Blogs from Aisén, Chile, South America - page 2

After my amazing time in Futaleufu, finally there was a bus to move on. I went to Puerto Rio Tranquilo, a tiny town further south along the Carreterra Austral in Chile. It rained a lot still so I did not do all the things I wanted to do but I did get a morning of sun for visiting the marble caves. The rocks on the coast of the lake are marble and with the erosion of water, some caves formed leaving the beautifully polished rock exposed to the sun´s reflection on the water and onto the white rock surface. the water is blue transparent so it was really gorgeous to see, it had to be done with sun and I got it so I was happy! The return on the boat was painful for the butt ... read more

Overnight we sailed 283 nautical miles at a average speed of 18.3 knots and at 09:54 we arrived in Puerto Chacabuco where the weather was much more promising than it was yesterday. Bernie looked into using a private tour operator here, but had difficulty contacting them so decided it might be best to book the ship's excursion to Northern Patagonia and Coyhaique City. We drove from Puerto Chacabuco through forested landscape to the Simpson River Reserve and a little further along the road to the Virgin Waterfall. After a brief stop at the waterfall we continued on to Coyhaique City. While the first mountain and valley were quite lush and forested as we continued inland the landscape became much drier and harsher. Coyhaique is the capital of the Aisén region and actually sits high in the ... read more

Geo: -47.2667, -72.55... read more

Geo: -47.7987, -73.5363... read more

The traverse back into Chile completed, and the 22km human-powered section now has a rating system. 1) Plush: Horse */- 4wd carries luggage and passengers 2) Sensible: Horse */- 4wd carries luggage. Walk and enjoy lush forrest rising to snow-capped mountains on the Argentine side, and a soft grass camp above glacier-fed lakes in Chile. Recovery: minimal 3) Foolish (incidently, the Bec option): oops. Walk with all luggage and 3 days food. Notice above scenery, between cursing pack, near knee-deep mud and mentally valueing every item in pack. Recovery: 36 hours. 4) Masochist: Bike with luggage, necessitating pushing of bike seperately to carriage of said luggage on many trail parts (ie 2-3 trips). Collapse at scenic campsite. Recovery: 2-3 days. Very popular. Swearing never to carry half my bodyweight in gear again, I was none the ... read more