This South American 3,700 mile long, narrow strip of land is sandwiched between the Andes Mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west, stretching all the way from its northern border with Peru down to the southernmost tip of South America at Cape Horn.
This is our 4th trip to Chile. This year we will continue to explore even more of the exceptional wilderness areas of this astoundingly beautiful country, starting off with hiking in the Atacama, the highest and driest non-polar desert in the world. Then onto Argentina arriving at San Carlos de Bariloche and exploring its massive, pristine Lakes District. From there we will travel across the border back to Chile for a week of sea kayaking with our guide thru the spectacular Patagonia fjords. Then we sail south via ferry to Puerto Chacabuco where we'll embark on our journey onto the Carretera Austral in Patagonia known for its stunning scenery. From there we'll enjoy days of hiking on the lovely island of Chiloe before flying back to sunny Santiago. A few days later we'll return home to our beloved family and friends.
From the Andean spine of this long, thin country to its ocean coastline and distant Easter Island, from the highest and driest non-polar desert on Earth to its turquoise lakes and rolling vineyards, from the stunning Lake District and Patagonia regions to its more remote places, we are excited to have these 2 months of extended time to explore this land of diversity and its gentle, proud people.
We departed Seattle's SEATAC airport yesterday with the temperature hovering at 45 degrees F. We traveled 6,445 miles thru 5 time zones in a mere 16 hours to arrive in Santiago, Chile. We were welcomed to a day filled with crystal clear blue skies and a high of 90 degrees! It was heavenly! Santiago was absolutely beautiful.
Santiago is not only Chile's capital but also Chile's largest city. It is nestled in a valley surrounded by the stunning snow-capped mountains of the Andes and the Chilean Coast Mountain Range. Our driver, Eduardo, picked us up at the airport and soon we were on our way to our favorite place to stay in Santiago, the apartment owned by the Hotel Orly. It is located in the beautiful Providencia district of Santiago which reminds us of Paris with its tree-lined streets and sidewalk cafes. Simply delightful.
This is the Hotel Orly
Below is our apartment which overlooks the park.
There is a full kitchen, washer, dryer, two bedrooms, bathroom and daily maid service. The room also comes with a full breakfast. We could live here for a long time!
We headed outside as sunlight filtered through the leaves of the overhanging tree boughs which line the street. We passed families with children in strollers, a businessman eating a delicious looking bar of ice cream, and couples walking hand in hand down the street. It always makes me smile to stay here. Another reason we love this residential area is that the restaurants are fantastic! It's a lovely place to be during the day or at night.
Clearly, the Chileans love their flowers. Their parks, streets, and homes are brimming with beautiful fragrant, flowering plants. But, their love of cut roses is never more prevalent than on Valentine's Day! From the street vendors with fresh roses in their shopping carts waiting for eager buyers to emerge from one metro stop to the next,
to the sidewalk flower vendors with their tables full of beautiful floral arrangements filled with roses just waiting to be purchased, from one street
to the next
beautiful Valentine roses in all floral arrangements abound,
even in our restaurant's bathroom!
Every month in Chile is a "month of love" for flowers.
Just as it had been when we arrived in Santiago yesterday, Valentine's Day today was stunningly beautiful...crystal clear blue skies and 88 degrees. Perfect!
We walked a few blocks from our apartment
and took the metro to Tobalaba.
The metro is one of our favorite modes of transportation here in Santiago. It is punctual, every two minutes like Swiss clockwork. It's clean,
maintained with great Chilian pride. And it is extremely attractive! The exterior walls of each metro stop are decorated in tiles created by leading artisans.
Within two stops we arrived at Tobalaba. As we passed numerous street vendors selling, you guessed it, roses, we spent hours walking thru the beautiful Parque Bicentenario to the Mestizo restaurant for our Valentine's Day meal.
Tobalaba is the area on the outskirts of our Proventcia District. It is known for housing the Costanera Center, a commercial and business center and a six-floor shopping mall, the Gran Torre Santiago and 3 other skyscrapers along with high-end hotels.
The Gran Torre Santiago (the Great Santiago Tower) was previously known as the Torre Gran Costanera. It is a 64 story tall skyscraper (plus 6 basement floors) and is 980 feet tall! It is the tallest building in South America (and the tallest building in Latin America which includes Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico) It is the second tallest building in the Southern hemisphere behind Q1 in Australia. Incidentally, my son Josh and I have stood on the translucent cantilevered portion of the top floor of the Q1, and believe me, it is high in the sky.
It was such a crystal clear, sky blue cloudless day that the buildings across the street from the base of the Gran Torre Santiago were reflected in its stunning facade.
As we walked thru downtown Santiago we passed numerous buildings that also reflected neighboring buildings from across the street.
We are huge fans of parks in Santiago and our final destination today was the Parque Bicentenario. Guidebooks say that "it is best reached by taxi for it is a long distance walk from the metro". But it was such a lovely early afternoon that we did just that, we walked from downtown Santiago to Parque Bicentenario.
The Parque Bicentenario is rather spectacular. This is one gorgeous, stylish park
with its stunning views of the skyscrapers, especially Gran Torre Santiago.
This park is an exceptional city green space. It is 74 acres and borders the southern side of the Mapocho river. It is a wonderfully relaxing area and a glorious way to spend walking during the afternoon.
The Parque Bicentenario has been around since 2007, and it comes complete with considerable paths for biking, walking, jogging and running.
There's a sports and picnic area
along with lawn chairs and umbrellas!
There is even a dog park with a dog training agility course!
Exemplary safe play areas abound for designated ages of children.
In each area, the age range of the children gets progressively older.
Even playground equipment for the young at heart!
Very ingenious playground facilities.
One of the most popular parts of the park is the large man-made lagoon, featuring lengthy boardwalks and beautiful views of the water and the city skyline.
We saw dozens of black-neck swans with huge koi swimming underneath them.
There were egrets such as this one walking along.
Oh, and there were so many flamingos!
This beautiful lagoon takes up much of the southern part of the park and is filled with water lilies
and the Huntington Purple water flower.
Along the lagoon
are multi-layered grassy fields and spectacular gardens
which we enjoyed walking thru for hours on end.
In addition to its splendid natural beauty, the Parque Bicentenari is also home to the renowned restaurant, "Mestizo". Specializing in its high-quality Chilean cuisine, coffee, and drinks this restaurant's seating has elevated views of treetops and gardens throughout the length of the park. It was here that I had my surprise Valentine's Day dinner!
Parque Bicentenario and Mestizo made a delightful and delicious destination for the perfect Valentine's Day!
We awoke to another stunningly beautiful Santiago day. Crystal clear blue sky and the temperature around 85 degrees F.
As we walked down our street, sunlight filtered thru the trees' lush green leaves and there was a slight breeze. Simply a lovely way to start our day.
We took the metro to Quinta Normal Parque. As with each stop on the Santiago metro, the interior walls of Quinta Normal's stop were filled with colorful, original tilework.
The Quinta Normal metro stop was extremely impressive. It is a modern glass structure. Here's the interior and
here's the exterior.
After we walked up the numerous flights of stairs from the metro to the Parque Quinta Normal, we emerged into the bright sunlight and saw massive trees lining the pathway with wrought iron lamp posts guiding the way.
We explored the rambling pathways of the park and soon discovered the Chilean National Museum of Natural History. It is one of the oldest museums in South America founded in 1830. Its current building was constructed as a palace in 1875. Just to put that year of palace building in perspective, that was 10 years after our country's North vs. South Civil War.
The interior was amazing.
Instead of simply having an artist's rendering to illustrate the size difference between a human and a great blue whale,
they have a 56 foot long skeleton of a great blue whale that has alternating red and blue colored spotlights to really draw one's attention into the building's exhibits.
Some of the exceptional exhibits were on the geological regions of Chile, the flora and fauna of Chile's numerous climatic zones, along with the animals of Antarctica region of Chile's research area.
Once outside again, we strolled through the park and wandered over to the large lagoon where families had rented paddle boats. What a lovely way to spend a summer day!
We walked past rows and rows of massive palm trees stretching in one area as far as the eye could see. (There's a person in the middle of this photo on the left-hand side for you to gauge the height of these palm trees).
It was so bright out today that the palm fronds' shadows created beautiful silhouettes on the pathways.
We were so impressed with the beauty and splendor of Parque Quinta Normal and yet we had only scratched the surface. I'm certain we'll return here someday, but for today we were headed on our way for lunch in Barrio Brazil.
