Category Archives: Patagonia 2020

8 Wochen Patagonien – Eine kleine Zusammenfassung

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Dieser nette Facebook Post unseres Van-Vermieters trifft den Nagel ziemlich genau auf den Kopf. Trotz der am Ende etwas nervigen Umstände durch die Corona-Pandemie hat unser kleiner Roadtrip eigentlich kaum Schaden genommen und wir haben – bis auf den Surfkurs

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– alles gemacht was wir uns vorgenommen hatten.

Patagonien selbst aber auch unsere Wanderungen, Ausflüge und Touren waren so voller unterschiedlicher Highlights, dass es wirklich schwerfällt ein einzelnes herauszufischen. Wobei, fünf Pumas sieht man wirklich nicht alle Tage neben der Straße rumlungern.

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Eines aber verbindet die Ereignisse: die unglaubliche Freiheit, die ein Van zusammen mit der Möglichkeit zum Wildcamping bietet. Auch wenn wir das schon häufiger für kurze Reiseabschnitte gemacht haben und dadurch schon ganz gut aufeinander abgestimmt sind, war es für uns doch etwas neues eine komplette Reise acht Wochen lang aus einem Van zu erleben. Mit den einzigen organisatorischen Gedanken des Tages an die nächste Frischwasserquelle für den Wassertank und an den nächsten Gulli für das Dreckwasser (und vielleicht hin und wieder mal die Suche nach einer Dusche), konnten wir die Natur und die (doch begrenzte) Kultur viel intensiver genießen als wir das sonst gewohnt waren. So konnten wir die vereinzelten Touristenmassen, die sich zu dieser Jahreszeit noch in manchen Teilen Patagoniens tummeln, getrost umgehen und die Ruhe auf uns wirken lassen oder ganz gezielt ansteuern, wenn wir mal wieder Lust auf ein bisschen Action hatten. Zwar hatten wir dadurch nicht so viel Kontakt zu Einheimischen wie wir das sonst versuchen, dafür aber in den wenigen Fällen vielleicht sogar ein bisschen intensiver!

Außerdem ist die Fahrt mit einem so einfachen Van auf den “Straßen” Patagoniens einfach nur ein Erlebnis für sich und – neben hin und wieder aufkommender Todesangst – einfach nur ein riesen Spaß!!! Wann fährt man schon mal wieder 2000km am Stück auf einer Schotterpiste?!

Auch wenn wir Patagonien jetzt quasi komplett abgeklappert haben, hat Südamerika und Chile/Argentinien natürlich noch einiges mehr zu bieten. Durch Corona haben wir zwar knapp eine Woche Zeit verloren, aber da wir uns so lange in Patagonien aufgehalten haben, war uns zu Beginn der Reise sehr schnell klar, dass wir die nördlicheren Ecken des Landes/Kontinents in so kurzer Zeit nicht mehr erreichen werden. Insbesondere die Atacama-Wüste und die Iguazu-Fälle hätten uns nämlich schon noch gereizt.

Netterweise haben wir von unserem Van-Vermieter einen Gutschein über die verfallenen 6 Miettage bekommen und auch von Iberia haben wir durch Corona einen unerwartet hohen Gutschein für einen weiteren Flug erhalten… Einem weiteren Camping-Abenteuer in Südamerika steht also nicht mehr viel im Weg!!!

Pichilemu, Navidad und Maipo – some sun and virus panic

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Our actual destination after the Conguillio National Park are the surfing and bathing beaches in Pichilemu and Navidad. However, since we still have no replacement for our canceled return flight and StaTravel still has no further information, we try to contact Iberia directly in the next largest city, Concepción. It even works and we get a new return flight one week before the planned return date. We just hope that Chile does not decide to close its borders completely within 3 days after the entry ban. When shopping afterwards, the fear of the corona virus is slowly becoming clearer. Many people wear face masks and some shelves in Wallmart’s actually huge assortment are cleared (including toilet paper …).

