On the 26th of February we arrived in Talca and (eventually!) found our couchsurfing host Katherine and her family. We went to their home and had a lot of fun staying up late, chatting and learning about Chile. They told us about their experience in the earthquake of 2010, which sounded really terrifying! The whole city seemed really shook up, even still, by the 2010 earthquake… the art museum, Museum O'Higgins, we wanted to go to was still closed (4 years later) because of the building’s sustained damage. Quite a few of the surrounding attractions had taken damage as well and were partially closed including some ‘historical’ cities. In fact we heard one of the reserves we wanted to visit called the “7 Cups” only had 5 cups (stone pools) filled with water because the force of the intense earthquake caused the water to now drain in a different direction.
Because of things being closed we used this time to relax and have fun with our new friends in Talca. We did take one day to visit the “7 Cups” which involved taking 2 different buses. The day before our trip Colin and I went to the bus station and got all the information available on bus times. The bus station in Talca is quite confusing for newcomers, as it is ‘divided’ by North/South/East/West. In other words, the same company (such as Interbus and many others) has four different mini offices all around the bus station, one for each direction. However because the sections aren’t labeled by “direction,” so you pretty much have to rely on word-of-mouth to eventually land you at the correct station. It took ages to find the offices that had the buses we wanted because of this!
The next day we went on our trip, catching the 1.5 hour bus to a city called Molina. We then had to switch and get another bus which would take us from Molina to a camp site called Park English, located a couple kilometers beyond the 7 Cups. We were told by the bus station in Talca that this additional bus would take about 15-20 minutes, making the entire trip about 2 hours there, then 2 hours back at the end of the day. Since the next bus going to Park English wasn’t for an hour, Colin and I had our packed lunch while we were waiting near the bus ticket booth. Finally, at 12:00 PM, we got on the bus. However… the time estimates we were originally given turned out to be very wrong. The additional bus took not 20 minutes, but another 2 hours. This was partly due to the driver staying in 2nd gear the entire uphill drive…
Since we didn’t get to Park English until 2:00 PM there wasn’t much time to do the trails. We were told by the transfer company that the only return buses from the park were at 5:00 PM, 6:00 PM and 7:00 PM – and we wanted to get back for about 8:00 PM. First we did a small loop trail called the Coihue Trail. It was a pretty short trail but we got some nice views of the mountains around the area on it!
The most exciting thing by far was when Colin almost got attacked by a little snake! I was walking behind him when I spotted something grey, really thin, and about 1 foot in length slithering in front of me. I thought for a split second that it might be a worm, until I saw the texture of its body. Definitely a snake. It started arching its front body up in a “twisted” manner and slithering much faster towards Colin in what looked like an attack stance. I started yelling “Snake behind you! Snake behind you!” This worked, the snake was avoided and slithered away into the bushes. After some research we discovered it was probably a short-tailed snake. These snakes live in forested areas and can reach 70 cm in length. It is not a snake which is a danger to humans, but it is venomous and feeds on lizards. Here is a picture we found online of the snake:
After the little walk, Colin and I went to visit the cups. They were far less impressive than most of the pictures we saw, as the earthquake had done extensive damage. The water level wasn’t too high and some of the waterfalls were no longer flowing – we got a few quick pictures and started our wait for the 5:00 PM bus back to Molina.
Only it didn’t come – if the buses don’t have enough people to make the journey to the park, there is only a bus at 7:00 PM in the evening. We didn’t know this and we weren’t told this by the bus company, but after asking around found out the disappointing information. Considering the last bus to Talca leaves Molina at 9:00 PM, this would make it a stretch for us to return to Talca in the same day! (And there was no way we’d make it back by 8:00 PM) Since we didn’t have any camping gear, we waited for about an hour until someone picked us up hitchhiking. It was lucky they did, as even in their car it took us nearly 2 hours to return to Molina. We made it in time for the 8:00 PM bus back to Talca, but once back in the city we realized how packed the transportation was that evening. It took us another 45 minutes before we managed to find a free taxi to take us back to our host’s home. What a tiring day!
For the record, the 7 Cups looks like it is a camping site for Chileans and not much else. The minimal attractions are not worth the hassle, and it is really NOT the place to go for a one day trip. It’s pretty much a Chilean tourist trap – and the entrance is expensive for foreigners at $8.00 USD per person. The 7 Cups are no longer impressive. Save your money, and more importantly, save your time! Just hang out with friends in Talca. 
Upcoming: the big city of Santiago!
Francesca
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