Between Parque Quinta Normal and Barrio Brazil is Bario Yungay. Barrio Yungay was once an 18th century aristocratic neighborhood. We passed many cultural centers, universities, and museums such as this photo of the cultural film cinema,
This historic district has a beautiful Yungay Square. It was very serene and relaxing.
In the center of this lovely, peaceful square is a statue commemorating the end of the Bolivia-Peru Confederation war against Chile in 1839. The Bolivians and Peruvians called the Chilean soldiers "Rotos" or "broken and weak" ones. Hard to believe that the vicious battle which gave Chile its ultimate victory over Bolivia's and Peru's Confederates was fought right here in the Yungay square.
Chilean troops were mostly common folks and even Chilean children fought in this war. This poignant statue of a child warrior is a tribute to the "sons of Chile". The inscription on the base of the statue translates from Spanish to English as: "Chile gives thanks to her sons, her children, for both their civic and military virtues." That is why it is called the Chilean Roto monument for the Chilean Roto's became victorious.
Surrounding the square are numerous majestic churches many of which consume an entire city block.
After we left Bario Yungay we could tell we were nearing the Barrio Brazil, for we walked thru some pretty amazing streets. Gone were the majestic homes and instead there was graffiti on virtually all the buildings. Not your typical tagged graffiti either. But beautiful works of art.
One of my very favorite places that we walked past was a park with a hilarious climbing creature. Directly across from it was
a bar appropriately named "Springfield". Right at the bar, just waiting for you to buy a drink, were Homer Simpson and Moe!
In keeping with the spirit of Bario Brazil, we found our restaurant that has to be seen in person and experienced to be believed. It is Ocean Pacific. The reviews of this restaurant are stellar "The best restaurant in Santiago for seafood and fish" and
"if one wants to eat real Chilean food at its finest and taste wonderful seafood at its best then go here". So we did. We should have known that we were in for a treat when we had to enter the restaurant by stepping through a submarine's hatch!
We knew we would enjoy it when the sign on the door said:
"If the sea were wine,
then everyone in the world
would be a sailor".
Ocean Pacific definitely has unique decorations...is it a museum restaurant pretending to be aboard a ship in the captain's cabin,
are you inside a submarine or are you inside a huge sperm whale?
And the review didn't lie when it also said, "As much as a visual experience, its gastronomy is delicious and abundant for your whole crew!" It was an amazing visual
and gastronomical experience. The food was phenomenal. Jeff's freshly caught broiled swordfish and my sauteed garlic prawns were the best ever!
We would also return for their divine cappuccinos.
It doesn't get dark in Santiago in the summer until around 9:30 so we decided to walk back home. We headed to Plaza de Armas, always one of our favorite spots to view the government buildings
the fountain for cooling off in the hot sun,
the reflection of the church steeple in the modern bank building
and of course, watching these gentlemen play their afternoon game of chess.
Later that evening we headed back home and packed up for tomorrow morning will come all too soon and we have an early plane to catch. We're going to the Atacama!
Day 5 Santiago, Chile to San Pedro de Atacama, Chile February 16th
Today we're leaving Santiago and flying 760 miles into northern Chile to the Atacama where we've never been before. Our hikes this coming week are from the town of San Pedro de Atacama, at an elevation of approximately 8,000 feet. The highest elevation we are to travel is at the Geyser del Tatio at 14,000 feet.
We left for the Santiago Airport early this morning and took a LAN flight to the town of Calama.
We were met at the airport by Daniel Rozas who will be our hiking guide for the next week.
We then drove for an hour and a half to San Pedro de Atacama. We checked into the lovely La Casa de Don Tomas where there was a chilled bucket of champagne and two glasses waiting for us!
For the next week, we'll be exploring the Atacama, the driest non-polar desert on earth. We'll start at San Pedro which is we have been told is "perhaps known as the threshold to enter another world". We are excited to see the strangest, most beautiful landscapes, a source of constant awe that only the Atacama Desert can provide.
Here's some info about the Atacama: The Atacama Desert is a plateau located primarily in northern Chile. It borders Bolivia and Peru, covering a 600-mile strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes mountains. Most of the desert is composed of collapsed stony terrain,
lithium rich salt lakes
sand
geysers
and lava that flows towards the Andes Mountains. Geographically, the astounding dryness of the Atacama is explained by it being located between two mountain chains, the Andes Mountains, and the Chilian Coastal Range. These mountain ranges are of such extreme height that they prevent moisture to fall from either the Pacific or the Atlantic Oceans onto the Atacama. This is, in essence, a two-sided rain shadow, preventing the Atacama from receiving life-giving rainwater. Amazingly, there are weather stations here that have never recorded rainfall! The Atacama is sparsely populated with a few homes located along the Pacific Coast. However, the interior, oases and some valleys of the Atacama have been populated for millennia. This is the location of the most advanced pre-Columbian societies in Chile! Incredibly, the Chinchorro culture developed in the Atacama from 7,000 to 15,000 BCE. The Chinchorro were famous for their mummification (and their funeral practices) which predates even Egyptian mummies! Long before the Inca Empire and centuries before the Spanish arrived, this extremely arid environment was inhabited by the Atacameno tribe (hence the name the Atacama for this area).They were known for building fortified towns called pucaras, one of which is located a few miles from San Pedro de Atacama. It's impressive to note that even today, the nearest town to San Pedro de Atacama is an hour and a half away! After we got settled in our hotel room we walked around our "casa". and set off exploring San Pedro de Atacama.
Summertime is the high tourist season here with the tiny "town" which is comprised of literally 3 streets, is brimming with folks who want to see the Atacama. The great majority of them prefer to ride in vehicles than hiking. There are quaint shops along with high-end North Face and Patagonia stores. We returned to our casa and got ready for our hike first thing tomorrow with our guides Daniel and Mariano.
Day 6 February 17, 2018, Valley of the Moon, Atacama, Chile
Our hiking guides, Daniel and Mariano, picked us up bright and early to take us to Valle de la Luna or "Valley of the Moon". It is located 8 miles west of San Pedro de Atacama, but it might as well have been on another planet.
Valle de la Luna is part of the Reserva Nacional los Flamencos. It was declared a nature sanctuary in 1982 because of its unique natural environment and strange lunar landscape from which its name is derived. There are various stone and sand formations which have been carved by the wind and rain (for it does rain every now and then in the San Pedro de Atamcoma area). These sand and stone formations come in a wide array of color and texture and look similar to the surface of the moon. Believe it or not, NASA brought the prototype of the land rover here to practice its ability to maneuver over uneven sand and rock formations and challenging terrain in such dry environmental conditions to simulate it "walking" on Mars.
In addition, The Valley of the Moon has dry salt lakes that, after a rain, will make the composition of salt and minerals underneath to rise to the surface of the clay soil and once dry again, create a white dusting and white covering layer over this forbidding terrain. It often looks like it has snowed.
We started today's hike at a salt formation called "Las Tres Marias" which unfortunately is now la dos Marias because a disreputable tourist toppled one of the Marias.
From there we climbed steeply up to the top of the ridge.
We were rewarded for our efforts with spectacular, panorama views of the surrounding terrain.
We continued on towards the dry salt lake bed.
We then descended to a salt covered dry lake. It crunched under our hiking boots and sounded like hard packed snow.
Finally, we drove to a beautiful viewpoint commonly called "Piedra del Coyote", a famous place for viewing sunsets over the desert.
It had been a beautiful hike and because we left early, we beat the crowds which flock by the busloads to the areas we had been. Typically, in this high tourist season there are over 2,000 folks a day in some areas and here we only saw 3 others in the distance!
It is hard to fathom that this area really exists in this day and age.We'll be leaving tomorrow morning early again so we will have the area to ourselves as we hike to "Valle de la Muerte", the Valley of Death.
***************************************************** Day 7 Valley of Death, Valle de la Muerte, Atacama, Chile February 18, 2018 ****************************************************
Day 7 Valley of Death, Valle de la Muerte, Atacama, Chile February 18, 2018
It was another gorgeous day in San Pedro de Atacama with a beautiful, intensely bright blue sky.
We were headed toward Valle de la Muerte, or Death Valley, to start today's hike with our hiking guide, Mariano.We were picked up early and hopped into the 4 wheel drive SUV driven by our guide, Daniel.