Still relieved by the new return flight, we continue to Pichilemu to watch the surfers, who insanely climb around a cliff and thus venture into the waves or are pulled out on the open sea with a jet ski approx. 300m. We also actually had a surf course on the list, but just on that day, the government of Chile issued an exit warning and most shops are closed. Even the nice baker from whom we get the last bread explains that he only opens every other day …

The next bad news is not long in coming, Iberia gets the next cancellation of our flight back while walking on the actually pretty beach of Pichilemu. This time the flight from Madrid to Munich is affected. Well, we now know how to do it, call and book again right away. Since we don’t hope for much more from the rest of the places due to the exit warning, we also ask for an earlier flight. Unfortunately in vain and so we get a new flight for the same day with 9 hours in Madrid. Not exactly great, but at least something.

We spend the evening with a couple of bottles of wine with a German-Austrian couple in their American motorhome, which they bought in Chile and looks like they were in the 70s. The next morning we continue to Navidad; there is less surfing, but more swimming, but here too the weather lets us down. The morning mist that is common in this region simply does not want to subside and there is no improvement in sight for the next few days.

And how could it be otherwise, the next cancellation of Iberia will be via email. We can rebook again, but only for a flight two days later and the situation is slowly becoming a bit ghostly. Because the government announces increasingly stringent measures (including a night curfew) and we have also lost confidence in Iberia. Even the nice lady on the service phone says that she would not risk staying in the country for so long, more and more airports are closing down …

The next day, in order to be at the airport as quickly as possible, we leave Navidad in the direction of the Maipo Valley. From here we can bring the van back within 45 minutes and the weather should also be better. It is, but the corona virus is becoming more and more present. Everywhere people with face masks, block handling at supermarkets, campsites and national parks are closed and many people no longer trust the door. Who should blame them for an outbreak like in Europe or Asia would probably not even be able to cope with the health system. That’s why we book a new return flight regardless of Iberia, so on the one hand we have a trump card when something is canceled, at the same time the tickets are all refundable until shortly before departure (Corona now has at least something good Winking smile)

Even if the flight search is a bit nerve-wracking, we can still enjoy the warm, sunny weather in the valley and fill up with a little vitamin D before we go to Santiago on Monday evening – 6 days before the end – and return the camper . After a last nice chat with Danny – who can’t believe that we saw 5 pumas and is really happy about our Corona six-pack – we set off to fly back to Germany via Toronto. 33 hours of travel time and we are really beginning to wonder if we will ever be able to get back from a vacation without disasters…

Pucon – Seven lakes and on an active vulcaon

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sorry only google translate…

The ferry across Lago Pirahuelco runs along the (private) organic reserve Huilo Huilo, which we actually want to visit. During the ferry we are approached twice to our camper and even invited by a nice older man to his home in Pucon. When we arrive at the visitor center of the reserve, it turns out that the rivers that feed the waterfalls – the main attraction of the park – have dried up, so we drive – in bad weather – directly to Panguipulli, the starting point for the Chilean version of a seven-lake -Trip.

Now we are really caught up with Corona, because our return flight is canceled and it remains unclear in the course of the next few days who is now organizing a new one for us. StaTravel – our travel agency – does not take action and does not react to emails, so it remains exciting …

Since we have had enough of these lake tours since Argentina, we head straight to our real reason for this detour – the active volcano Villarrica. 2847 meters high, last erupted in 2015, last noteworthy activity in November 2019. And best of all, you can reach the crater relatively relaxed with a mountain guide. We don’t want to miss this and try our luck in Conaripe to climb the volcano from its supposedly more beautiful south side. Unfortunately, due to the low season, no guides are stationed here, which is why we have to switch to the much more touristic place Pucon. Due to the low season, it is relatively relaxed here too.

After comparing a few tour providers and Kerstin also has a good feeling about making the climb, the next day starts. We are very lucky, the last five days have been no tours due to bad weather, but the next day should be perfect!

