Driving further south the Carretera Austral becomes a gravel road again but suddenly the view opens up to the lake General Carrera.
I had to stop. The blue of the lake was just fascinating. Have you seen something like this?
From Puerto Río Tranquilo you can make tours to see the marble caves. Unfortunately, that day I was too late already.
On the way back I will have to realize that I have no time for them. Too bad.
So, on I went and wanted to camp along the lake. I was happy laying in my hotel room in Chile Chico later and listening to the rattling wind outside 😉
With 2 backpackers in tow, I went to what was but a few years ago Reserva Nacional Jeinimeni and now is part of the Parque Nacional Patagonia (more to that later). It’s a long and badly maintained 1.5 hrs trip to get there. Once there, there are really not many hikes. I did one that is about 5 hrs going to a lagoon. You could cross from here to the Chacabuco Valley in 3 days but then my car is on the other side!
That night was not only a full moon but also fucking cold. In the morning I had hail on my tent. WTF! I went back and also the 2 backpackers decided that while the landscape is beautiful it is too cold.
I had a beautiful evening at lake Bertrand. Finally, I could make a fire, and just getting lost starring in the fire was what I did…and enjoyed (and probably mentally needed). This also helped against the cold that was creeping in while night arrived.
And finally, the day arrived. Just taking a left turn from the Carretera Austral I was standing in front of the Parque Nacional Patagonia sign. Bienvenido!
Immediately I felt a sense of wonder. It was the guanacos that got me. They are related to the lamas.
The park was founded by Doug and Kris Tompkins. Him being the founder of The North Face and Esprit and she the CEO of Patagonia. That is the short story. The longer version goes something like this:
What would you do if you have a few millions? Would you, after a hike in the region, decide to buy huge amounts of land here with the goal to give it to Chile as a national park? Me, I am not sure. But they did. Not without resistance and suspicion from the local landowners. Slowly they turned the former farmland (cows) into wilderness again. As she said, buying is the easy or most straightforward part of it. But the renaturation is more difficult and included reinstating animals that were extinct here. In 2018 the Chilean government accepted the gift of the Tompkins Foundation and the Parque Nacional Patagonia was created, including the former reserves Jeinemeni and Tamango, forming, as the lonely planet claims it, Chile’s best national park. The installations are typical American…oversized 😉 But in really good shape. I mean, I had somewhat warm shower water, in the middle of nowhere! I wonder how they will be a few years down the road.
But what I really loved is the trail system they built up. In most parks I came along are one or two tracks and often lead the same way back (or multi-day hikes that leave you stranded somewhere). However, here some loop trails were created. I did 3 days worth of hiking and enjoyed the landscape. This part of Patagonia is very dry as most of the rain pours down over the mountain range in the west. Don’t know what to say more about it. Just enjoy watching the pictures as much as I did seeing them live.
As nice as the park was, every morning I had frozen mist on my tent and the decision was made that this is as far south as I will go.
And immediately the ferry situation comes to mind. I wanted to get to Chiloé Island in an economical way. But it seems that whenever I looked, the option I just had chosen, after some consideration, was sold out. Story of this trip 😀
I spent a night alongside the lake…in my car. Little did I know that this would be the first of 3 nights in a row. Morning brought a beautiful outlook and I could cherish one more time into the beauty of Patagonia, its mountains, glaciers and lakes.
I went to Puerto Cisnes but without much hope since this ferry was sold out since weeks. My idea was to spend a night at the port (yes, in the car again) and see if I can squeeze my tiny car in the next morning. But that was not necessary! Well, the squeezing, not the sleeping in the car. After some screen time, the lady at the counter saw that there is still space and 5 minutes later I had my ticket (about 120 USD).
The ferry was supposed to leave at 4:45 am the next morning. But it would have been the first one on time I experienced in South America and we actually left shortly before 6 am. Also, the arrival time moved from 5 pm to way after midnight. I gave a rat’s ass to all that. I was just happy being on board.
One has to wonder what people do at those little ports and islands we stopped on our way. This wouldn’t be my cup of tea. The sea was rough this day and especially once we crossed the Gulf of Corcovado and thus open sea, towards Quellón. The ship rolled quite some way over the waves.
I spent a couple of days on Chiloé Island, basically driving around. Managed to wash my car twice just to find it dirty again a couple of hours later. But the worry was groundless as the rental car company didn’t complain about anything, despite the car being used on the Carretera Austral against their “advice”.
I heard a lot of good things about the Chiloé kitchen but either I chose the wrong restaurants or was otherwise out of luck I was not impressed with the food at all. They grow a lot of salmon here but the best salmon dish I had in Puerto Rio Tranquilo already. Yummy! 😀
Another thing you can do is watch the penguins…if you arrive at the right time. Not me 🙁
Imagine yourself in a really nice restaurant. I mean really exquisite. The inner decor is exactly in the style you like. You’ve spoken about this place a lot with your friends and now you are here. Light music in the background delights your eardrums. In front of you is a delicious plate and you devour every flavor of it. Somewhere halfway through you realize that you are stuffed. While it is such a great food you feel that you cannot anymore. What would you do? Push yourself? Leave it? Get a doggy bag? I know what I would do 😀
Have a lovely day and thanks for following my story!
Love,
Matthias