The "road" to reach the trail-head of today's hike to the appropriately named "Death Valley", involved a hair-raising "off road" circuitous route forging streams from last night's rain and navigating around rocks and boulders on the dilapidated, narrow one lane 1930's old clay-dirt road,
which believe it or not, was the only way to get to the closest town of Calama from 1930 until the recent highway 23 was built!
After thanking Daniel for his expert driving skills, we began our hike on this dirt track
We ascended and then walked thru the 1930 tunnel
which is located under the Salt Mountains before beginning our steep ascent along the ridgetop.It was a long, hot hike up as we gained significant altitude.
until we reached the highest viewpoint.
From there we admired the amazing view of the fertile San Pedro River and the high snow-capped volcanoes of the Andes mountains and Catarpe Valley.
We then headed along the ridge over to
Valley of Death's Sand Dune
The Valley of Death is known for its huge sand dune and its narrow sand edges.
It was a steep, long way down; but great fun and the views were sensational.
If only we knew how to sand-board, we'd have gone down even faster!
There at the flat area bottom of the sand dune was a patch of life blossoming in the hot, arid desert floor of the Valley of Death.
Daniel was waiting for us when we ended our hike and we were driven back to San Pedro de Atacama once again. What a great hike and a great way to acclimatize to get ready for tomorrow's hike to Salar de Tara y Monjes de la Pacana. *************************************************** Day 8 Salar de Tara y Monjes de la Pacana February 19, 2018 *************************************************** Day 8 Salar de Tara y Monjes de la Pacana, Atacoma Desert, Chile
Today is the day! We will hit the highest elevation point of our trip...15,901 feet!
Throughout today, our hike will take us to the Monjes de la Pacana and the Salar de Tara (the Tara Salt Flat) at 14,107 feet above sea level, about as high as Mt. Rainer.
We awoke to another strikingly beautiful crystal clear blue sky day.
We received a call from our guide this morning who told us we'd be leaving later than planned because the road we were to take, Route #27, was closed due to last night's snow at higher elevations creating hazardous driving conditions. Hopefully, this road will be open later this morning, he just could not say when. It is impressive that they had closed Route #27 as it is the main road to both Bolivia and Argentina.
No worries, we didn't mind waiting in the shade at our casa to be picked up. It was a lovely morning.
And once picked up for the hike, we really didn't have to wait very long in line for route #27 to open, even though we were not the only vehicle waiting for the road to open that morning.
The road wasn't open until 10:40 and then we were on our way. The road looked very dry when we started up. As we ascended we soon understood why the road had been closed. SNOW! Who would have thought it could snow in the desert?
And there was a lot of snow in the Atacama Desert that morning. Our hiking guide, Mariano, told us with the Atacama's afternoon's heat, all this snow would be gone.
We drove 100 km across the pass of 15,900 ft then turned off-road to Salar de Tara at over 14,000 + feet.
No more snow on the road as we headed off-road and I do mean off-road! No sign, just Mariano's local knowledge led the way.
Above you'll see the Licancabur volcano on the left. It is 19,409 feet. The volcano on the right is Juriques at 18,713 feet.
It is impressive how quickly the desert changes colors. There can be tuffs of vegetation on one side and then red clay dirt on the other.
We literally were in the middle of nowhere.
The Atacama Desert, this plateau just west of the Andes Mountains, is simultaneously barren and beautiful. I couldn't believe I was in the highest and driest non-polar desert in the world. We felt very fortunate to be here.
We drove to one of the most famous rock formations, "The Indian". This is a massive stone monolith. As our guide, Mariano told us, "when looked at in the proper light, it resembles an Indian's face." I'm the little dot on the lower right-hand side of the ground by the base.
You need to look at the upper portion for the face.
Even though we were at 14,000+ feet,
we took a lovely hike. All of our altitude acclimation hikes of the past 4 days had paid off and we really enjoyed it.
Then we were driven across a massive altiplano that went on and on for miles and miles. Nothing but wide empty space...just bright blue sky above and crushed red rock beneath. It seemed to go on forever!
In a while, we came to a totally different area of ground cover...black rocks instead of red. We got out of the car and explored this circular patch of black rocks. Mariano told us the rocks were obsidian and he had discovered this spot in the vast altiplano just recently!
Obsidian is a volcanic glass formed as an igneous rock. Obsidian blade edges can be cut to almost molecular thinness leading to its ancient use as arrowheads and to its modern use as surgical scalpel blades. Here in the altiplano of the Atacama Desert, the obsidian was beautiful in the bright sunlight.
We continued driving onward across the never-ending altiplano to...Bolivia! There is NOTHING out here except for this post to mark the spot. I promptly hopped out and had my photo taken with one foot in Chile and one foot in Bolivia!
We "returned" to Chile as we continued our drive across the stunningly beautiful wilderness of the Atacama Desert. Then up ahead we saw a very rare sighting of the elusive wild Chilian rhea. In fact, we saw 6 rheas! A rhea looks like an ostrich or an emu. Rheas are incredibly fast runners! These 6 rheas took off the instant we got our cameras pressed to the car's window and almost immediately were out of sight.
While you may not be able to see the rheas clearly for they are in the distance running for the hills, you can clearly see the vastness of the Atacama Desert. We were headed for the rocks in the distance and we continued on for miles and miles. Distances are very deceiving in the desert.
We took a hike thru some astounding geological creations!
I'm on the right-hand side of this monolith.
It was a great high altitude hike.
Some of these rock formations were amazing close-up!
It was a great hike and then we were back driving on into the Atacama until seemingly out of the flatness sprung up tall, free-standing rock formations. The Monjes de la Pacana, translated as the Pecan Monks, lay before us.
These massive rock formations are said to resemble the cloaks of the Pecan Monks who, it is believed, lay vigil over this beautiful area.
From here one can see the Salar de Tara.
The Salar de Tara is 14,107 feet. We hiked down to it.
Both Salar de Tara and the Monjes de la Pacana, are part of Los Flamencos National Reserve.
The Salar de Tara is a series of salt lakes and salt flats located at the foothills of a chain of volcanoes stretching along the eastern side of the much greater Salar de Atacama.
We hiked over to another nearly 15,000-foot high salt lake where there were 50 or more pink flamingos feeding on the pink shrimp that live in the salt water.
After soaking in the view of the flamingos, and the vicunas (wild llamas) who love to eat the tops of this grass,
we were off for our last high altitude hiking adventure of the day here.
It was windy (more than 30 mph) and cold at the top where this photo was taken, but we did it! 15,901 feet up and we can almost see the triple border of Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia! Amazing day with spectacular scenery! It is one we will not forget! *************************************************** DAY 9, Geyser del Tatio, Atacama Desert. Chile, February 20, 2018
Day 9, Geyser del Tatio, Atacama Desert, Chile, February 20, 2018
Our guides, Daniel and Mariano, picked us up at 6:30 am. We drove 90 minutes in the dark to Geyser del Tatio. This area of the Atacama Desert is over 14,400 feet above sea level and has intense geothermal activity. We arrived before dawn and the temperature was 23 degrees F. So you might wonder why we had to arrive in the pre-dawn darkness to see these geysers. It's because the water of the geysers boils from 181 degrees F
and condenses almost immediately when it comes in contact with cold air. As dawn is the coldest time of the day, the plumes of steam from the geysers are the greatest. Geyser activity occurs when water is contained in deposits within the volcanic rock and covered by impermeable rock layers. Jets of water emerge through the faults in the rock which allow it to reach the surface when it is heated by the magma of the volcanoes. Since the heat causes the pressure in the rock deposit to increase, the water is vaporized and a geyser shoots up steam and boiling water.
10 meters is nearly 33 feet. Some of the geysers are separated from the visitor by simple stones; but others, the larger ones are sheltered behind a stone wall about knee high. As sad as it is to think about, two visitors were recently killed when they fell into a geyser. This has caused one of the largest geysers in the geothermal field to earn the dubious name of "killer geyser" and its fumarole is the most impressive of all around.
We walked between the columns and curtains of steam carefully following Mariano's guiding footsteps.
As dawn was breaking, the light on the mountain tops became brighter.
Then, here comes the sun at 14,400+ feet!
Mariano's, along with my and Jeff's shadows appeared in elongated forms.
After the sunlight appeared, so did the charter buses and vans loaded with tourists! Many decided to soak in the one non-lethally heated thermal pool. But you should have seen them getting out in the 23 degree air!
There was still frost on the walkway from the parking lot over the first geyser!
As the morning progressed, the plumes of steam from the geysers became substantially smaller.
Daniel had breakfast prepared for us in fine Chilian style, toast, mashed avocado, cheese, orange juice, coffee or tea.