After a night on the city beach of Pucon, it starts at 6 a.m. We have to try on our equipment, somehow put our provisions in the backpacks with the equipment. There is also a couple from San Francisco and our two guides Joaquin and Felipe. Then it is about 40 minutes by car to about 1400 meters in altitude in the national park and off you go. Well not quite, the first 400 meters in altitude are relatively boring and it is recommended to take a somewhat more relaxed chair lift (without a safety bar) to save the breath for the difficult part of the ascent. Once at 1800 meters, it really starts. First through volcanic rock until we reach the first foothills of the glacier that adorns the top of the volcano. After a brief briefing from Felipe on how best to save yourself with an ice ax in the event of a fall, it’s time to put on crampons and zigzag up the glacier. At first it looks like a breakneck steep due to the shape of the volcano, but after a few steps you get used to it and we stomp after our guide step by step.

With us about 60-80 people go to the volcano, that sounds a lot at first but in the high season there are over 300! All in single file across the glacier, but this meditative moment is interrupted again and again by loud “Roca” calls and whistles. Be it by mountaineers, wind or the sun, small and medium-sized stones keep loosening themselves from the upper part of the volcano and they shoot down at hell speeds. Once at the top of the glacier, we leave our luggage behind and master the last few snow-free vertical meters to the crater armed only with a camera and gas mask. Then you stand there on the edge of the smoking crater, see the different colors and hear a rumble from the throat again and again. Just breathtaking! At the same time, of course, one hopes that the yellow warning level will not suddenly turn into red …

Back on our luggage, lunch is announced. Then again hectic “Roca” calls, loud whistling followed by a polyphonic “Uhhh” and a “Hat’s oan dawischd?” from a pair of lederhosen – you really are never safe from BavariaI don’t know smile. Since we couldn’t see anything, Joaquin explains to us. A stone has just flown centimeters over the helmet of a crouching hiker.

If there is enough snow, you can accelerate the descent significantly with a bob aka Porutscher. Unfortunately, this is not the case and therefore it is time to put crampons back on and go down the steep glacier in single file over a mixture of melting snow, ice and stones. Tobi and Felipe then mastered the last few meters by “boot skiing”. Joaquin just says, “they are children”!

The next day we drive for one night to the Conguillio National Park with the double crater volcano “Llaima” (3125m) and the hike to the “Mirador Sierra Nevada”.

This not only offers a great view of the volcano, but also leads us to the “Araucania” trees, which give the region its name. We also finally see the red-headed woodpecker that we have heard in a few parks but never saw!

Unfortunately Corona is now really catching up with us. Because we still haven’t heard from StaTravel, Chile is about to close its borders and we still don’t have a new flight. Slowly it is becoming “more dangerous” that in two weeks there may be no planes flying or the whole world will shut itself off even more. Therefore, as a precaution, we decide not to stay in the park, but to approach Santiago so that we can react quickly when in doubt. So at least a few more days are waiting for us on the beach …

Bariloche – as we would be in the German alps

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While the Corona virus keeps Germany in suspense, we leave Chile for the last time in the direction of Argentina to take a look at the 7-lake region there and the area around Bariloche – we start with the latter. Although Bariloche counts as Switzerland in South America and has many well-heeled summer residences here, the area is very criminal here. Burglaries in campers have been reported here several times, even during the night. That is why CondorCampers advised us to refrain from WIld camping here at the beginning of the trip and to better switch to paid campsites. We are looking for one in the nice suburb of Colonia Suiza, founded by Swiss and now we are confronted with Corona for the first time. In the general kitchen there is a bottle of disinfectant linked to the virus. We also meet our somewhat taciturn German rescuer, who last helped us with the empty car battery.

Bariloche got its nickname not only because of its founding fathers (and the unaffordable living costs for “normal” Argentines), but especially because of its location on the lake in the middle of an impressive mountain landscape. Of course we do not miss this and take two hikes – in the spirit of the Alpine feeling – mountain huts. The first leads us to Refugio Italia, it begins almost directly at the campsite and only leads us through a beautiful jungle only to then bring us up about 1000m within a few kilometers. It’s a good thing that we are now fully in training and so we can do the five-hour climb in about three and a half. We are rewarded with few tourists, a beautiful lake (Negra lagoon) in the Andes and a funny interpretation of a “hut” in a tin hut.

