D302 – D336: From Santiago to Buenos Aires via Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego – 9 January - 13 February 2013

D302 was about crossing the mountains from Mendoza, Argentina to Santiago, Chile through stunning landscape. The highlight of the day was that I could have a peak of the majestic Aconcagua, the highest peak in the Southern Hemisphere. 

Once in Santiago I spoiled myself booking into a private room at Hostal Bella 269, a cool boutique hostel in the bohemian Bellavista neighbourhood. Small treats can make the day of a traveller!!

The next day (D303) was all about exploring the sights of Santiago: climbing up the Cerro Santa Lucia in the middle of the centre, checking out the huge Chilean flag on Avenida O'Higgins in front of the Palacio La Moneda and finishing up at Plaza de Armas. I had planned to visit the Museo Pre-Colombiano and La Chascona, Pablo Neruda’s house but unfortunately both were shut, the first due to renovations whereas the other due to employees strike. The day ended with a visit to the nearby Cine Hoyts watching “Fuerza Antigangster” aka “Gangster Squad”with Sean Penn.

At 10 in the following morning (D304) I met Hans, a Chilean friend whom I met in Galway and have not seen for at least four years. I spent the day with him and his lovely family playing with the two girls Yhara, Kiara and Hansito, the seven month’s old little fluffy smiley teddy bear. Later on all of us were driven up to Cerro San Cristobal, a hill with an angel statue and 360 degree view of the city.

On the way back to the house we stopped at the Costanera Shopping Centre, the biggest one in South America taking up the first six floors of a 100 floor ultra-modern skyscraper.

The following morning (D305) was a fresh and tranquil Sunday. Hans and I started our road trip to Valparaiso passing through the vineyards of Casablanca Valley.

Once in Valparaiso, we took an elevator from 1893 up the hill and wandered around the narrow - artsy - colourful streets. Valparaiso is an important Chilean port, the cultural capital and also famous for its old elevators useful to get up and down the hilly streets.

Next we drove up a very steep hill to visit La Sebastiana, Pablo Neruda's house in Valparaiso. This was closed as the one in Santiago and a note on the door informed us that the house in Isla Negra was closed too.

Despite this news we continued driving to Isla Negra, a posh seaside village with pretty houses and one of these was Pablo Neruda’s.

Once back in Santiago I was shown the Chilean hospitality with a small get together over an asado aka BBQ This meant a huge amount of grilled beef / pork, good quality red Chilean wine (not the crappy ones that are sold in Ireland), good company and a lot of laughter.

On D306 the family drove me to Pirque to visit the famous Concha y Toro winery. During the one hour tour the group of tourists were shown the summer house of the family, the vineyard with different type of grapes among them the Carmenere a very specific grape type famous for this area. This was followed by a white wine tasting of Sauvignon Blanc and a visit to the original Casillero del Diablo an old cool cellar built 4m underground. The tour ended with the tasting a glass of the not so delicious Cabernet Sauvignon mixed with Syrah.

In the evening I said goodbye to the family and hit the road again hoping on an overnight bus to Puerto Varas. It was really great for my mind and soul to meet up with an old friend.

Early morning of D307 I reached Puerto Varas, a stunning Germanic hilly town on the shore of Lago LLanquihue guarded by snow-capped Volcan Osorno in the Northeast and Volcan Calbuco in Southeast. After I checked in into Hospedaje Ellenhaus, I hanged out around the shore enjoying the sun and admiring the picturesque view.

Later I continued exploring the town on foot. At some point I was cutting my way through some spikey bushes and I was very proud that I managed to get out without a scratch. But my happiness was short-lived because as soon as I got out a playful doggie jumped on me several times scratching my arms and legs in the process. LOL!

I really liked Puerto Varas and the area so the following afternoon (D308) I caught a bus to the nearby Petrohue. The drive took us through beautiful alpine scenery with some scattered Germanic wooden houses and the view of the perfect cone shaped Volcan Osorno.

Petrohue is the end of the road being surrounded by waters and mountains. On the right the clean and turquoise Rio Petrohue flows into the equally turquoise green Lago Todos los Santos backed by some cliffy mountains the natural border between Chile and Argentina. On the left there is the entrance to Parque Nacional Vicente Perez Rosales which has trails to the volcano.

First I strolled on the beach of the lake attracting some big black and orange flies that followed me and pissed me off throughout my walk in the woods. Later on in Puerto Varas just chilled and enjoyed the good vibe of this amazing town.