After breakfast, we left the congested parking lot and went off to higher ground for our hike thru another thermal field.
"Follow me and watch your step" is something Mariano didn't have to mention twice.
We hiked past some mighty impressive thermal pools.
We followed the river thru the thermal field
and then we saw them...wild vicunas! Six of them! It was such a thrill to follow them as they walked along.
These miniature cinnamon-hued cousins of the llama are doe-like creatures which only inhabit the chilly Andean plateaus, such as the Atacama Altiplano.Vicuna produce fleece so fine that it was considered cloth of gold. In Peru, only Inca royalty was permitted to wear it. In today's market, as reported a few years ago by the Wall Street Journal, "Kiton, an Italian tailor and vicuna specialist, makes only about 100 pieces from Vicuna wool every year, and an off-the-peg sports coat costs upwards of $21,000 US dollars, while a made to measure suit starts at $40,000!"
We followed the vicuna's trail which led us higher up. Animal trails, we have found, are the best trails to follow for they are the most direct and least resistant.
More vicunas across the stream bed.
Here's one little geyser you wouldn't want to step on or into! It made quite the ominous gurgling sound.
We hiked onward over the rocks
There were several stream crossings
until we came to an ancient dwelling/shelter where there are still to this day painted pottery shards that can be found on the ground!
We crossed one last thermal field and then it was
onward and upward over another stream crossing.
until at last, we were nearing the end of our day's high altitude hike.
From the top looking back one way
and then looking the other way
Daniel was waiting for us and drove us down to the freshwater lagoon where vicunas and wild birds co-exist. It was a serene and surreal experience.
We rode back to town, passing the indigenous village of Machuca. It was a beautiful ride back for we were able to see the striking scenery of the Atacama altiplano that had been cloaked in darkness when we left home so many hours before.
************************************************************** LAST DAY in the Atacama Desert, Chile
Daniel and Mariano picked us up early and drove us to the trailhead of Rainbow Valley. It was another crystal clear day in the Atacama Desert.
Our hike was filled with ancient pictographs and amazing views. The best part was how the intense light of the Atacama played on the multicolored rocks in the canyon and the aptly named Rainbow Valley.
It was a hot morning when we started.
Our guide, Mariano, showed us ancient pictographs that quite frankly, had he not shown us where they were hidden, we would have walked right past.
Rainbow Valley is massive as are the rocky mounds. To give you a sense of height, Jeff and Mariano are standing at the base of this mound, looking up.
It was up and over and then at the top we had beautiful views.
We hiked down the other side to the Rainbow Valley.
These colorful hills give the impression of a rainbow. This phenomenon is attributed to the composition of minerals.
The intensity of colors against the cloudless, vibrant blue sky was stunning.
We spent all morning to early afternoon hiking this magnificent area. After we returned to our casa for lunch, Daniel and Mariano said they would pick us up at 4 for our next adventure, floating in the salt lagoon named Cejar Lagoon. This gorgeous lagoon is composed of 28 percent salt concentration. By comparison, the Dead Sea is 34 percent saline. We walked into the water and we absolutely floated. It was a surreal experience to not be able to turn around and swim. Our bodies were buoyant and the water was warm since it was the late afternoon. We have had crystal clear blue skies every day we have been in the Atacama Desert and just as we were in the lagoon, grey clouds which had built up from Bolivia's Amazon jungle's moisture and humidity started to blow in. We didn't care for I couldn't get enough of this experience. Floating with no effort whatsoever! The hardest part was trying to leave the lagoon! It was deep until the shore and because of the buoyancy, it was very challenging to put our legs down (this took effort) in order to walk out of the lagoon. In the photo below, it is actually fairly deep where we are floating, even though we're giving the impression we're sitting on invisible lawn chairs. We're actually a good distance from shore. As this silly photo can attest, it was great fun!
The Atacama's great salt flats are the 3rd largest in the world! Uyuni, Bolivia (where we've been on a previous trip) is the largest; the Great Salt Lake in Utah is the 2nd largest and then Atacama's great salt flats are the third largest.
When we finally got out of the salt lagoon, we walked back to the jeep and discovered that Daniel and Mariano had prepared a lovely party for us with wine, cheese, and some delicious goodies! It was another wonderful adventurous day with them and we'll miss them greatly for tomorrow we leave the incredible Atacama. Tomorrow we'll take a van to Calama and will spend the night. Very early the following morning we fly out to Santiago on a domestic flight and then hustle over to Santiago's International Airport for our flight to Argentina. We'll be staying in beautiful San Carlos Bariloche, Argentina for 5 days. *************************************************** Days 12-17 5 Glorious Days in Bariloche, Argentina February 23-28,2018 *************************************************
Days 12-17
5 Glorious Days in Bariloche, Argentina
February 23-28, 2018 This is Bariloche, Argentina!
We spent 5 glorious days in Bariloche, Argentina. It is perhaps one of the most gorgeous natural settings imaginable. Bariloche is said to be "where the woods, lakes, and mountains come together to welcome you!" This is very true.
San Carlos de Bariloche, although most commonly referred to as Bariloche, is a town in Argentina's Patagonia region.
Bariloche is situated on the southern shores of the glacial lake Nahuel Huapi Lake in the foothills of the soaring peaks of the Andes Mountains which ring the town of Bariloche, giving picture-postcard views in nearly every direction.
We enjoyed every moment of the 5 days we spent exploring this stunning area. It didn't hurt that each day had crystal clear blue skies and pleasantly warm weather with the temperature in the low 80's.
We spent one day hiking in the vast Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi area in the Lake District of Argentina, Patagonia. This park is known for its largest glacial lake, the Nahuel Huapi. The Andes Mountains form its western border and include Mount Tronador, a dormant volcano. We followed the dirt road around Largo Mascardi to the National Park entrance. From there we followed the Monso RIver to Pampa Linda. Across Vuriloches Valley to the Black Glacier with a spectacular view of the glacier and icy lake. We hiked to Garganta del Diablo waterfall. Along the way, we had stunning views of Cerro Tronador.
Glaciar Castano Overo with its impressive waterfalls.
We also witnessed, and then 6 seconds later heard, an avalanche from the glacier. The sound was a resounding BOOM!
Spilling glacial water and ice over the cliffs of Cerro Tronador to the Black Glacier
where the glacial water carried huge chunks of floating ice.
When we had arrived in Bariloche, we rented a car and drove the "Circuito Chico" route and enjoyed a beautiful hike through the forest to a stunning viewpoint of the Lago Mascardi and the islands below. It was very reminiscent of the San Juan Islands in our Pacific Northwest.
A few days later we drove to Puerto Panuelo to take a boat trip in a very small boat, 10 folks including the captain, instead of the huge 150 person catamaran. We cruised to the harbor on Victoria Island and the surrounding area that we had seen from above on our previous day's hike.
This "lake" which is reminiscent of Puget Sound, is absolutely massive and seems to go on forever! Its intense blue colored water, its islands, and the surrounding mountainous landscape make it an unforgettable experience.
Its area encompasses 205 sq miles! The Nahuel Huapi is a glacial lake which explains why it has such crystal-clear blue waters. Its depth has been measured at over 1,522 feet, although they say deeper depths may exist, and it is nearly 2,500 feet above sea level.
This lake has 7 branches or "fingers": Campanario, de las Tristeza, Blest, Machete, de Pincon, Ultima Esperanza and Huemel.
As we were "cruising" we saw Chile off in the distance.
The tiny looking boat in the distance is the huge cameraman.
Because of the size of our small boat, we were able to get up close to see the cormorants and seagulls enjoy the sunny day on one of the island's shores.
We spent our last day hiking up the mountain Mount Catedral, which is the largest and most attractive ski resort in the Southern Hemisphere with over 2,965 acres. It was the site of one of last year's World Cup competitions.
There are gondolas and ski lifts for those who want to get all the way to the top without hiking. For those who enjoy hiking, the views at the top are stunningly beautiful and the unforgettable!
.
While there is so much to see and do in Bariloche, we decided to stay here and soak up this serenity.
We returned to the base of the ski lifts and headed back to our spacious and lovely apartment, the Apts de la Arroyo to pack, for tomorrow we return to Chile.
Throughout the course of our stay, we did manage to stop off numerous times at our favorite craft beer location, Patagonia 24.7
It truly does not get better than this for a brew and a view!