We stumble back in the middle of alpine folklore. It is Sunday, the small village is becoming a tourist magnet and serves the cliché with something that is reminiscent of a beer garden atmosphere. Absolutely weird and we find it so funny that after a regional beer with live guitar music we spontaneously decide to stay one night longer.

A day of rest is also good for us, because the next hike to the Refugio Otto Meiling in the 80 km south of the Nahuel Huapi National Park is again over 1000 meters in altitude. We spend the “day off” with an extensive breakfast, before we slowly make our way along the lake of the same name towards the national park and keep stopping for the picturesque backdrop.

In the national park we find a wonderfully quiet place to sleep on Lago Hess, enjoy the sunset over the “del Manso” glacier, to which we will leave very early the next morning. Because at the start of the hike to the refuge, about 50km have to be mastered in the semi-darkness over the gravel slopes of the park. They have it all, but the sunrise and the great scenery with morning mist during the journey make up for early waking up and the shaken bones. The hike also creates this canvas effect again, because as soon as you have covered the first 700 meters of altitude, you walk in the midst of an impressive scenery of mountains, volcanic rocks and glaciers until you reach the refuge, which is exactly between two glaciers – “del Manso” and “Castano Overo” – shelter for hikers. We don’t stay overnight, but since we leave so early and the buses from Bariloche arrive much later, we have the view almost to ourselves.

Our last stage in Argentina takes us north along the “Ruta de los Siete Lagos” and we are glad to have visited Bariloche next to the lakes. The lakes are in every guidebook, more than a “very nice” flies only once over our lips and that is due to a litter of small cat puppies and not at the lake.

Back to Chile it goes over the Paso Huahum and here Corona catches up with us again. Because we have to sign an affidavit about our stays outside of Chile for the past 30 days. Good thing we weren’t there in Germany, otherwise we would probably be in quarantine! In addition, our camper is examined here for the first time (almost 10 minutes) after Essen. We had never experienced that before. Then we take a ferry back to the volcanically active region of La Araucania, the penultimate stage of our trip …

Puerto Montt – a reuinion and german culture surounded by vulcanos

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sorry, only google translate

After the ferry from Chiloe we drive directly to Puerto Montt, because we have made an appointment with Chopan – one of the two cyclists from Punta Arenas. He lives here, runs a small natural cosmetics shop and has invited us to his home, his girlfriend and his father. We meet him at around 6 p.m. in his shop, but since he is still open until 8 p.m. we take a look around in the first major city since Punta Arenas, but our enthusiasm is limited. The “most exciting” thing is that for the first time we get to know about the unrest that is circulating in Chile. As we sit on the “Plaza del Armas” (that’s the name of the main square in each settlement), a group of maybe 30-50 demonstrators passes us two blocks away. At first we think nothing of it, but then suddenly the street is on fire in one corner of the square. Pure provocation of the police, as we will learn later (this only intervenes in an emergency out of respect for major unrest), but for us reason enough to go a little further away – it is almost 8 p.m. anyway.

Chopan then briefly shows us his home and gives us a restaurant tip that we gratefully accept. He has to leave again immediately and so our reunion is limited to a bottle of wine together after dinner, where we also get to know his girlfriend and father. After a night in our first real bed for almost 6 weeks – hard to believe how good 80cm can feel for two winking smile – we also get to know Chopan’s grandmother, who has just completed a 10-hour bus ride from Santiago. For us it is also the sign to leave the family alone, but even if the reunion was short, “couch surfing” is always a great experience !!!

For us it goes directly to the Seven Lakes Region, because dreamlike lakes and several active volcanoes are waiting for us! For this we start in Puerto Varas on Lago Llanquihue framed by the volcanoes “Osorno” and “Calbuco”. The latter could actually be climbed, but since it erupted spectacularly over a week a few years ago, this is still prohibited. All places on the lake have a strong German heritage shaped by immigration and you can see that in Puerto Varas on every corner. The church looks somehow German, many streets have typical German names and even the fire brigade is called “fire station” here. Everything is a bit bizarre and a bit fake (e.g. the church is made of corrugated iron, which takes away any charm from up close), but it’s kind of funny anyway!

