From the Central Chile, I now enters the south. Well, the most southern I go. The fare south is extremely hard to access, and those cold islands, only reachable by ferries, are of no interest to me. Still 18/12. The Chiloe island is dominated by shrub, of which the most seems to be made up by broom. It is in full flower, and look awesome in the sun. Swamps, green grazing hills and tiny huts. I passes the first bigger city; Ancud, which was destroyed by the 1960 earth shake. It have now been rebuild in square concrete. Their wooden churches are famous, but the next city; Castro have its share, and I drive right pass Ancud. It seems like I head right into centre of Castro, and what I thrill! 95% of the
houses are old, wooden sheds, and I actually pick-up the atmosphere!
I'm once again reaching the city in rush-hour, and parking space is
for the lucky ones. I do a U around the central square with the
bright yellow church, and find a place to park in the fare end of
the main street.
The sun is here, and I grab the camera and try to capture
some of the cosy shops.
I find the ferry office, but unfortunately, the harsh
weather have delayed the ferry, and it left yesterday (Monday), and
the next scheduled tour Thursday MIGHT occur Monday - no promises. I
can't wait for that, and find an alternative route.
Back
up north to Puerto Montt on the mainland, and down to Hornopiren. Here, a daily ferry
should connect with the southern road system. The ferry can't be
booked: It is first appearance get the ride of the day. It is a five
hour drive, and I'm supposed to be there in the morning. Well, this
de-tour of two times 300 Km is made up by this cosy, atmospheric
city, and its church. Find a cosy hostal: Latorre, on my way down to the harbour,
and then I do the city tour. It is a bit hard to capture the small,
wooden houses
in their bright colours, due to the parked cars. All the roads seems
to end in a steep hill, down to the water. I find a Jerrycan
and a replace wire, I was missing. When Back by the distance parked car to pick-up a few forgotten things - and lock it this time. Sit out a shower in the car, and head back towards the hostal. A shower and a cake passes under a baldachin, and then I'm home in my room, with a great view over the water. The rain picks up, and now it is persistence. A financial status reveals: I have used the first 300,000 pesos/3650 DKK I withdraw. 1/10 of the tour - that sounds like it could be a rather expensive tour! 19/12. The rain continues through the night, but silences as I leave the hostal, and the ibises call dominates the sounds in the early morning. I head down south on the island. It is only 90 Km to the end of Ruta 5, and I would like to see the rest of the island. The farmland turns into hill, grassed by red-spotted milking cows and cheeps. The brooms disappears, or they haven't sprung yet. The grass is real lush, and it is early summer here. Sudden showers blackens the sky, but the temperature remains between 20C and 25C. I only stop a few times to investigate some plants and make a few photos. Tiny wooden churches along the road look rather deserted, and religion does not seem to be important around here - anymore. The private houses have a bit of decorations related to Christmas, but not that much. I woke up to a decorated plastic pine tree this morning. I reach the southern town; Quellon, which should have been
my ferry town. Now,
Quellon's houses are like Castro's, just a bit more
scruffy, and not quiet there. It is a fishing town, and many small
I'm familiar with Castro, and get right through. I get
clean through Ancud as well, just not out of the right road. I en up
at the perfect beach, west of town. Through Ancud again, and it is a
significantly more batted version of Castro. I reach the loading
ferry, and once again, I'm the last on-boat. Only fault is; I'm
behind all the rest, as we hit the highway.
The 20-car-ferry have not only a tiny cafeteria with room for four - literally, but also free Wi-Fi. I get a hot-dog with everything - and that is a lot around here, and check my emails. As I reach Puerto Montt, I have an idea of where to go. It
just don't work for me. I end up driving around for an hour, before I
find the right road. But finding it is not enough: I need to get the
car on it. It is rush-hour, and all the roads are one-way, right or
left turns illegal and so on. I do the same circles three times.
Once I forced backwards by a bus, who holds on his rights.
At a light, two carabineros on motorcycles park next to me, and I ask for help. The guides me quite a distance the wrong way - on the right road, and then block the intense traffic to let me do an illegal U-turn. Useful guys to have around. I hit the central Chile with its high, snow coned
Pretty soon, it turns into a gravel road, and the pot-holes
has to be taken serious. Some real heavy showers are interrupting
the sun and drizzle. When I reach the Arena-Puelche ferry, I'm first
asked to wait, but they manages to squeeze me on - the last as
usual.
It is, without any doubts, a rich sea. The sky is covered
with seagulls, fishing in the stirred waters behind the ferry. We
pass
It is more or less one large road-work, just like around
Puerto Montt, and if every one took their hands up their pockets,
things would go 20 times as fast. There are numerous "flag-zones",
where the traffic is one-way at a time. At one point; I think the
lorry in front of me stops because of that, but a mud-slide blocks
the road, and busses, trucks and many cars just looks at it.