Puerto Varas is a city in southern Chile's Lake District. It sits on the southwest banks of the expansive Lake Llanquihue, which offers commanding views of snow-capped Osorno Volcano and Calbuco Volcano, both still active.
Puerto Varas
To get to Puerto Varas, Chile from Bariloche, Argentina, we boarded a long distance bus
and rode for 6 hours across the Andes Mountains to the Argentian/Chilian border. It took about an hour at the border; but we arrived refreshed around 6 pm at Puerto Varas. So why take the bus when one can ride a boat or fly? The cost of our higher luxury bus seating was $40.00 each. The other modes of transportation, by boat or by airplane, were considerably more expensive and would take longer than 6 hours! The boat crossing was $280.00 per person and would take approximately 12 hours. The price to fly is absolutely astronomical! First one has to fly from Bariloche to Buenos Aires, Argentina and then fly to Santiago, Chile and then fly to Puerto Varas. Whew! If one were to make all those connections, it would take over 12 hours and the flights are not every day. Oh, and the cost is $1,295.00 per person! We were really impressed with the bus. It was new, sleek and clean. Plus, the interior had plush leather seats which reclined for comfortable relaxation and ample leg room. There were two seats on one side of the aisle and one seat across the aisle.
There were even USB ports and a tv for movie watching! Not your average Greyhound bus.
Lunch with dessert was served on board by our attendant and juice was also offered. It was an excellent ride! As a safety feature, Chile mandates that each bus show the speed of the bus on a digital display so the passengers can detect if the bus driver exceeds the speed limit. The ride was very scenic and enjoyable. All too soon we arrived in beautiful Puerto Varas!
Built in the early 20th century, the red and white Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ Church has 3 striking towers which can be seen from miles away and is a striking landmark.
Puerto Varas is known as "La Cuidad de las roses" or the "city of roses".
They were everywhere in all their blooming glory!
Each and every street had a line of mature flowering rose bushes! They are huge!
Many of the sidewalk rose bushes are much taller than those walking by. Puerta Varas is a town overflowing with stunning roses and flowers of every kind. The parks are full of hydrangeas with bulbous blossoms.
We are staying at the Guest House. It is a large mansion also known as the Kortmann House and was built in 1926 as a city home. This national monument has been beautifully renovated will all the modern comforts imaginable all the while maintaining the integrity of its origional state.
The Guest House is near a private school which we walked past each day. At noon, school is at lunch recess for two hours. There are taxi cabs lined up at the school to take the students home for lunch. There is quite a bit of affluence in this lovely resort town.
Walking towards downtown, the streets are full of fresh fruit and vegetable vendors.
German style houses reflect its colonial past. The German architecture is prevalent throughout Puenta Varas.
The streets downtown are lined with quaint coffee shops and also delicious restaurants!
The downtown waterfront offers many picturesque moments.
You can rent kayaks or go sailing on the lake.
Of course, there's always swimming as a lovely way to enjoy the day and beat the summer heat.
The beautiful flowering plants, the warm sunshine with a gentle breeze from the lake and blue skies each day made our stay here a dream!
Tomorrow we will begin our 6 days of sea kayaking the fjords of Pumalin National Park in the northern Patagonia wilderness! I'll be offline for a week.
***************************************************6 Days of Kayaking in the Patagonia Fjords
We've just returned to civilization. We're back in Puerto Varas, Chile after kayaking the Patagonia fjords for 6 days in Pumalin Park, one of the wildest and most pristine wilderness areas left on Earth. It's challenging to explain how exceptionally beautiful this trip was. The weather was full of unseasonably warm, sunny blue skies, and miraculously calm ocean water.
We had daily pods of dolphins swimming off the bows of our kayaks with Magellanic and Humbolt penguins swimming nearby our kayaks as well!
So just imagine kayaking in front of soaring glacial topped peaks,
and kayaking beside dense temperate rainforest with massive prehistoric looking ferns, and lush greenery with 4,000-year-old Alerce trees (among the largest and oldest in the world) dispersed throughout. In the photo below, they are the tall trees with the least amount of bark on them. The other trees with blossoms on them are the Ulmo trees which make the most divine honey. Ulmo trees can only be found in the pristine rainforests of the Patagonia Lakes region, the Patagonia fjords and on Chiloe island.
But most of all, throughout each day, majestically rising from the depths of the cold blue Pacific waters to over 4,800 feet straight up towards the heavens, are the Patagonia fjords.
We experienced all this splendor in Pumalin Park! Pumalin Park was the vision of North Face founder Doug Tompkins and is the largest donation of private lands in history. The park was gifted to the Chilian government and now forms South America's largest national park. Over 1 million acres donated by the Tompkins Conservation added with the 9 million acres from the Chilian government to create 10 million acres of new national parks...5 new parks and 3 more expanded. An area larger than Switzerland! To start our kayaking adventure we had to leave early from Puerto Varas located at the top of the map, and drive to Puerto Montt, located below Puerto Varas.
We were headed to the green area located at the bottom of the map above, Parque Pumalin, or Pumalin Park. To get there, we drove for a few hours down the Southern Highway onto La Arenaand came literally to the end of the road
where we boarded a ferry to Puelche.
We got off the ferry and drove for a while longer, following route 7, the Carretera Austral, until finally, we arrived at Hornoprien's dock. There, waiting for us, was our 50 foot support vessel, the
Dona Lastena. She was laden with our kayaks and a week's worth of food and fresh water. She would serve as our mother ship for the next 6 days. We would be having all of our meals here on board.
Our support boat came complete with our incredible cook, Yoyi,
with her right hand man, Ronny, the sous chef and crew member.
Along with Ronny was another crew member Santiago.
We had the masterful Captain Rigo.
Our incredible trip leader was Francisco
and
our kayaking guide was Dan.
We hopped aboard and headed for Los Ciervos Island. We had lunch on board in a beautiful cove
and then we headed to Llancahue Island, where we climbed into our sea kayaks and away we went!
It was a good long paddle and the sky was turning an ominous grey. So we set up our tents for the night on the island and returned to the boat for Pisco's Sours, appetizers and a delicious dinner complete with divine Chilian wine. We returned to the island and while we were asleep in our tents, it rained buckets! Believe it or not, there's 20 feet of annual rainfall here!
In the morning we broke camp and took our soggy tents and sleeping bags back to the boat where the sunny day dried them all.
It was a gorgeous day! We kayaked past the mussel "farms".
and on into the entrance to Quintupeu Fjord, where the German battleship Dresden hid out during World War I. We were surrounded by stunning glacial waterfalls. The sheer slopes, cut by countless waterfalls tumbling off the heights
are covered with lush vegetation that hangs over our heads.
As we glided along under this lush canopy, there are dolphins near our kayaks! At nightfall, we camped at the end of the fjord.
On our third day, we navigated down the Cahuelmo Fjord stopping at the entrance to see if there are any sea lions and were there ever!
All we could hear was their boisterous barking which echoed along the shore! The fur seals had given birth a few month's ago and their "pups" were adorable!
The sea lions were massive, menacing and territorial. It was quite a spectacle.
It's amazing to us that the seals and pups could laze in the sun
and not roll off the boulder!
We kayaked by thunderous, magnificent waterfalls that dwarfed our kayaks as we paddled beneath them.
These plunging glacial waterfalls were everywhere!
We had a long paddle but a beautiful and spectacular one
for the color of the ocean was stunning. We kayaked to the far end of the Cahuelmo in time to get up to the river and hike through the wild tidal flats. We hiked to the Cahuelmo Hot Springs which was lovely! We were met by the park ranger who greeted us in the Chilian manner, by shaking each gentleman's hand and kissing each lady on the cheek.
It was such a spectacular day!
We really enjoyed the hot springs
with its view.
After reveling in the hot springs we jumped into the ocean to cool off!
The fourth and 5th days were once again filled with blue skies and sun! We loved kayaking thru the fjords. Below are Sarah and Kris
We passed by massive rock formations and tranquil spots We also went on some fantastic hikes. One glorious hike was to a most impressive and thunderous waterfall which was over 150 feet high!
The hike thru the forest was muddy and the rocks were very slippery! In the photo below, Francisco is continuing to lead the way up the waterfalls for us to follow.
Another day we hiked to a high, huge, hidden lake. and nearly pushed each other in.
All of our campsites were splendid and came with stunning views! I'm sitting in front of our home away from home tent. Each day our new camp-site had even more impressive views. Another day of kayaking to our campsite: At this campsite, star gazing was exceptional. Not only could we see the Southern Cross and Orion's Belt, but all the stars put on a show for free! We had two nights at this campsite.
