Patagonia and the Carretera Austral

Futaleufú

I enjoyed five days in the beautiful small town of Futaleufu. I met a friendly Dutch couple, Rob and Brenda and we enjoyed our time together hiking, sharing meals and playing cards. For two days after they left, I hiked through the mountains in search for waterfalls and great views.

This hike was adventurous. I hiked through a farm with cows on my way to see waterfalls



Futalefú

Woo Hoo



Typical home sourrounded by immense green vegetation and mountains

View of the lake near the town of Futaleufú

Thanks for the ride!

I took a one hour bus ride to Santa Lucia and waited my next hitchhiking adventure. After about thirty minutes, a jeep slowed to greet me. I spoke in Spanish as I usually do, and he responded in Spanglish. An American! He invited me to travel with him to La Junta, his destination for the day. The infamous rocky road, also known as 'carretera austral', made for a bumpy ride. We enjoyed each others company as I learned he and his sister are two of the founders of Patagonia clothing. His sister's husband, the infamous Doug Tompkins, owns over two million acres in Chile, most of which are in the Patagonia area. Doug and his wife build and preserve national parks in Chile. It is their goal to teach and set a standard in building clean parks while preserving the natural plants and animal life. All this is done with minimal to no damage to the beautiful nature. I inquired about volunteering or working at their parks for a future job. Quite the connection! I continued my journey from La Junta to the tiny town of Puyuhuapi, home to some 800 people. I camped in the back yard of a local family's home with two other Americans I met as I arrived. Sam and John go to school at Colorado college and we had a great night, enjoying dinner, beers, travel stories and some card games. The next day, we traveled to Quelat National Park to enjoy hiking and the amazing views. At the park, I met Romina and Diego, an awesome Chilean couple from Santiago that I met in Futalefú. They are traveling by motorcycle to Punta Arenas to move there for an undetermined amount of time. We hiked to the glacier together before saying goodbyes.

View from campsite in Puyuhuapi



Puyuhuapi - I hitchhiked to the park in a truck. This is the view from the truck bed.

Diego, Romina and I at the Lagoon with Ventisquero Colgate Glacier in the background

Ventisquero Colgate -- Colgate Glacier

Panoramic of Ventisquero Colgate

The following day, Sam and John left earlier to hitchhike to Coyhaique. I left several hours later and found a ride in a motor home with a French family. Ronan, his wife Karine, and two kids Gabin and Eloise were super friendly and generous. They are in the middle of a three year trip around the world, in the same mobile home which they transport from continent to continent. They are homeschooling, or should I say mobile-homeschooling, their kids throughout their journey. How incredible! While driving, we saw two hitchhikers on the road and to my surprise, I recognized my American friends! We picked them up and had a full camper on our journey south on the carretera austral. We stopped to enjoy a several hour hike in the enchanted forest to see a glacier with a waterfall pouring into a lagoon. We camped that night in Puerto Cisnes .

Ronen enjoying the hike in the 'enchanted forest'

The rainforest is beautiful with sunshine

Lagoon and Glacier!

360 view of Lagoon

Puerto Aysen

I said my goodbyes to Sam, John and the French family and hit the road again, solo. I found two different rides with nice Chileans to the small town of Puerto Aysen. There, I had arranged couchsurfing and was excited to stay with locals. I stayed with Rodrigo for three nights, and he introduced me to several friends. Then, I stayed with Marcela and her boyfriend Jaime for three nights. They live on the river with an amazing view. They are super generous and a great couple with whom to spend time. Thank you very much!

I took an hour bicycle ride outside of Aysen to see the ocean. 

A view of Aysen from a hill outside of town

Aysen

Cerro Castillo National Reserve

The morning I left Puerto Aysen, I found a ride within minutes to Coyhaique. The following day I hitchhiked with five different people before I made it to Laguna Chiguay, a camping spot and trailhead to a great hike. The last ride was the funniest, as I used a technique I learned from an alumni of Southwestern, the company which employed me to work to save money for this trip. This alumni told me in the 80's, they had to hitchhike daily to their selling areas. And to find a ride more easily, they would wait on the side of the road smiling and waving at people. When a car would drive by, they would run after the car smiling and waving their arms. Previously, I had unsuccessfully used this technique. This time it worked! The truck passed me and I ran after it. They came to a stop about fifty meters from where I originally stood. Luis and Estela are teachers from Chile Chico and are a very friendly couple. They invited me to their home when I travel to their town, and drove me to my destination. At Laguna Chiguay, I camped with two Chilean cousins, Jorge and Diego. Generously they shared dinner and dessert with me and we enjoyed a warm fire. They left the next morning for a several day hike through a park, and I hiked a shorter trek.

Laguna Chiguay

360 from peak of trek overlooking Cerro Castillo National Reserve

Chile Chico

I continued my journey and found a ride with Jose Miguel, a father that is traveling to Chile Chico for business. I spontaneously decided to hitch a ride with him to a destination I previously didn't think I would be traveling. Now, I write this blog entry under a full moon on a smooth two hour ferry from Puerto Ibañez to Chile Chico. I called Luis and Estela and they plan to meet me at the port. Life is great!

Luis picked me up from the port, and drove me to their home to enjoy an evening snack they call ‘Tomar Once.’ We enjoyed local honey, jam, avocado, milk, homemade bread and great conversations. They both teach at the local school here in Chile Chico. The next day, they invited me to lunch and we ate soup, salmon and a salad. Thank you so much for your generosity Luis and Estela!

Luis and Estela

Puerto Tranquilo

After a couple days in Chile Chico, I hitched a ride to Puerto Tranquilo. I camped out there for two nights at a campsite owned by a super nice lady named Elsa. This picture below is a view from her property. Also, I visited the Marble Caves that make this little town so popular.

Puerto Tranquilo

Puerto Tranquilo at Sunset

Pto. Tranquilo under the moon

Capillas de Marmol (Marble Caves)

Estancia Chacabuco

I left Puerto Tranquilo and travelled to Estancia Chacabuco, where the sister of Roger owns a massive amount of land. She and her husband, Doug Tompkins, are building a national park in this area. They hope to name the area, "Patagonia National Park." It is very clean and the trails are very clear, unlike many of the national parks in Chile. I  hiked and camped here for two days trekking the mountains full of fall colors.