A local farmer in a tiny lorry with sheep on, head straight
for it, and gets through. None else seems to have the guts, and as I
have no intentions of spending the night in the side of a mountain
road, I'll give it a go. It is 30 centimetre of thick, heavy mud,
but the bottom is firm. I get through, but just. People applauses on
the other side, and I pad my car. All the bridges on the road are
narrow, wooden ones, some missing part of the deck.
I reach Hornopiren at eight, and find Hotel Hornopiren. It is a rather huge wooden building with a Grandstore, a restaurant and the hotel it self. A young girl welcomes me, but she can't understand a single word of English. Never the less, I get a cosy room with a view over the harbour. I can't stand upright, but I get a dish of soup and a brilliant pot-stew of ox, made on the wood-stow. All the others are workers from around, and we sit at a large table. A cup of coffee, and I retire to work. Two other tourists find their way to the hotel, but I haven't seen ten in total. If this is high season, they must must rely on fish and timber for their income! A look out the window lours me out, and I spot some black-necked swans in the bay. The rain pick-up, and I head back. Once again, I get way too close to midnight, before I'm done with diary and photos. 20/12. The day starts with a light rain, but I have
two ferry-rides and some driving ahead of me, before I reach
Pinochet's famous/feared Carretera Austral road and Parque Nacional
Pumalin. It could clear up. I'm not sure breakfast is included in the room, and despite
the table is set, there is none to ask. Well, for 20,000 pesos, I'm
sure it is. Homemade bread with homemade jam and some sausages, and
a cup of my own de-cap.
I find the Supermacando next to the tiny square, and buy 10
litres of water for the upcoming stretch The rain is rather intense, and the light not for
photographing. I do a few, short walks, but can't really talk my
selves into it. I'm at the corner of Parque Hornopiren, but the
weather considered The cars has begun boarding, when I get back to the rather
large ferry. A kingfisher visits fishermen In the fjords, salmon are farmed. It is big business, and we
meet several big trucks with tanks on. The road goes through the
Pumalin Park
which's dense forest have made attempts to make
trails, more or less fail, due to the rapid growth of the
We reach the other side of the peninsular at a little pass five, and the winding gravelroad and the traffic in front of me, in the beginning, slows me down. I would have loved to make it to Coihaique, but have to find a hostal in La Junta. The rest stopped at Chaiten, but I like the feeling of a sealed road after 100 Km rumble, and heads on. Good music on, and I enjoy the ride. Intense, green vegetation on both sides of the track, cut
through by numerous waterfalls. I pass several huge rivers and
endless tiny creeks. In some places, all the huge trees are dead,
but underneath, the lush green seems fine. It might have suffered a
eruption? Unfortunately, the sealing end at a large, suspension
bridge. I catch up with some locals, but they drive too slow for my liking. The road is wide, but covered with fist-large rocks, and the pot holes have to be taken serious! I would have liked to make it to La Junta, but at eight, I learn the road can't be driven at night, and I pull over. I guess it is the village; Villa Santa Lucia. It is not really a town, just a collection of miserable huts and shelters. I ask a man, if actually is Villa Santa Lucia, and it is. I ask for a place to sleep, and he know a woman, who have a daughter, who drives along with me to a woman, who have a cabina, to which she get a ride. Cosy little cabin with a stow, a fireplace and some beds. It even has hot water - she claims. I pay 30,000 pesos, and there better be hot water! Lit up the fire, cook some pasta and water for coffee. The fire having a hard time heating up the room, mainly because of the upper-floor. 21/12. I find
It is a beautiful road, squeezed in-between high, forest covered mountains with white peaks. If it was a clear day, I would have had some awesome photos! I reach a huge lake and an area with grassing cows. Waterfalls does not even make me consider, turning around - I have seen so many. An old bridge, made of raw timber works fine, but eventually, I have to go back. A single, small weasel crosses the road with a large rodent in its mouth. Passes Villa Santa Lucia, and head further down Ruta 7. In
Villa Vanguarcia, I pick up two out of four desperate hitch-hikers.
No chance I could have four and their enormous backpacks! It is a
real nice pair of Israelis, heading south. They tell me, half of
Israel is in Chile. Looks like locals to me,
We do a short stop at Reserva Nacional Rio Simpson, but besides from a steep mountainside, and a short path along the river, it have little to offer. A bit further on, we meet a huge valley, covered in mainly blue Lupines. It stretches for several kilometres, and the girl get the flowers she asked for. Buttercups are plentiful, along with marguerites. Some other stops for views to huge waterfalls or the icy peaks of the mountains, flanking the road. While we make several
We are at the border to the highland semiarid steppe, and
we take a trail, leading from the forest to an almost barren peak.
From here, there is a great - although misty - view over the lagunas. I even find several members of two species of orchids,
flowering. Here are also a lot pale, yellow Ranunculaceaes and some
more succulent herbs and several Fabaceaes.