Our last afternoon we beached our kayaks and got them ready to be loaded on board the Dona Lasten.
Our kayaks are on the boat and we're ready for our last night's dinner which was my birthday party dinner!
Jeff had packed a few surprises, such as two birthday candles which, when put together, said "29". It actually was the 36th anniversary of my 29th birthday!
I wish I had photos of the birthday cake Yoyi made for me and the glorious dinner! It was a marvelous way to celebrate my big birthday!
After my delicious birthday dinner on the boat we went in a zodiac back to shore to sleep in our tent where it was very windy as only it can be in Patagonia and it rained buckets.
Our final morning we broke camp early around 7:30 and took the zodiac back to the boat for breakfast.
Then the captain started the engines and we were on our way.
As the Dona Lastena headed home, I watched the clouds roll in and the sea get progressively rougher. Heavy fog and rain clouded the sky. Here's the view throughout the long boat ride out
and this is what we were so fortunate to have been able to see when we had been kayaking thru the same spot a few days before.
I thought about how lucky we were to have had 5 days of perfect kayaking weather!
At long last, the captain navigated up the Comau fjord to Hornoprien where we boarded the ferry and then drove back arriving around 5pm to Puerto Varas.
************************************************
March 8-13
Travel Days from Puerto Varas to Balmaceda to Coyhaique, Aysen, Patagonia, Chile.
*************************************************
March 8-13
Travel Days from Puerto Varas to Balmaceda to Coyhaique, Aysen, Patagonia, Chile.
Volcan Osorno above Volcan Calbuco below
As we celebrated my actual March 8th birthday at a lovely Puerto Varas restaurant on Lake Llanquihue, both volcanoes, Volcan Osorno and Volcan Calbuco, were out in full splendor, a rare sight indeed to have both volcanoes be so clearly visible at the same time. It was an exceptional sunset and birthday dinner.
The following two days were spent getting ready for the next exciting portion of our 2 month trip... driving down the Carretera Austral in Patagonia! The Spanish words "Carretera Austral" translate to "Southern Highway" but in reality, the Carretera Austral is actually an 800 mile long "road" stretching the length of Chilean Patagonia from Puerto Montt all the way down to the southern town of Villa O'Higgins where the terrain becomes impassible due to glacial ice fields. Some of the Carretera Austral's 800 miles are paved, but there are numerous sections of dirt road ("ripio" in Spanish) which are literally cut into the side of a rocky cliff with hazardous switchbacks and precarious drop-offs, while other parts of the road are still under construction. It is especially exciting when it rains.
And so began our journey to drive the Carretera Austral. Early on the morning of March 11th, we traveled from Puerto Varas to the El Tepual airport near Puerto Montt. From there we flew to the tiny airport of Balmaceda, near Coyhaique, Chile. This is the only place where you can fly into the Carretera Austral on a commercial plane and it is where we will rent our car to begin our driving journey on the Carretara Austral.
We arrived at the small airport's car rental booth where we were very politely informed in Spanish, for English is a second language, that our confirmed reservation didn't exist. Jeff nicely asked in Spanish (for our Spanish is a second language) what names on the list had a reserved vehicle, he was told, "Only one, "Just Jeff give keys". When asked in Spanish, "Are you Just Jeff?" and Jeff responding, "Si", we were handed the car keys, got in the small sports utility vehicle and we were off!
The hour drive on the Carretera Austral to Coyhaique took us past the pampa, the expansive area of grass-covered plains that were a beautiful mixture of green, yellow and ochre. Those colors coupled with the vast blue sky above created a magnificent Patagonia landscape.
We passed very few farmhouses, yet we saw acres of bales of hay wrapped in white plastic
to be protected from the harsh elements and preserved for the winter.
It was a beautiful day when we arrived at Coyhaique.
The city of Coyhaique lies at the foot of the mountain known as Cerro Mackay which looms over the city.
Coyhaique is known as the gateway to Patagonia's most remote areas which is largely due to Coyhaique being located between the Andean Cordillera and the numerous fjords connected to the Pacific Ocean.
Coyhaique is the largest city on the Carretera Austral with its 50,000 inhabitants and it is the capital of the Aysen region. But, by modern standards, Coyhaique is a relatively recent city, having been founded on 12 October 1929 as a center servicing the settlers. There was definitely turmoil occurring in the rest of the world at that time and this untamed Patagonian wilderness was a calling card for many Germans wanting to flee Europe and make a fresh start.This area of Patagonia was then as it is now a harsh environment in which to settle. To this day there is a heavy German influence in this area. In the center of town is the Plaza de Armas. This town square has 5 sides, a curious feature around which the city is organized. It has a lovely park with 3 fountains
and roses galore
with numerous "monkey" or "puzzle" trees throughout the park.
And as in every Southern Patagonia town we have visited, there is a bust of the famous Chilean independence hero, Bernardo O'Higgins, prominently displayed, standing vigil and looming large. As we walked thru the park, we saw many people enjoying the sunny spots of the lawn to read their books and while away the last days of summer.
The craft market area on the main square sells many ceramic and woolen items. $4,000 pesos is around $6.50 USD
Jewelry vendors also line the walkways enticing the passers-by with their original creations.
There are numerous high end retailers such as North Face, Columbia and of course, the Patagonia stores throughout the town center with their "end of summer" sales. Coyhaique also has high-end upcoming entertainment. Get ready for... "Duel of the Accordions"! This much anticipated, big time attraction had signs everywhere: leaning on railings, on wooden sidewalk stands and huge posters on the street lamposts!
We stayed at the beautiful Pampa del Corral in Coyhaique, under the massive Mt. Mackay It was a tranquil spot filled with lupin and lavender, a gorgeous greenhouse and a hot tub.
These birds were happily residing outside our deck
And this one in particular was especially curious. The Pampa del Corral is often used as a retreat and its interior layout was spacious. All the windows had ample views of the surrounding mountains. The following day we ventured out to explore the "Reserva Natonal Coyhaique" and its beautiful "lagunas". It was a sunny day with Cerro Mackay and the Rio Simpson in full view. As we explored the Reserva Natonal Coyhaique, our hiking took us down the long and winding road
to the beautiful lakes on the Laguna Verde trail. It was a bright and blustery day. The landscape was beautiful and while the air was chilly, the lagonas did look inviting. The following day we headed north on the Carretera Austral to the "Reserva Natonal Rio Simpson". While home to condors, cougars and huemul deer, this area is best known for its fish! The trout filled Rio Simpson is reputed to be one of the best fly fishing locations in the world. We took a very wet hike thru this beautiful area.
This sign cracked me up since it was raining buckets!
We hiked past countless colorful fuschia bushes which were more like miniature trees.
They were extraordinary in their volume of beautiful blossoms! We dried off inside the park's exceptional visitor's center which had excellent exhibits, movies and documentaries of the area's history and even a taxidermist's flying condor!
As we headed back to Pampas del Corral for our last night in Coyhaique, we marveled once again at the view of Cerro Mackay (Mount Mackay). It is such a majestic and imposing massif overlooking the city and the Rio Simpson. The rain let up and held the promise of blue skies in the morning.
Tomorrow we will continue our drive on the Carretera Austral to Puerto Rio Tranquillo.
*************************************************** March 14-15 Carretera Austral from Coyhaique to Puerto Rio Tranquilo... Days 31 and 32 ***************************************************
Morning dawned with clear blue skies.
Today we said goodbye to Coyhaique and hello to driving south on the Carretera Austral Highway. We're on the road to Puerto Rio Tranquilo, 216 km (134 miles) away.
The Patagonia region south of Coyhaique on the Carretera Austral contains perhaps the highest density of spectacular sights imaginable: hanging glaciers, massive lakes, lush virgin forests, mountains, lagoons and roaring rivers with crystal clear trout-filled streams. It is Patagonia at its finest.
We drove out of town
and with each bend in the road, we were in awe of the breathtaking and astonishing beauty of Patagonia.
Our drive on one of the world's most famous highways was truly stunning!
In three hours we had driven many serpentine curves of the Carretera Austral, but none of those turns compared to what lay of us from this exceptional overlook of the Mirador Cuesta Del Diablo.
This viewpoint is panoramic and today we were treated to wonderful visibility. Below is a quintessential view of the Carretera Austral's famous hairpin curves down the mountain.
