Chilean fjords

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Week 2 -Whale search



When I last wrote we were in Quellon and it had proved difficult to find decent accommodation close enough to the ferry. I had eventually found a hospedaje run by a lady called Sonia, only downside was a shared bathroom but she assured me it was very clean. So I had booked it and it was 50 metres from the bus station. We went to leave our bags and the incoming ferry had arrived at 2am and there were people still asleep in our room. We opted for a different one and went in search of somewhere to repair my bag. My brand new 260€ Osprey travel bag had lost a zip between Santiago and Ancud, not the quality you expect and I had 3 more flights. The place was closed but we found a corner cafe and everyone was eating stew, always a good sign, so we had two bowls. Mine was beans and pasta, Chris's was lamb and potato.

Back at the guest house it was less hectic and we got sorted and showered and left for food. I had checked out a place on line and it was very tasty . There was no other guests but the boat was late and due at 2am. We were assured there would be no noise, another result for the earplugs as they clattered around , made coffee etc. Next morning from 7.30 the rest of the guests were up, they were workmen going back to Puerto Montt, the kitchen table was covered in food, the sink was full of their dishes. We made a quick coffee and left and no sign of our host Sonia !

Our ferry was delayed too and we messaged Vanessa. None of the cafes were open so we had empanadas for breakfast. Eventually we left two and a half hours late, the ferry was only partly full so we could spread out. Lunch was very average sandwiches. As we were approaching the island of Raul Marin I chatted to a lady and it was Vanessa's mum, Nancy. We were picked up and taken to our cabana, which was rustic but very comfortable with a small log burner in the centre of the living area. Nancy insisted on putting the fire on. I did a bit of shopping to get stuff for breakfast and then we had dinner in the restaurant, la Paleta. It turned out there was no mobile signal but slow Wi-Fi in the restaurant, nit quite as remote as we thought. Vanessa talked to us about the layout of Raul Marin and about trips on a boat. Nancy had told me last year there were loads of whales but this year hardly any. We would have to travel further and bad weather was forecast. The same family have a shop, the cabanas and hostel and a restaurant. I had congrio, a delicious white fish, Chris had a stew with fish and seaweed. After a few beers we were ready for an early night. We were delighted with our hosts, so different to the sharks in Quellon.

Friday was overcast and rainy but we wanted to chill after the journey, we had a wander round the “town" and visited all three shops and bought food in all three , we like to spread our business around. We had decided to eat in the cabin most nights. During the heavy rain I made some homemade soup and rejigged the Uruguay plan. A break in the weather allowed us another potter and we went to the only other eating place , Dos Juanitos, and had 2 beers . Two more beers in La Paleta and back to the cabin for food.

Saturday started rainy again but once it stopped we went out and we walked up to the ferry dock where a German camper was parked up and talked to the owners, Lutz and Karin. They had shipped the van from Hamburg to Buenos Aires and had driven all the way down to Tierra del Fuego and were now on the way back up. We walked along the beach and round the headland about 6-7km. Beautiful, peaceful and good for the soul. As we got back to “town" the ferry was arriving 5 hours late ! It was chilly so hot soup was very good and warming. At 5.30 pm we left on a boat trip, with Lutz and Karin and our host Vanessa, first we headed out towards the sea but it was too rough to go out so we opted for a trip to the fiords instead. It is breathtakingly beautiful and of course we were the only ones out. We moored near the island's water source for coffee, our guide Arlen was really knowledgeable about the area, the water is pumped from a laguna into the town , and repairs are costly and time consuming. We spotted all three species of cormorants (Yeco or black, Imperial and lille red-legged), Chilean skuas and were treated to two displays by two pods of dolphins, Austral and the more timid Chilean. On the way back Arlen pulled up his crab pot to reveal seven crabs, two to eat , two too small and three female - five were thrown back . This was much to the disgust of Karin who was vegetarian. It was a delight to meet Arlen on his last trip of the season, he was going back to his job as a teacher having spent the summer with his wife and three children in Raul Marin. I had a couple of orange pisco sours and then headed back for a chicken carbonara in our cosy cabin.

Sunday I got up and got the fire started first time – firelighters are not allowed. We decided to do another walk and it was through a wood and about 3-4 km , although the map was very basic. The bosque was an amazing a temperate rainforest with thousands of different species of trees and plant life, the birds were in full song and we heard but couldn’t see a woodpecker. The local orange-barked ..........trees are amazing, they are coppiced to use for building but in the bosque grow much fatter, ideal for tree hugging, which Chris didn't try! From the map we had to walk to the 3^rd lookout and there would be a split in the track, as there wasn't we just kept going until lookout 5 where the track ended and we had to Bush whack. We saw an area of fenced in land and decided it would join up with the track back to town. After following the fence for 2 km wading through the trees and bushes I climbed a fence to a highpoint to work out where we were, and eventually after climbing two fences we found the path- we had walked for nearly four hours. So in one day I got my bush whack and fire starter badge. A pit stop for diet coke and fried potatoes also ended with Vanessa saying a whale searching trip to Tic Toc ( a real name and long before the app!) was on for Monday, so we agreed. She gave us two cooked crab claws and I bought two pieces of delicious homemade cake which she brought over to the cabin. They served as starter and dessert with my chicken breast and mixed mashed potato and pumpkin. A sumptuous feast.

Monday we left at 8am with Ben and Carol from Seattle and Toby and Misha from Germany on a longer trip. It was choppy at first on the open sea, but once in Tic Toc bay it was calm, sadly not a whale in sight. Luis , our skipper said there wasn't enough krill . We did see sea lions, Austral fur seals, a few lonely penguins, plenty of cormorants, Caranca kelp geese and pairs of ducks, Quetru no volandor ( Magellan flightless steamer-ducks). The highlight was three chunchungos ( marine otters) , much smaller than UK otters, one playing in the water and the two males fighting on the shore. We stopped for coffee in the boat and Vanessa had brought a cake as it was Toby's birthday, which on our return we went back to La Paleta to have some birthday cake and coffee.

We had been in the boat just over five hours and it , and the travel sickness pills, meant a nap was needed. It was our last night here and we ate in the restaurant, I had a local speciality Puyes, tiny boneless fish that you eat whole. There were cooked with garlic and chilli and the taste was amazing. Chris had pork, a huge chunk and it clearly not reared in a factory. The menu is very simple and as local as possible.

The road only came to the island in 2009 , before that they relied on their own produce and goods from the ferry- which in winter could be cancelled often. I asked Luis what he did in the off season and apart from the usual fishing, maintenance etc. he has a holiday. Last year he had 5 days on a Colombian island and he travelled 4 days to have a 5 day break. Vanessa told us that anyone pregnant has to go and live in Coyhaique (350km and 9hour drive away)for a month before their due date for a normal pregnancy and two months for any complications, often the whole family goes. Home births here on the island are banned, due to the risk to mother and baby. For school after year 7 children live in La Junta during the week, its only 75km but takes 3 hours, or families move there till their children are finished school.

Nancy and Vanessa were a delight to stay with such gentle souls, keen to preserve the environment and share the beauty of their surroundings. Vanessa spoke English which she learned in Queenstown, New Zealand and Dublin. Her priority was the quality of experience of her guests rather than profit.

We spent our last day hanging around waiting for the ferry back to Quellon which finally arrived at 7.35pm, over 6 hours late. More of that next time.





Norma x

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