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Published: March 1st 2014
After a five hour ferry journey, where we watched penguins and dolphins float by, we arrived in the small and slightly strange town of Chaiten, ready to head down the Carretera Austral. The Carretera Austral is a mainly gravel road that travels around 1240 km south from Puerto Montt to Villa O'Higgins, connecting up some of Chile's most isolated settlements. We knew bus services did exist on the road, but they apparently could be few and far between and very busy, so we were told only try to travel this route by public transport if we have a lot of time and patience.
On trying to leave Chaiten, the rumours of the lack of buses were proved to be true, as it turned out there was only two buses per week going south and the next one was in a couple of days.
So after spending slightly longer than planned in Chaiten, exploring the eery half-abandoned streets that had resulted from volcano Chaiten waking up dramatically in 2008 and covering the town with ash (luckily the whole town was successfully evacuated), we boarded a very beat up old bus, that wasn't in any hurry to go anywhere and started
our trip down the Carretera Austral.
After bumping down the road for seven hours, passing the odd cyclist (cycling the Carretera Austral is a popular thing to do amongst the hardcore cyclists), we arrived at our first stop, a very small town called Puyuhuapi. Puyuhuapi is a pretty town located on the edge of a fjord and renowned for being one of the wettest places on the Carretera.
The next day, armed with our newly purchased waterproof trousers and ponchos, we joined forces with a couple from Santiago and shared the cost of a trip to a nearby national park (Parque Nacional Queulat) to visit an "enchanted forest" and glacier. On arriving at the park in torrential rain, we donned our waterproof trousers and were given the thumbs up from the driver, "buenos" he commented, clearly impressed with the trousers. The walk up through the forest was interesting as the trees were covered in a green moss, which gave it a mystical feel, hence the name. After passing the tree line, hopping over a river and climbing further up the mountain, we were rewarded with a fantastic view of a hanging glacier above a turquoise lake. We had
a very soggy picnic and then headed down the mountain. On arriving back at our driver's car and taking off all our waterproof gear, Ross found that his waterproof trousers were far from waterproof, much to the driver's amusement. That evening was spent drying off and thawing out around the hospedaje log burner with a group of Israeli hitchhikers.
Our next day in Puyuhaupi was spent walking around the town, the fjord and up a hill to a view point and was rounded off nicely with a relaxing beer on the beach.
The next morning we caught a ride to Coyhaique, our next stop, with the owners of the hospedaje. Coyhaique is the biggest city on the Carretera Austral and a hub for bus connections and tourists. We were dropped off at another really cheap but homely hospedaje run by an interesting couple who had some strong views about a proposed, very controversial hydrological project south of Coyhaique. Generally, the people of Patagonia and environmentalists seem to be strongly opposed to the hydro project, as it would mean damning one of Chile's biggest and most beautiful rivers, the Rio Baker. The owners of our hospedaje took a different
view however, believing that Patagonia needs an alternative energy source to enable cities like Coyhaique to move away from burning wood and cutting down forests. We could see his point, however, on seeing our room, we thought a little insulation and draught proofing would be a better first step for his own house, as you could have flown a kite in the draught coming through our room.
We spent a little longer than planned in Coyhaique, as southbound buses were booked up for a couple of days, but really enjoyed our time there, visiting a national reserve just outside of town (Reserva Coyhaique), where pumas are apparently frequently spotted (although the closest we came to seeing a puma was a wooden one), visiting the Rio Simpson national park and having one of the best steaks outside of Argentina in the Chilean version of a greasy cafe.
Our next destination was a small town a few hours south of Coyhaique, called Rio Puerto Tranquilo. The town is situated on the side of lake General Carrera, which is always turquoise, but looked particularly spectacular in bright sunshine. We spent one night in Tranquilo, visiting the Capilla de Marmol (marble cathedral)
the next morning and hoping to leave in the afternoon. We'd been told three buses passed Tranquilo going south bound every day between one and three in the afternoon, so getting out of town shouldn't be a problem...
So at one in the afternoon we began waiting for the three south bound buses, along with about twenty other people. When the first one arrived, only two people got off, which meant only two people could get on. Not to worry, there would be two more buses. The second one came and all but four of us made it on board. Not to worry, there was still one more bus and now there was only four of us. About an hour and a half later and with no sign of the third bus, we decided to ask a local what time the last bus arrived, only to find out that this last bus didn't exist. All out of buses, we decided to try our hand (or thumbs...) at hitchhiking (which is very common along the Carretera due to the lack of buses and the relative safety of the area). However, after an unsuccessful hour or so at the side of
the road, we gave up and found a hostel for the night and formulated a plan to leave town. The plan was firstly to subtly identify all fellow guests with vehicles, start a conversation and bring the topic of conversation around to us being stuck, secondly, to get an early start hitchhiking to catch southbound road tripping tourists and thirdly, if all else failed, to send Liz in to fight her way onto the bus, RyanAir style.