Looking to the right from the vista, one can see the beautiful landscape with Cerra Castillo (the Castle mountain) and the Cerra Castillo mountain range so named for its resemblance to the battlements of a medieval castle.
From the viewpoint is a beautiful river valley.
The opposite side has another astounding view with the Andes Mountains in the background. Simply stunning!
We drove down the serpentine Carretera Austral and approached the non-descript, tiny town of Cerro Castillo at the foot of the mountain. We were treated to panoramic vistas of the entire valley with snow capped mountains. Cerro Castillo literally is at the end of the paved section of the Carretera Austral before the gravel road starts. We stopped for a bite to eat at this classic roadhouse diner of two converted buses. This is a great place to meet the chef and get a sandwich and coffee for the road because, as you can see in the photo below, the road is literally right outside the doors of the bus. Here the Carretera Austral stops being paved and becomes a rutted, gravel road for the next 72.7 km, or 45 miles which took us around another 3 hours to drive. As the guidebook states, "There are corrugations on steeper sections and potholes on flatter sections especially around areas with swampy ground. There are no imminent plans to pave this section so get use to gravel from this point onwards!" They weren't kidding!
We hit a bit of rain and also a bit of "traffic" that had to "move over" on the rutted, pot-holed, gravel Carretera Austral.
The rain let up and treated us to more scenic skies
and soon we were at Lago General Carrera!
This gigantic, 457,145 square mile, stunning lake, straddles both Chile and Argentina (in Argentina, the lake is known as Lago Buenos Aires). Lago General Carrera is the largest lake in Chile and is the second largest lake in all of South America. It flows into the Baker River which ultimately flows into the Pacific Ocean.
The Lago General Carrera is an exquisite turquoise blue.
The lake is of glacial origin and is surrounded by the stunning snow capped Andes Mountains.
The gravel road along the Lago General Carrera led us to the small village of Puerto Rio Tranquilo. Puerto Rio Tranquilo is surrounded by the snow capped Andes Mountains and is located literally on the windy western shore of the Lago General Carrera.
This small village of shingled houses is comprised of has 8 short "streets".
One of the main sights to see as one "explores" the village is this quaint church
which is famous for its beloved priest, Father Ronchi, who single handedly brought communications and FM radio to the remote villages of this area. He also built numerous desperately needed schools. His first FM radio tower is a national monument. Hence his portrait on the satellite dish.
We had slim pickings for dinner for two restaurants were closed.
There was a food truck specializing in French food (which was in the process of closing for the season that night). We passed on by.
We came upon the "restaurant" that the two man "Carabineros" police force frequented. We had a somewhat surprisingly very good meal.
The fresh produce truck rattled into town for restocking the village. Puerto Rio Tranquillo is pretty much the end of the road.
We stayed in a hostel, the truly lovely Hostal El Puesto. We had an immaculately clean private room with a private bathroom. Shoes had to be left at the door and handmade slippers were provided for each guest. There was no internet available and cell phone use was not permitted.
So why would one come to Puerto Rio Tranquilo? There is limited, if any, public bus service. There is one humble gas station and a few buildings; but we were informed that in the high tourist season, December-February, Puerto Rio Tranquilo is THE tourist hub and is intensely crowded for it is the closest access point to the astounding Marble Caves.
We were also told that during the high season, which had just ended, the tour buses are ladened with weary tourists who have traveled for hours over the same unpaved, pot-holed, gravel road as we had. It is quite a bumpy, and in some spots a tad hair raising, ride. Then, after a 90 minute boat ride to view the marble caves, these tourists are put back on the tour bus to return the 150 miles to their hotel in the nearest large city thus completing their 12 hour tour.
We, on the other hand, are here in Puerto Rio Tranquilo for 2 days during the off season.We can't wait to see the Marble Caves tomorrow!
This morning at 9:00, we donned our life jackets and
hopped into the motorboat with four other passengers and sped thru the water towards the marble caves.
It was quite a ride across the windy, cold and wet glacial waters of Lago General Carrera.
As we rode thru the waves, which were splashing onto and into our open motor boat, the sun came out and a rainbow appeared directly in front of our boat as if to lead the way to the Marble Caves.
Over the centuries, Lago General Carrera's glacial waters and wind have eroded the limestone walls surrounding this section of the lake to form the unusual Salvador Dali-esque caves.
Our motor boat got closer and we could see the magnitude of nature's artwork.
We drifted as we entered the caves and floated into and thru another world.
We were in a masterpiece of natural art.
We motored from one marble cave to another,
often ducking our heads as we entered and floating thru,
marveling at the exquisite colors
and contour of the sharp marble walls.
From one stunning marble cave to the next
we motored over the turquoise blue water
As we floated thru we spent time reveling in the tranquility of its splendor.
From a distance,
one has no way of knowing what beauty lies beneath its weathered exterior.
Then off in the distance, we saw another of nature's masterpieces and headed towards it.
We eased our way into this last, stunning marble cave.
All of these marble caves will long be remembered for their beauty and grace in the transparent, turquoise waters of Lago General Carrera.
In the afternoon we decided to head 34 miles west of Puerto Rio Tranquilo up a gravel to dirt road called Bahia Exploradores to see the "Glaciar Exploradores" or the Exploradores Glacier.
When we set out on the gravel road, the sky was just starting to turn dark and yet we didn't have rain.
We traveled for quite a while, heading up the mountain's winding gravel road when it started to rain.
and rain
and rain.
We continued on up as the gravel road turned to mud
and massive boulders lined each side of our now one lane road.
Across the way, we could see beautiful waterfalls streaming off the mountains.
And as we rounded the next precarious corner, we saw our own waterfalls
pounding down onto the road.
And as we were only a mile from our destination, the heavens opened up even more!
We rounded the corner and
hmm with one mile to go, should we or shouldn't we go on?
We decided that even though the road appeared to be washing out before our eyes, we could make it...the real question was, could we make it back?
A trip on the Carretera Austral is incomplete without visiting the San Raphael Glacier. The San Rafael glacier begins at 13,310 feet above sea level which is the highest peak in the southern Andean mountain range.
So we traveled on the Carretera Austral from Puerto Rio Tranquilo to Puerto Chacabuco for about 7 hours enjoying the scenery along the way.
We arrived in Chacabuco, around sunset. We are staying for 3 days at the largest and most enjoyable hotel in the region, the Los Loberias Del Sur Hotel.
It had lovely views
out to the Aysen Sound and the Chacabuco port itself.
The hotel is one of the few operations that provide excursions and catamaran services to see the Ventisquero San Rafael (the San Raphael Glacier) that is one of the highlights of this entire Patagonia region.
So, the following morning, we boarded the Los Loberias Del Sur cameraman
and headed out to the Laguna San Rafael and on towards the San Rafael Glacier. We saw blue ice floating in the Lagona. Why is the ice blue, you might ask?
We learned from our guide, "The pressure caused by the sheer volume of ice squeezes the air bubbles out of the snow as it is absorbed into the glacier. Because compacted ice better absorbs light at the red end of the spectrum, the light reflected from the glacier appears surprisingly blue."
We passed thru the amazing Laguna San Rafael which is not a lake nor lagoon at all for it is connected to the open ocean, but due to the formation of the mountains around the "lake" it appears to be an enclosed body of water.
There were enormous icebergs floating on the Laguna San Rafael and the captain of our catamaran did a masterful job avoiding them. Many were massive!
Then we saw it! The magnificent San Rafael Glacier!
We donned our life jackets and were ready to go.
Twelve of us set out in our zodiac and headed right up to it for a closer look.
Perhaps because we were at sea level looking up and so close to the glacier, that the San Rafael glacier struck us as being exceptionally impressive. Suddenly, we heard a deafening roar of the glacier calving. Right before our eyes we witnessed a gigantic block of glacial ice, about the size of a 150 foot building, come crashing into the water with a thunderous BOOM!
It looked like an explosion when it hit the water.
Then just as we thought it was all underwater,
the massive block of ice thrust itself upward to the surface as if it was a whale breaching and then smacked onto its side causing another explosion of water. The blue ice then rolled over and over onto its side until the heaviest portion of it was below the surface of the water.
It was an astounding sight to behold! Then we saw the huge waves from the explosive force of the calfing headed in our direction and our guide yelled, "Hold on!" We did. The zodiac's motor roared to life and we raced back to the ship.
Those on board were excited for us that we had gotten to see this astonishing force of nature close up!
It had been wet and cold on the zodiacs and the cameraman was filled with warm food and "welcome back!" drinks awaiting our return.
