Chronicles of a Patagonia Road Trip: Part III

Crossed into Chilean Patagonia for this portion of the road trip. Saw some breath-taking scenery, stumbled upon a friend’s home, camped in some amazing places and took the single-lane, gravel Carretera Austral back to Argentina. It’s been quite a ride…

Day 9

"We lost our brakes on the way to San Martin de Los Andes. Turns out you can't cross the border to Chilé with 60 litres of gasoline strapped to your roof, so we decided to burn the gas by giving a lift to a couple of French hitch-hikers we met earlier today. Whether it was the gravel road shaking the truck to death, or just regular wear and tear over the course of thirty years, we were literally dumping brake fluid down the mountain pass to town. But I'm not surprised that the brakes failed. We've learned to take everything in stride. Instead of letting the truck get us down, we're going to make the most of our time in Patagonia. We celebrated safely arriving here with a steak, which turned out to be the best I've ever had."

Day 11

"The beauty of having your own vehicle is that you can choose your own route. We crossed into Chilean Patagonia at Ruta 231 and planned to take some smaller roads that weave between the Siete Lagos in search of some fishing spots. While I've heard that Argentina's portion of Patagonia is more stunning, I'm not convinced as I look at the snow-capped peaks towering over the lakes and grazing fields."

Northern Chilean Patagonia

"Spending the night in Puerto Varas. After seeing the amount of snow and wind this far North, I need to purchase some last minute gear before venturing any deeper into Patagonia and this looks like the place to do it. We had some tapas for dinner at a ridiculously expensive restaurant, where we heard from the camarero that an 8.0 earthquake just hit Iquique in Northern Chilé. If Tom and I had stuck to our original timeline and not left Peru as early as we did, our schedule would’ve put us right in Iquique for the earthquake. Something to think about as we return to the truck and call it a night.”

Day 12


"We're starting to get deeper into Patagonia. Took a ferry from Puerto Montt to a gravel road that eventually led us to Hornopirén. The ocean, pristine forests, and rugged peaks surround this quaint fishing town. Made a new friend, a stray, who we dubbed ‘Horno’ after Hornopirén. Fed him a can of tuna after he accompanied us through town and I don’t think he’ll be leaving our side for quite some time.”

Ferry

Carretera Austral

Hornopirén, Chilé

Day 13

“No luck starting the car this morning, even by popping the clutch… With two large Russian lads, Vladimir and Dmitri, pushing from the back, and a truck pulling from the front, we managed to get our truck on the ferry just in the nick of time. Can’t help but laugh at how right Tom was in preparing for the worst, which stems from his military background. I thought he was anal when he insisted on buying shovels, tow ropes, extra gas cans, etc., but we’ve used each and every one of them. Hope for the best, plan for the worst… Oh, and Horno did accompany us on the ferry. We planned on taking him to Ushuaia with us so he could be the world’s most travelled perro, but he wouldn’t get in the truck. I hope he doesn’t perish on the tiny, uninhabited island we left him on…”

Vladimir & Dmitri on the ferry

Our stray, Horno

“It truly is a small world. We picked up a Belgian hitch-hiker on the ferry, Virginie, who needed to get to a hospedaje in Chaiten in which she was going to work for a month. We pulled-up along side the place when I noticed a sticker on the truck in front of us, a ‘Tribe’ sticker. ‘Tribe’ is a group of kayakers that I know from back home, from my time paddling the Ottawa River. I asked the owner of the place, Javier, if he knew who the truck belonged to. It was his son’s, Marcos Gallegos. I was shocked. I knew Marcos from paddling in Canada and here I am, just happened to stumble upon his home. I learned that he was on his way to the White Water Grand Prix in Canada. Talking to Javier I discovered we shared a bunch of mutual friends because he hosted the athletes from the previous WWGP. After several cervezas and laughs he fired up the grill – a fiesta was under way. Fresh salmon, sausages, chicken and pisco, lots of pisco, was consumed. Javier wouldn’t let Tom and I sleep in the truck and offered us warm beds to sleep in. Gotta love the whitewater kayaking community.”

Tribe

Tom and I with Javier and our hitch-hikers

Fresh Salmon

Cooking for the fiesta

Day 14

“I’m a little disappointed to be so close to some of the world’s best whitewater, namely the Futaleufu, and not being able to paddle it. Especially since the futaleufu is what sparked the dream not only to travel to Patagonia, but to come to Latin America in the first place. I remember seeing pictures and films of the Fu as a child and dreaming of the day I would be able to paddle it. I’m trying to not let it get me down; I’m trying to convince myself that I’ll be back someday, back solely to paddle. I’m focusing on the fact that I’m in a place that few will ever have the opportunity to see. There are pristine forests, mountains and glaciers at every turn. The only sign of development is a single lane, gravel road – the Carretera Austral – carving its way south.”

Day 15

Despite not covering much ground, we had a good day today. On the way to Lago Tranquilo with our two new hitch-hikers from España, we hit a chicken. As Tom was cutting its neck to finish it off, a Chilean woman came running out shouting, 'Necesitan pagar! Necesitan pagar para el pollo!" After explaining that we hit it and were simply putting it out of its misery, she stopped demanding payment and took the chicken for herself. I'm a little disappointed that we're not eating fresh chicken tonight... But at least we have a top-notch campsite free of charge. We hopped a fence to sleep in a pasture under a huge tree by Lago Tranquilo after being assured that Chileans are 'muy sympatico' to travellers in our situation. Had a nice fire, some vino tinto, and conversed in Spanish with our new amigos. Feels great to be able to hold a decent conversation in a foreign language."

- Buena Onda