Category: Chile

I left for Puerto Rio Tranquilo on the 9:30 bus. I had decided not to do the hike at Villa Cerro Castillo, partly to save time and also I was exhausted – this decision would pay off in the next few days. I did feel a pang of regret as we drove through the village as the views were beautiful. The whole journey was a feast for the eyes but sadly this time the busses windows were misted and I was stuck on the wrong side. I did manage to get some shots.

I arrived in a windswept Puerto Rio Tranquilo five hours later and headed to the hostel. The plan was to camp but after walking into the wood fired heated reception area and finding out I could have a private room to myself for 12000 a night I ditched the camping idea. It was the first time I’d had a room to myself in nearly two months. It’s not much but to me it was bliss.

I dumped my things and headed out to book my tours. I asked about a bus ticket at what counted for the bus station, then went to look for the tours. I had met a Chilean lady on a bus that said her daughter ran one of the tours, the office was closed and I couldn’t find the office for the company I had researched so I went with 99% Aventura. I tried to book a boat to the marble caves but as one was leaving at the time and I didn’t have my camera I was told to come back later. I went back to buy my bus ticket but the place was locked up at the crack of 4pm. I went for a walk around town and took some shots.

Exploradores Glacier

I was told to get to the office for 7am. I’m still learning that time works differently here and arrived at 6:40am to a dark and empty town. Maria and Jacob from Chicago arrived ten minutes later and at 7am everyone else magically appeared. We were handed some equipment and jumped on the bus to the glacier. We stopped at a waterfall to get some snaps.

We arrived at the National Park and changed into our hiking gear. The trek was 4.8k each way and would take around 6 hours. We started off through the forest and very quickly were jumping across boulders with mountains and rainbows as our backdrop.

When we reached the valley the landscape changed completely to just rocks, which had been pushed by the glacier. There was no vegetation as under the rocks was ice, which you can see in some of the closeup pics. I felt as if I was on Mars, it’s the weirdest landscape I’ve ever been on and one of the most beautiful. The glacier was in the distance, we could see multiple rainbows and there were lush green mountains with waterfalls in the background.

As we got closer to the glacier the ice was more on the surface so we stopped to put on crampons.

After wearing these I felt as if I could run up walls! I need to get myself some of these.

And then I got to walk on my first glacier, the second one is seen in my life about two days apart. I didn’t expect it to be so beautifully messy, but this is how nature is in general. There were cracks and holes and streams and rocks. When we got to the glacier the weather changed considerably, becoming much colder and raining.

On the way back we went to look at some of the caves in the glacier in more detail.

We returned the same way that we had arrived and I was tried after 6 hours of trekking but the sun was out and the day was beautiful.

Catedral de Mármol

The weather held up when I returned to Puerto Rio Tranquilo so knowing it was due to rain the next day I fought my exhaustion and booked myself on a marble cave tour. Initially it was just me but seven others soon arrived, some like me fresh from the glacier tour, and headed out to the boat.

It was beautiful on the lake and I had some great views of the mountains.

It took 30mins to get to the caves and we were able to get up close to them.

By the time we headed back the wind had started and the boat had to fight against the waves. I was freezing when I got home but was tempted out later for a beer even though I had gone to bed. The next day was a complete washout and I was glad I took advantage of the weather when I had the chance.

My next stop was Coyhaique on the Carretera Austral, built in the lasts 80s by Pinochet it’s the only road that connects this region with the rest of Chile. Previous to this they were only accessible by boat or via Argentina. I’ve read a lot about this area and essentially what you keep reading is that there is very little information. This made it exciting and scary but I really started to feel that I was getting into Patagonia.

The wind hit again during landing at Balmaceda airport, 50km to the south. It was grey and raining and desolate. I hopped in a transit van and was on my way to Coyhaique. Initially I was a little disappointed with the landscape. It was open, green, grey and grassy. Imagine a summer day in South Wales. But as we progressed to Coyhaique it began to change for the better.