Between one's choice of a pisco sour or Chilean wine, the excursion also offered a wonderful whiskey with millenary ice that dates back more than 20,000 years. It was pretty impressive how the ice cube chunks didn't melt!
In a short while we headed for home.
And while our 10 hour trip was ending, we were filled with the memory of such an extraordinary and breathless sight to see this gigantic chunk of ice split off of its brilliant blue sides and thunderously crash into the lagoon.
Cheers! to another exceptional memory of our time in Chile!
Day 35
Aguas Calientes de Ensenada Perez. Hot Springs and Cinco Hermanas Natural Monument
Chacabuco, Patagonia, Chile
March 18, 2018
Today we took the Los Loberias del Sur's excursion to the hot springs, the Aguas Calientes de Ensenada Perez.
The day started off with the promise of sunshine and calm seas. But this is Patagonia and the weather can turn on a dime.
As we left Chacabuco, the volcanic mountains were in full view.
We could also see the distant snow-capped southern Andes Mountains,
but then the Patagonia weather started rolling in. Waves crashing onto the boat,
and rain smashed on our windows
but there was a rainbow guiding the way to the hot springs.
While onboard, we all received an unexpected gift, our own personal plush terry cloth robe, plush towels and a pair of new crocks to complete our swimsuit attire.
We walked along the shore
and we were in the hot springs.
The hot springs were actually a series of rectangular, waist deep, man-made swimming pools, each pool filled with progressively hotter water. It was a very relaxing way to enjoy a rainy afternoon.
Another unexpected surprise was that the crew made sure an ample supply of pisco sours was always on hand in addition to serving us scrumptious hour devours!
When we returned to the boat we were greeted with Elvis Presley music and a delicious lunch.
The rain let up and mountain visibility improved. The captain conferred with the crew and made the decision that we would go out on the second part of our excursion to the
Cinco Hermanas Natural Monument. This "natural monument" consists of an archipelago of 6 islands located in the Aisen fjord. From there one can see the Maca volcano, 7,500 feet above sea level, whose entire cone is covered with ice. It is a glacier-covered volcano! Below is a photo from the internet of what it looks like.
The zodiacs were loaded onto the sea and off we went. As we rounded the corner, the heavens opened up with a deluge and we saw the sign that read,
Welcome to the
Cinco Hermanas Natural Monument!
We motored the zodiac to the location where the internet photo of the glacier covered Maca volcano was taken
and this was today's view.
After a rather wet weather ride, it was back to the boat for more drying off, drinks, dinner and then docking the boat at Puerto Chacabuco. As we were leaving, a foreign couple commented to me that they certainly hadn't expected the weather to be quite like it was, but in spite of it all, they still had a fun time. For us, that's one of the highlights of traveling... enjoying the unexpected. ****************************************************************************************************** Day 36-38 Puyuhuapi Lodge & Spa, Aysen Region, Puyuhuapi, Patagonia,Chile ******************************************************************************************************
Today we traveled from Puerto Chacabuco to a heavenly spot, the Puyuhuapi Lodge and Spa. It is as tranquil and serene a place as one could ever imagine! However, it is only accessible by sea. To get to the boat dock, we drove a very wet and epic 120 miles on the Carretera Austral highway. Some portions were paved and other parts were mud and gravel. Some spots had switchbacks that were a tad hair-raising. Nevertheless, the journey was well worth it for we've found a little bit of heaven in Puyuhuapi at the "Termas de Puyuhuapi", the Puyuhuapi Lodge and Spa.
We left Puerto Chacabuco early in the morning and drove on the paved portion of Carretera Austral highway thru bucolic pastures
by thunderous waterfalls
and on the mountainous road through four hours of torrential rain.
We passed falling rocks on the road, which were massive,
and passed road workers helping vehicles in need of assistance.
Then the Carretera Austral highway became nearly 40 miles of a gravel road with very precarious tight switchbacks!
This portion of the trip was not for the faint of heart.
Billboards are virtually non-existant in Chile; but when they do appear, they illustrate how the Carretera Austral highway will look in the near future. Here the billboard is strategically positioned
on this tight turn, looking like it was placed there to prevent one from plunging into the sea!
Finally, we turned off the gravel portion of the Carretera Austral highway. We headed down a steep side road to the "dock" where the lodge's speed boat will pick us up to take us to the Puyuhuapi Lodge and Spa. Due to the intense wind and rain, we had to wait for many wet hours at the boat "dock" for the boat to arrive.
During our 3 hour wait, the rain finally stopped and incredibly, the sun came out and the sky turned a beautiful blue!
While standing on the mainland, in the picture above, we couldn't see the Puyuhuapi Lodge and Spa for it is located far behind the islands.
The lodge's speed boat picked us up and we were off!
We motored for 30 minutes over the Puyuhuapi Channel to the shores of Dorita Bay into what appeared to be a lake but was actually a tidal inlet of the ocean.
Then up ahead, there it was, gently nestled in a stunning natural environment of hot springs, waterfalls, mountains and glaciers. From the moment we first set eyes on the lodge, stretching out across its own beautiful bay, we knew our experience at the Puyuhuapi Lodge and Spa would be a special one!
This peaceful eco-lodge with its Chilean architecture of wood, tile and stone is a world unto its own.
The lodge does not have television, nor internet, nor cell service. But, what it does have to offer is tranquility. Our comfortable room led directly out to our sprawling deck which was cantilevered over the beach. We were in the middle of a very private, quiet environment surrounded by spectacular scenery. It was not hard to unplug and start relaxing. Talk about a room with a view! The sound of the waves lapping on the shore below our deck and the whisper of the hummingbirds flying past us was lovely to hear. Sitting on the deck, sipping our wine, we enjoyed relaxing in the serenity of Chilean Patagonia. It was well worth the drive down the Carretera Highway!
At the Puyuhuapi Lodge and Spa, the heating and hot water are prolific and entirely natural, powered by the same volcanic springs which gush into the indoor and outdoor thermal pools.
It is because the Lodge is located within 3 different water sources: fresh water from the waterfalls, salt water from the sea and thermal water from the earth, that their spa has a lot to offer, not the least of which is their indoor swimming pool filled with hot springs' water complete with a thermal waterfall inviting one to fully relax. There are also numerous smaller thermal pools in addition to 2 jacuzzis of various temperatures and even a cold fresh water shower from the rocks on the walls. Every thermal pool offered us spectacular views of Dorita Bay and the surrounding Andes mountains.
Each day we enjoyed the marvelous warm and sunny weather.
The visibility was astounding. We could see the entire fjord and especially the peaks of the stunning Andes Mountains. We loved exploring the lodge's grounds,
walking along the stone pathways which were lined with enormous ferns. many of which were so huge that it looked as if they could touch the sky.
There were also hundreds of "nalcas", which is the Patagonian rhubarb, with their enormous leaves and fruit. Jeff is in the lower left hand corner.
As impressive as the Jurassic style ferns and nalcas were, for us, it was the fuschias that stole the show.
Everywhere we walked, the fuschia bushes, which are more like trees than bushes, created a colorful overhead archway, attracting dozens of hummingbirds.
These Patagonia hummingbirds ignored us as many buzzed by collecting nectar from blossom to blossom, while other hummingbirds were chirping away from one to another. Our walks were filled with vibrant sights and sounds. There's Jeff in the lower left below.
Because it was the start of the "off season", we had the Lodge and Spa virtually all to ourselves! It was heavenly!
There were numerous outdoor thermal pools that led to the sea. We would just relax in the hot springs, gazing at the spectacular spectacle of the Andes and the ocean.
Virtually every turn on the trail led to yet another lovely outdoor thermal pool.
38 degrees Celcius is around 104 degrees Fahrenheit.
Lounge chairs and chaises lined the thermal pools and invited one to soak up the view.
Each day's astoundingly clear sky with its breathtaking scenery carried into the night. The twilight of the evening's beautiful blue sky gave way to a night sky which was alive with the light of spectacular stars and brilliant constellations. The splendor of the sky was astounding. It was hard to leave the the deck and go to sleep.
Each morning dawned with a another dazzling display of nature. The heat from the hot springs with the morning dew created a mystical illusion.
We savored these views from our deck
and throughout the lodge's scenic paths
And of course our glorious time in the thermal pools.
It seemed only fitting that the tide was out as our time to leave drew near.
All too soon it was time to leave and yet our memories of this little slice of Heaven will live in our hearts for a very long time.
Today we begin our adventure to Chile!