On D309 I moved to the big Chiloe Island part of the Chiloe Archipelago, which is only linked by ferry to the mainland. Due to its isolation they have their own traditions and customs. Like some mythological figures like El Trauco, a midget that steals and rapes women; numerous wooden churches scattered around the archipelago sixteen of which are UNESCO heritages and also the houses around here are mainly built of wood.

My first stop here was in the northern town of Ancud where on my arrival I was greeted by the lovely Puvises (Nico and his visiting family). We enjoyed a couple of hours and a delicious Chiloen lunch before they left to Puerto Montt. In the afternoon I just relaxed and chatted with Marie, my dorm-mate at the cool 13 Lunas Hostel.

Ancud is another pretty hilly town with original wooden houses painted in every colour one can imagine situated on the northern coast of the Chiloe Island. In the morning of D310, Marie and I set out to ascend to to the nearby Fuerte San Antonio which is the last Spanish outpost in Chile.

From here we descended to the fish and artisanal market continuing to Plaza de Armas, filled with statues of the mythological figures of the island. Next we paid a visit to Museo Regional Ancud which displays some local basketry items and states a few fact about the history of the archipelago. The most impressive item seen here was the skeleton of a huge.

We ended our town tour with a visit to the Church foundation where they have displayed some replicas of the wooden churches of the archipelago.

In the afternoon we signed up for a tour to the penguin colonies at the nearby Punihuil. The scenery on our way to Punihuil reminded me of Clifden, Ireland. The boat trip from Punihuil to the close by islands was about 30 minutes. During this Magellan and Humboldt penguins could be spotted together with two types of cormorant Imperial and Lille, seagulls, two sea lions and a shy otter.

On D311 I hit the road again going south to Castro after saying goodbye to Marie. Castro is the capital of the island and it is famous for its palafitos houses built on stilts over the water. In my opinion it is not as beautiful and welcoming as Ancud.

Once in Castro I checked-in and left my backpacks at Hostal Central. This was followed by catching a bus to Dalcahue. This village had a pretty but simple wooden church and a big wool artisan market where I witnessed an outdoor local dance.

From here I crossed over to Isla Quinchoa by ferry and once on the island I took a minibus to Achoa. This is a home of another UNESCO heritage church built with wooden pegs instead of nails. The inside of the church was pretty unique to what I have seen so far.

Back in Castro, the heat of the afternoon sun was still a bit unbearable but despite this I strolled to the fjord to see the palafitos and walk around the coast road ending up at Sacho restaurant. Here I sampled pulmay, a local seafood dish consisting of different types of shellfish, pork sausage, boiled potato and a ball of mash potato served on a big wooden oval bowl.

On my way back to the hostel I spotted some drummers playing which reminded me the ones in Galway which made me smile inside. Galway, Galway, my beautiful and rainy Galway!

For 311 days I have been experiencing new things, facing new situation, meeting new people and my mind, body and soul craved a break so I gave it to them in the honour of Sunday (D312). The only two things I did on this day were to feed my empty stomach and I had a short walk to have proper look at the palafitos and the local church.

After a lot of thinking about where to go next I finally made the decision to explore the wild and unique Carretera Austral instead of choosing the simpler option taking a bus over Argentina and get South that way. I am always choosing the most complicated route that gives me a lot of satisfaction so I do not know why it took me a long time to make the right decision. The road less travelled is not necessarily harder just unpredictable and involves more adventure. The ship crossing from Chiloe Island to Puerto Chacabuco was leaving in the afternoon of D313.

So I Ieft Castro to Chonchi to visit its wooden church then continued to Quellon from where the ship was departing.

Also this is the place where the Panamericana Highway ends. Unfortunately I did not have time to  visit this spot.

That evening I boarded on Don Baldo of Navera Austral traveling 28 hours south to Puerto Chacabuco.

During D314 the trip continued through the canals between the Pacific Ocean and the mainland Chile. The scenery was just like a dream, numerous islands with lush vegetation guarded by a few peak covered with ice.

On the way there was a five hour stop in the Patagonian village of Puerto Cisnes.

Continuing from here we reached Puerto Chacabuco on the morning of my 34^th birthday (D315) with 12 hours delay but worth every minute of it!

Happy to be in the remote and unique Patagonia, before settling in I had to catch a bus from Puerto Chacabuco via Puerto Aysen to get to Coyhaique. This cosy and compact town is the capital of the Aysen region.

After checking into the basic but friendly Residencial Monica, I spent my day strolling around town admiring the quietness, the views of the surrounding mountains and the rushing Rio Simpson. 

