile.

Video of one of the tight sections of the Saltos de Petrohue near Lago Llanquihue and Puerto Varas, Chile.

Video of the Saltos de Petrohue near Lago Llanquihue and Puerto Varas, Chile.

 The kids playing in the crater of one of the small side volcanoes on the edge of the Osorno Volcano.

 The kids at the base of the Osorno Volcano near Puerto Varas, Chile.

Looking down on Lago Llanquihue from the base of the Osorno Volcano.

The kids running down the hill on the Osorno Volcano.

The kids, hiking up the ridge of one of the small volcanoes at the base of the Osorno Volcano near Puerto Varas, Chile.