There is not much to do in town but I had much admin to complete. Coyhaique is the largest town around, with a supermarket and other facilities. I needed to book a bus for my next destination, one I hadn’t yet decided upon, sort out my camping gear and a whole heap of travelling admin-if you have not travelled you won’t believe the amount of admin you have to do. Typically my back pain kicked in, in a big way and the hostel didn’t know the bus times. They pointed me to tourist information who did know, and I soon had a ticket and a return ticket-you won’t believe how difficult I found ordering that-to Parque National Queulat.

That evening I set out to find Casa Tropera, which didn’t seem to have a Google presence, and ended up walking around town for around an hour until I hit some dark roads I know Gary would tell me I was a fool for walking down. So I headed back to a steak restaurant and had my first taste of Patagonia lamb.

Parque National Queulat

At time of writing there is one bus a day which goes to the town of Puyuhuapi, 20k north of the park. It leaves Coyhaique at 2pm and returns from the park at 7am.

I was still fairly unsure about heading out into the middle of nowhere and asked a guy (I do know but I can’t spell his name) if it was the right bus. Confidentially he was going to the same place so I had someone to stop the bus for me also. He sat in front of me with Praticia (again apologies if I’ve spelt this wrong) and she gave me a fright when she put her seat back.

As we leafy town I started to see mountains, rivers, trees, waterfalls, rocks and beautiful scenery which was soon surrounded in clouds, mist and rain. The Patagonia weather hit hard as we drove north. After about 3 hours the road turned to gravel and I kept thinking the bus would tip over when it went around the corners. It didn’t. Everything was fine. Well except the boy who sat next to me who was sick into a bag three times.

We got there and there was a brief reprieve in the rain, luckily, whist the park ranger explained the camp sites. I opted to walk the 2k from the road to hot showers, that I wouldn’t end up using, and made friends with Praticia along the way. They ended up saving me by helping to put up my tent as the rain started in earnest. We sheltered in the cooking area and spent the night giving me beer, food and swapping music tips.

Above is where the tent was-i forgot to take a picture.

I ended up going to bed late and could not get warm. In the morning I discovered I was not the only one and in hiendsight it was the wind coming from the glacier.

It was time to start the treck which is only 3km but when you are walking up a steep hill in the Forrest it feels more like 10km. First we had to cross the bridge with the glacier melt water.

And then follow the Forrest path, which is really muddy so think about shoes if you come here.

But when you get to the top you are rewarded with this view.

Again there is no way the camera can really capture the sound and the wind but here is my first glacier.

When I first arrived it was hardly visible but after 10mins started to clear. Some people never get to see it so the weather is still on my side! We also walked around to get a different view from the lake.

My new Chilean friends all decided to hitch to the next destination and I was left alone again. I opted to camp near the road and this campsite was not as pleasant, compounded with a man walking around with an axe. For the moment I was completely alone with little option but more people showed up and waved. The man was a park ranger. I was also treated to this view of the rain.

The bus arrived at 7am the next day but to be sure to catch it I was up at 5:30 packing up my things in the dark and rain. I found myself in full waterproofs, comply relaxed sitting in the side of the Carretera Austral at 6:30 in the morning. For the first time I didn’t worry if the bus was going to show up or not. Soon I heard a noise, then saw light, then a lot more light and the bus stopped right in front of me. I was rewarded with the seat next to the diver giving me the best view of the 4 hour journey back.

I went to the same hostel and after another day of admin treated myself to Casa Tropera…and you should too. It’s great. And you get to cross this fun bridge.

I woke up feeling really tired* after two weeks of nonstop travel. This is the first day where I hadn’t planned how to get to my next destination, Ancud on Chiloé, which is a huge island with some UNESCO heritage churches and plazas. The people I’ve met on my travels have said it’s worth visiting but all I wanted to do today was not move or think, I had decided to camp at the next destination to check my gear and I wasn’t excited about the prospect. Before I knew it I was on a bus to Ancud, which included a short ferry trip. On the way there I kept falling asleep and was desperate not to miss my stop. I had a 2km walk to the hotel, I’ve started carrying my bags to save a little on costs and also get in some exercise, as I’m going to have to carry everything for 78miles in a month so I need the practice.

I arrived at what appeared to be a deserted hotel, overlooking the sea at the top of a cliff. There was plenty of camping and each parch was surrounded by bushes.