Fortunately, although we were unable to cadge a lift with fellow guests (although our German breakfast companions did pick up some northbound hitchhikers after we'd stressed how many people were stuck in town), after about an hour of attempting to hitch hike, we were really lucky to be offered a lift by two Chilean geographers in a 4x4, confirming Liz's opinion that geographers are good people.
After chatting with the geographers for a while (Paulina and Estefania from Santiago), it turned out that they were driving all the way to a town we really wanted to visit, Caleta Tortel, but were not sure if we could due to sketchy bus connections. Paulina and Estefania were happy to take us all the
way there, as they said that'd probably pick up other hitch hikers anyway and we seemed to shower more than most of the others they'd given lifts to in the past, so it might as well be us. We bought them lunch in return.
Caleta Tortel is a small town, located at the mouth of the river Baker. On the journey, we'd followed the Baker for many miles, learnt about the hydro project from Paulina and Estefania and seen the pristine and beautiful countryside that would be flooded if the project goes ahead. We learnt how environmentlists are fighting to keep the rivers free through "Patagonia Sin Represas".
Caleta Tortel is a carless town, cars are parked a the top of a hill and then you walk down wooden steps to board walks above the water. It's a unique place that would be overrun with tourists anywhere else, but as it's so isolated, it retains a Patagonian small town feel.
We spent two days in Tortel. One day was spent visiting the Glacier Montt by boat, speeding around icebergs, listening to it crunching and grinding its way down the valley and enjoying (in Ross' case anyway) a
whiskey with glacier ice. We even got to walk on an iceberg. The rest of our time in Tortel was spent exploring the town through its network of boardwalks, visiting the Isla de Los Muertos and walking around the hills behind the town.
Our final destination in the Carretera Austral was a small town called Villa O'Higgins. Luckily, Paulina and Estefania were headed that way too, so we were able to travel the last part of the road with them in their 4x4. The journey involved a ferry ride and a long and winding road through spectacular scenery but we arrived in time to secure a bed for the night and to have a celebratory lunch and few beers to bid farewell to our new Chilean friends, as the following day we were beginning our mission to hike back to Argentina...
We'd read about the ability to cross over to Argentina from Villa O'Higgins a couple of times and were intrigued, but were unsure whether it would be wise to attempt it without a tent. However, we were assured (by what turned out to be unreliable sources) that it can definitely be completed without a tent.
The
border crossing involves:
- a bus from Villa O'Higgins to the very end of the Carretera Austral
- a three hour boat trip across Lago O'Higgins to Candelario Mansilla
- a 22 km hike to the north shore of Lago del Desierto
- a one hour boat ride to the south of Lago del Desierto
- and finally a bus to El Chalten in Argentina.
All was going perfectly up to the second boat (we had even been able to spend a night in Candelario Mansilla where we'd been able to source a trusty horse to carry our rucksacks for us during the hike). We arrived in plenty of time to catch the boat, however, we hadn't banked on the boat simply not turning up. "Tiempo malo" was the reason for the no show, which we believe translates to "not enough passengers to make it with our while". Unfortunately, being unprepared as ever and as there's no where to stay on the lakeshore, we were faced with either a very long hike back to where we'd stayed the previous night, or a night in a relatively clean barn.
In the end, we chose
the barn and with donated thermal jackets and fleeces from cyclists kitted out for sleeping in the Atacama desert and the use of a camping stove from another kind cyclist, we had a hot meal and a not too cold, albeit uncomfortable night. Luckily there was an ample supply of clean blankets in the barn and a friendly cat for company and, the next day, we were rewarded with a fantastic view of Mount Fitz Roy in the morning light (which almost made up for the night in the barn) and the arrival of the morning boat. After one last bus, we finally made it to El Chalten in Argentina, where thankfully a hot shower, bed and beer was waiting for us.
Things we've learnt whilst travelling down the Carreterra Austral:
- The best thing to do if stuck in Chaiten in the rain is to while away the afternoon with a pizza and a glass of wine.
- Think very carefully about getting off a bus at Puerto Rio Tranquillo. You may never be able to leave.
- The local saying "those that rush in Patagonia lose time" is definitely true.
- Sensible people
travel with tents.
- A cheap poncho is no match for the Patagonian wind.
- A cat can keep you quite warm if strategically placed.
- It is possible to wear four pairs of trousers.
- Sleeping in a Patagonian barn next to a glacial lake was still warmer than Liz's experience of camping at Newgale, Pembrokeshire in early May.
- The Patagonian rivers are still free.
- Travelling the Carretera Austral is a challenge, but it's a great experience and has been one of our highlights so far.
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aspiringnomad
Jason
The Carretera Austral
Great blog. We made this trip a few years back with our one-year old son. The hardships and delays are all part of the adventure. A really beautiful part of the world. Hope to make it back their one day!