We continues out of Route 240, through pine plantations and
then pure, endless steppes. All are fenced in, but we only see a few
cows and We drive back to Coihaique, and here, it is actually hard to find a place to sleep. They are either closed, occupied or overpriced. I end up in a quite nice one; Hostal Patagonia with breakfast included, but for 30,000 pesos! The kids are a block down, and I offer them a lift in the morning - if they are awake. Down town to get a bit of dinner, and back to work. I have driven well over 500 Km today, a better part on gravel roads, but I not worn out. Guess I'm ready for Argentina, with its endless gravel roads. 22/12. Wake up at six, and soon after, the sun
emerges: A nice change! Do a bit of banking and other work on
the PC, before I
leave the room. Breakfast is served - last night, and I have had
better. Chat with a couple of young Americans on a half year
survival course. Then I pick-up the kids from their hostal, It is a clear day, and until noon, we are blessed with the most amassing views of the high, snow-covered mountains on both sides of the road. We make countless stops. We reach a giant valley which is all used for grassing. Mainly blue lupines make a colourful addition the the surroundings. The valley end in a narrow and deep canyon, just to lead out to the next. A large predator bird, either a large buzzard or a small
eagle it having its breakfast on
A large dear stands near the river, and we get pretty
close, before it slowly flies. After the next bend of the road, there
are two more, next to the road. The valley we now are entering is
dominated by a blanket of yellow dandelion. The passes We are quite near the snow, and numerous waterfalls are
leading melting water to the river. We cross a high pass, and the
next part of the road is real serpentined. In front of us, a
massive, almost endless wall of ice topped mountain make up the
horizon. We pass some swamps with ducks and gees, but the fields are
dominated by cows and a few sheep. We enjoy the sealed road for almost 100 Km, but everything have an end. We reach the amassing Laguna Verde, which is bright turquoise. After that, the large river forms a delta. A drizzle passes, and we head for a shed to make some coffee, and have a bite. Next astonishing sight it the well over
We head out right
Bach for a sandwich, and we continues along the shore. More ice
tippet mountains, waterfalls, lakes, valleys,
We reach River Chacabuco, which runs under a surprisingly
large suspension bridge and through Considering this is the only road leading south, it is real
narrow: Only one and a half gravel trail. We reach the biggest town
in 100s of kilometres, and it have a race on. It looks like drag-race
for horses, and it seems like it will be going
on
for days. We see a single race, gas the car, and head out to another
park: Reserva Nacional Tamango.
It have a campsite near a beautiful lake, and we decides to
stay for the night. The temperature at eight is near 20C, and there
are toilets and shelters. We put up the tents in each our shelter,
and I Within 50 meters, I have found four different, flowering terrestrial orchids! It have not been raining here for a long time, and I hope for the full trail in the morning, with full sun. Back to write a bit, while the temperature The light remains to half pass ten, and as the wind calms down, and the fire picks up, our shelter becomes real cosy. We have driven close to 400 Km today, and it have offered some absolutely astonishing views. The anticipation of the sun might have added quite some!
23/12. I get up As the sun appears above the mountain range, the
temperature raises to 30C within few minutes. Suddenly, I wished I
haven't brought so much warm cloths! I find numerous orchids of all four
species, along with two new. One is almost ripen, and the
inflorescence is
60 centimetres high. Another is still its inflorescence, and it is
already 70 centimetres. Here are flowering parasitic plants, crippled trees with
tiny, crested leaves, flowers I don't know, and an awesome view over
the lake and the I have talked the kids into a tour further south of Ruta 7, as fare as it goes on the mainland. From here, it is island-hopping. It is 130 Km on a gravel road - each way, but with the sun and yesterdays tour in mind, I think it might be worth it. We drive over passes, along blue lakes, and to my surprise:
Through a rather high
A swamp offers peat moss and other nutrition-low
plants, just not carnivorous ones. Well, I get my shoos washed...
Some areas have been We turn around at "lands end", and head back towards
Cochrane. A short stop at a shelter around noon, while a bit of rain
passes. Coffee and biscuits, and we are ready for some more rumble.
We stop at a few waterfalls and bridges over deep gorges with white Right through Cochrane and an hour after, we turn into Ruta 265, heading towards Chile Chico and the Argentinean border. A bright, light blue river, the massive mountains, the huge lake General Carrera, orchids, Laguna Verde and then the almost barren landscape in the heights. Suddenly, I hear a "flab-flab" from the back. It is our right back wheel that have given up. It is totally shredded, but due to the roads challenging surface, I didn't noticed it at all! A few minutes later, we have changed wheel, and push on. Table mountains, steppe and more great views, and then we reach the rather large and surprisingly fashionable Chile Chico. The vulcanist have closed, but he might be open tomorrow,
despite it is 24/12. We find a cheep camp within the city. We put up
the tents, and I write a bit before dinner. My dinner is
surprisingly tasteful, and not too unhealthy. Birdsong above our
At nine, it is still 23C, then half a hour later, it is 12C, and my fingers go cold. I'm camped for 3,000 outside a cabina to 20.000 pesos - hard choice. Well, I got two fleece jackets, long-johns and two sleeping bags. It is well over midnight before I give in the work, and climb into the bags. I did sit in the toilet, which offered power and shelter.
The photos from the present southern part, can be found on:
Southern Chile. |