The first challenge was paying as the receptionist did not speak any English and I was having trouble explaining that I didn’t have anything less than a $20000 peso note. Still tired* I managed to mitigate by asking for the bathroom and when I returned the manager changed my money.

I picked a spot with plenty of shade and after several attempts pitched the tent. Did some washing, yes those are my pants drying and collapsed. I went to town to buy food and accidentally brought raspberry flavoured water so deal with that for the next 24 hours.

Pingüineras de Puñihuil

I decided to stay in Ancud because there is another colony of penguins close by but very little information on how to get there. I’m going to take a little time to relay my experience in case it helps anyone. I found this tourist information website that is in Spanish but it says the busses leave from Colo Colo at 12:00 and 13:00 and return at 16:20 and 17:20. I went to the Calle around 11:30 and found a large bus garage. After asking a lot of people and getting the same answers in Spanish, I deduced, well really after so much pointing it became painfully obvious, that the bus hadn’t yet arrived. It did leave at 12:00. When you get to the beach the road literally ends and cars have to drive up the beach.

The boat tours leave every 15 minutes. I went to an operator where the boat left in the next half hour and was joined by four Chillians and two Israelíes, all pensioners. There were other boats that left with many more people and all were much younger. But still I’m now in the grey vote so it suited me fine. We were given around a 40 minute tour of the islands and I snapped these.

Thinking that the bus was not until 4:20 and I’d have to wait a long time I headed to read my book. There were a lot of busses on the beach and again I harassed people with my crap Spanish. I was directed to an orange, red and white bus which was run by Mar Brava, which is a company that was supposed to run busses but I couldn’t find out where from or the times. It left around 14:30 that wasn’t the advertised time and I tried to ride it as long as I could to find the destination but I was asked if I wanted to get off in centro so I did. I’m not sure if this is helpful but if you can get to the beach there are definitely busses back.

That night I took the guidebooks recommendation to try Curanto, an island delicacy. I went to Kurantón around 8:30 and there was one other customer. They took my order and promptly closed sending away a party of four. The shellfish was delicious and you should try if you come to the island-you might be better off finding somewhere in Castro or another town, personally if I were to do it again I’d give Ancud a miss-which is the advice I ignored.

Castro

The next day I headed to Castro and the walk to the bus station was much easier when I wasn’t so tired*. I stayed at Palafito Hostel which is famous for being, well a Palafito.

I ran into two American girls I’d met at a previous hostel and they told me I should visit Museo de Arte Moderno Chiloé, so i did.

Museo de Arte Moderno Chiloé

The next morning I headed off on the number 2 bus, you can catch it from the streets not the bus station and there is a stop on the corner of the main plaza. It’s a local bus and winds it’s way through the houses. Get off at the last stop and walk into the park, as you get inside there are a number of buildings that looks like private property. It’s one of those, this one to be exact:

The art is fairy interesting but the building is well worth seeing. It’s free but give a donation as it’s only fair.

Achao

I then headed to Achao which is another ferry ride, free if you are a passenger and you can get a bus all the way from Castro terminal. This is the site of the most famous Church on the island. I won’t go into too many details but Chiloé is famous for having sixteen of this style of churches and this is the oldest. It’s a little seaside town but most things were closed. I assumed that this was due to me being here just out of season, imagine a British seaside town two weeks into September, but was told it was because it’s a Sunday and Chillians chill on Sundays. Either way I’ll leave it to you to decide when to visit.

I then headed back on the ferry to Dalcahue which has another of the churches.

It also has a lot of artesanal products if that is your thing, but I was more interested in food and headed to blah. Inside is a bustling market with lots of old ladies cooking tasty food. You pick a place pull up a stool and order. I had my first empanadas which were delicious.

Muelle De Las Alma

On my final day I wanted to go to the National Park but the receptionist said I should go to Muelle De Las Almas, which is a beautiful lookout point over the Pacific Ocean just outside Cucao. Go to the central terminal and busses leave every 30mins, and they meet with the busses that take you along a gravel road to the destination. It’s then a short 2k walk and I saw a lot of wildlife on the way.