I ended the day with munching on a slice of celebratory dulce de leche cake. This was an alcohol free birthday which has not happened for years and years. Glad that I did not have to suffer of next day hangover. What a pleasant surprise!

The slice of cake had to be worked off. So the next day (D316) I did a long meditative walk in the pine forests of Reserva Nacional Coyhaique. Because no bus wanted to pick me up on Carretera Austral I ended up walking back to town covering 13kms in total that day.

The adventure in the northern Patagonia continued on D317 to Puerto Rio Tranquilo. The asphalted / dirt road passed through breath-taking but wild landscape consisting of Cerro Castillo, the glacial Rio Murta. 

Puerto Rio Tranquilo is a tiny village on the shore of Laguna General Carrera, the second largest lake in South America backed by snow-capped mountains. Here I settled in the pleasant, clean Residencial Darka.

Later after sampling the local salmon, I joined a boat excursion to the Capillas del Marmol aka the Marble Churches. These are some marble rock formations eroded by the wind and the water of Laguna General Carrera. We passed through amazing tunnels, entered caves and observed tear drops. The reflection of the turquoise water to the marble creates a blue-ish light once inside in a cave or tunnel. Quite impressive sight to be seen!

D318 was the first day to experience the adventure of catching a bus in the middle of rural Patagonia. There is a saying at this side of the world “Who is rushing in Patagonia is wasting its time!” Luckily without any hiccup I got the bus to Cochrane continuing to witness the undiscovered beauties along the dirt road Carretera Austral. These “God’s gifts” comprised of three turquoise lakes (General Carrera, Bertrand, Baker) guarded by some snow-capped mountains from the Northern Ice Field, driving along the famous Rio Baker and admiring from above the dramatic meeting of of Rio Baker and Rio Neff.

Once in Cochrane I shortly found out there was no bus to Tortel the same day so I had to hang around for 24 hours. This town is not much of the tourist paradise but its habitants are quite friendly and welcoming. I chose to spend the night at the family home Hospedaje Ana Luz.

As I had a lot of time on hand the following day (D319), I decided to walk to the Reserva Natural Tamango situated just 4km from Cochrane. Here I took the woodpecker trail following the Rio Cochrane until it flows into the lake with the same name.

During this 15km walk I could spot a red headed woodpecker in action and witness a tiny chirping birdie chasing an eagle.

In the late afternoon I took the bus to Caleta Tortel and during the entire trip was entertained by three children. We arrived late in the evening and settled in the cosy, family-run Residencial Don Adan.

Caleta Tortel feels like a fairy tale village with its colourful houses built at the foot of the cliffs running along the turquoise Bahia Tortel. It is ideally located between the Northern and Southern Ice Fields making easy to access the glaciers of both.

On D320 my mission was to explore this gem through the cypress boardwalk built by its inhabitant to connect different points of the village.

Patagonia is a marvellous place for its unique fauna and flora, diverse sceneries and its isolation from the real world. But this also means that scarce transportation or no transportation at all to connect its small towns or villages. Due to this issue I stayed two days longer in Caleta Tortel as I anticipated. It was a heaven to relax and enjoy quietness as there are no cars here.

The plan for D321 was just to chill but me the hyper active one ended up going for an adventurous walk on the ridge of the mountains surrounding the village to have a panoramic view from above. The blood pumping part was that I got lost a few times due to lack of signposts and needed to pass through rough vegetation to get out. What a day, me thinking it would be a relaxing one! Of course my horse!!

Eventually in my last day in Caleta Tortel (D322) I managed to get on a boat trip to Isla de los Muertos joining the filming crew of three from Residencial Don Adan. They were making a TV reportage about the Tortel and one of the interviewee was Olga our guide for this trip.

Isla de los Muertos is an island nearby Caleta Tortel where 70 unnamed graves with currently only 33 standing crosses from between 1903 to 1906 were discovered. The research shows that were a group of people arriving by a boat from Chiloe Island working for a wood processing company but the cause of their death is still unclear.

After this excursion I took a bus back to Cochrane just to travel south again to Villa O’Higgins on the next day (D323). Patagonia, stunning Patagonia and its transportation system!!

The bus trip was just amazing and different as we were getting closer and closer to the ice-capped mountains of the Southern Ice Field with glacial waterfalls rushing down on their slopes.

The picturesque village of Villa O’Higgins is the last settlement before the 1247km long Carretera Austral ends at Bahamondez 7km further up the road.