It’s been a great few days relaxing and now time to head to Coyhaique and start the hiking. If anything to work of the calories in this burger and ice cream I’ve just consumed!

*hungover

I woke up early to catch my bus to Chile. I met an Irish guy in the kitchen and we shared a taxi to the bus terminal. On the bus I was lucky to have one of the posh seats-I hadn’t paid extra this time either.

I was given and exit stamp on the Argentinian side and at the Chile border, which was a good 20km apart, we had to get off the bus and our bags were taken out and inspected by a dog who didn’t appear to have any qualifications checking for drugs. I realise it’s a bit difficult to tell just by looking and I didn’t ask for any formal qualifications but he seemed to be having a great time running about as opposed to sniffing bags. His owner was struggling to control to him and I’m kinda hoping that the guy just brought in his pet dog and has been blagging his job for years. I was given another stamp and let into Chile.

I got off the bus at Puerto Mott and after a few minutes of searching for a cashpoint, the one in the bus terminal was broken, I was on another bus to Puerto Varas. The bus driver tried to short change me by 9000 pesos but after I spend a minute thinking and challenged him he quickly realised his “error”.

Puerto Varas appears to be another tourist town sat on the edge of a Largo Llanquihue with Volcán Osorno in the background giving a postcard perfect view. I suppose this is one town where volcano insurance is necessary. At *instert height* it can be seen from miles around. There are a lot of German style houses here and the town itself is very pretty. The good weather seems to have followed me from Argentina as this was the first sunny day again for a while and you can’t see the volcano when it’s cloudy.

I spent the afternoon planning my next steps and became a little stuck due to my schedule. I ended up chatting to a British ex-squaddie who was charging his drone and has been biking around the world for 10 years and then thought I’d treat myself to a nice seafood meal, as there was a recommendation in the guide book.

I arrived in this lovely local looking restaurant with two old ladies serving food. It reminded me of a restaurant in Rome that served up delicious Italian food so I thought I’d hit the jackpot. I learnt two important lessons on this night:

1. Never trust the English translations

2. Order the food that the guide book suggests

I am a huge fan of shellfish so I was excited to see pan fried shrimp on the menu. I ordered along with a seafood broth. This is what was brought to me:

I like calamari but I’m not the biggest squid fan, especially when it looks a little too real. I thought I’m just going to have to get on with this and it was quite tasty, it just was too real for me to eat too much. They then brought out the broth which was piled high with mussels, other shellfish and some randomly boiled pork. It was not what I would call nice.

Camila later told me that squid and shrimp are similar in Spanish

Well I suppose as similar as they are in English. Doh!

I went back to the hostel annoyed I’d overspent on a not very enjoyable meal. There were 6 other guys in the room that I was staying and I had the top bunk which is never as easy. I was still stuck with what to do next but I got chatting to Amaya who lives locally and said she would take me out the next day. She also suggested looking at flying get to where I wanted.

To explain my predicament I have the choice of getting a 40 hour ferry with no cabins that may leave either every Friday and Sunday or Thursday and Saturday or a 28 hour ferry that leaves every Wednesday and Saturday or Thursday and Sunday and is know for not sailing when it is supposed to, but this one has cabbins for £80.

After I had a good nights sleep, found a flight thanks to my new friend and then had the pleasure of meeting Steph, who runs Worldly Adventuter, am to be honest I am a bit of a fan as her blog has given me tonnes of invaluable advice. I’d actually emailed her that morning. And following her advice I went off to see Saltos de Petrohue, which is some beautiful rapids running through the volcanic rock. I’ll spare you all the details of how to get there as I’ve been going on a little long

And then on to Petrohue which is another tourist destination with great views of Largo Todos los Santos.

From here I was also able to get some more great shots of the volcano. I’m very excited about the volcano. This is the first time I’ve ever seen one in real life!

I returned to Puerto Varas and went to the viewing point, just because I wanted another shot of the volcano.

Later that evening Amaya picked me up and we went to a local bar where I had my first Pisco Sours, Ceviche and finically got my prawns. It was all delicious.

Amaya runs a consulting company that advises other companies to look at how they operate, is a musician and was able to tell me a lot about the local area.

The next day it was time to move on again. This time to Ancud