From here the two day adventurous border crossing to Argentina started on D324 in the company of Sandra from Killaloe, Ireland. First we were taken by bus to Bahamondez the nearest harbour of Lago O’Higgins to take a boat trip to O’Higgins Glacier via Candelario Mancilla passing some impressive hanging glaciers, blueish icebergs and specific patches of vegetation.

After passing a very windy and drizzly patch we reached the majestic Glaciar O’Higgings, the 80m high and 3km long wall of spikey ice formations part of the Parque Nacional Bernando O’Higgins. One hour spent here, over 250 snaps taken and two glasses of complimentary whisky shared with the fellow Irish lady I was ready to get back in and my warm my bones up.

Following this we sailed back to the remote Candelario Mancilla to spend the night at Ricardo’s house and continue to Argentina the next day (D325).

During this day Ricardo took Sandra and myself to the Argentine border. 

Again on Argentine land we walked two hours with all our bags through a deserted forest. In the process I managed to fall twice on a wooden bridge and drop my camera into the water. As a result of this it does not work anymore which makes me quite annoyed but such is life.

Once we reached the Desierto Lake, a boat sailed us to the other side of the lake just below the foot of the spikey Cerro Fitzroy.

From here a nice family from Buenos Aires was kind enough to give us a free ride to El Chalten, a small touristy town just behind the Parque Nacional de Los Glacieres. This is the base for both local and foreign tourists involve in different mountaineering activities. To finish the day we sampled the Patagonian lamb grilled in a specific way washed down by a bottle of Cafayette Cabernet Sauvignon.

For us it was just an overnight stop continuing to El Calafate the next morning (D326). This is a much friendlier and cosier town due to its organized infrastructure but it is equally touristy and almost as expensive as El Chaiten.

Early morning of D327 we had a day trip to visit the nearby Glaciar Perito Moreno, one of the highlights of the southern Argentina. Definitely this was one of the most impressive natural wonders I have ever seen and also we were lucky to witness a few smaller and bigger chunks of ice to land in the water.

The adventure continued by spending most of the next day (D328) on the bus traveling over the border to Punta Arenas, Chile via Puerto Natales, Chile. In Puerto Natales said our goodbyes with Sandra after four days fun days. Thanks to her kindness I have a temporary camera until I figure out what to do with my dead one. 

Once Punta Arenas it proved difficult to find a decent place to sleep and ended up paying an expensive double room at the friendly and cosy Hostal Betty. The wind here was just unbelievably strong and cold especially with thin clothes as most of my clothes at the laundry.

D329 started a bit lazy only managed to change to Hostal Costanera. Later on I explored the streets of this extremely windy city that is not a surprise as it is the extreme southern continental city of South America on the shore of the Strait of Magellan. Following this I wandered around the impressive more than a century old cemetery bear witness of the mixed cultural background of this city’s inhabitants Croatian, Welsh, German, French and more.

 

In the evening I had a look at the famous end of the world tax free shopping area and walked back on the long promenade on the shore of the Straits of Magellan reminding me of the Galway one. Even the climate is not so different from Galway.

I have been fascinated with penguins for a while and southern South America is the ideal place to admire them. So on D330 I took a tour crossing to Tierra del Fuego to see a small group of up to 85 adults king penguins in the Bahia Inutil. These are the second largest penguins after the Emperor ones and considered the most beautiful breed of penguins that can be found in bigger colonies the sub-Antarctica islands. We could not have a close-up look at them as they were on a small island between a creek and the open sea. It was a bit disappointing but still fascinating to observe at these beautiful creatures.

The following day (D331) I took a full day bus to Ushuaia, the most southern city of the world situated on the Argentine side of Isla Grande of Tierra del Fuego. The trip took thirteen hours and a half reaching Ushuaia at 9:30 in the evening where I checked in into La Posta Hostel Apart, a cosy but far from the city centre hostel.

 

The next two days (D332 and D333) I admired this colourful and expensive southern end of the world city located at the shore of the Beagle Channel backed by numerous snow-capped mountains.

 

I paid a visit to Museo Maritimo housed in the building of an old prison with five winds and two floors.

Also I dined at an Irish pub called Galway Ideal Pub. Even at the end of the world you can find Irish pubs. Just to note that this is not the only one in the city.

Ushuaia is a place where a lot of tourists all over the world come to get on a three week boat trip to Antarctica and back. Being here felt like I was dreaming. Definitely I would come back one day and take the Antarctica trip.

Early morning of D334 I said farewell to the spectacular Tierra del Fuego and Patagonia. Following this I started the 48 hours bus trip up on Ruta 3 to Buenos Aires along the flat east coast of Argentina crossing Straits of Magellan belonging to Chile.