Our goal is not so much the city, but the lake, and after it stops raining in the afternoon, we drive halfway around the lake. We are getting closer to the Osorno volcano and it always makes a great motif behind the lake. After a night directly at the lake, take the van in the early morning about 400 meters to the “base camp” of the volcano and will be rewarded with a fantastic view of the lake with the volcano directly in front of our noses We don’t find a provider on the volcano and that’s why we are content with a 5-hour hike on the other side of the volcano along Lago Todos Los Santos, where you also cross several meter-deep channels that the lava at its last eruption in the 19th Century and which flow directly into the lake.

After cooling off in the lake, because the water is finally warm enough for swimming, we spend our last night in Chile for the time being. We are planning a last transfer to Argentina, more precisely to Bariloche, Switzerland in South America …

Chiloe – off the beaten track?

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After almost five hours on the ferry we arrive on the island of Chiloe in the city of Quellon, which has been recommended to us in many cases as both original and a kind of insider tip. So we first experience a little culture shock, because after the quiet and seclusion of the south there is really something going on! This is of course due to the fact that we are slowly getting closer to the capital Santiago and in particular are no longer separated from it by several ferries. The nice thing is, but it is hardly any tourist activity, but everyday. It is Saturday, there is a flea market, we would like to be converted to enter some church, there are stalls all along the main street and the city beach where we catch up on the lack of sleep is well filled. It is fun to meet people in your everyday life.

After we find out little useful in the tourist information, we just let ourselves go a bit and visit the probably the only “international” highlight of the island. The famous Panamericana, a road that begins in Alaska and ends in Chiloe, ends right on the town beach of Quellon. We have already driven parts of it in Canada and the USA. We hope a little for emotional moments from travelers who arrive here and congratulate themselves on the route while lying in their arms. Unfortunately in vain. Nevertheless, we spend the whole afternoon and the next morning on the beach, because it is wonderful weather and the serenity that the locals radiate despite the sometimes obvious poverty (Chiloe is the poorest region of Chile) is simply contagious.

In the afternoon we continue to Queilén, where penguins and dolphins are sometimes said to be directly on the beach. Luck leaves us this time, but we just continue where we left off in Quellon and lie down comfortably on the beach. On the way we still have an interesting encounter. We take the smaller – and of course gravel – road that we basically have for ourselves. About halfway there we see a maybe 70-year-old lady walking near a herd of cows in the same direction we are heading. The closer we get, the more tired she looks (it is over 30 ° C) and when she then raises her hand, we naturally take her with us. Since the communication does not work somehow this time, we just hope that she tells us when she wants to get out, because she is not wearing a seat belt in the back of the van, but when we offer her a seat in front of us she waves it off. Somehow she helps us with a kind of roadblock / construction site. We are stopped by two slightly suspicious guys and directed to a side street that we don’t really want to take. After a discussion with our hitchhiker – of whom we don’t get a word – we can go on. A short time later she also taps us, because she wants to get out at a football game next to a church (it’s Sunday) and after kissing and hugging she goes her way. What you experience when you leave the main street …

Over the next two days we visit Cucao with the Muelle de las Almas, which are supposed to be a path for the soul to heaven, and the largest city on the island called Castro which is known for its stilt houses. Neither really knocks us off our feet and the story of the “sunken forest” is much more spectacular than its appearance. Some time ago an earthquake sank the surface by two meters only to be subsequently washed over by a tsunami. The trees on this area then drowned in the salt water (that is, one sees dead trees …). However, we continue to enjoy the tranquility on the beaches in Chiloe, which we find time and time again and some of which also stay overnight.

The small island of Quinchao, which can be reached by ferry (and where we almost got a barking passenger, winking smile) is really beautiful. The island is mainly known for a few wooden churches typical of Chiloe, but nature is often still pristine due to the few people and it is just fun to jet across the island with the van. Since it is so small, four hours are enough for it …

The last day has a little highlight ready, because we want to take a look at a colony of Magellan and Humboldt penguins. Our first attempt to get there fails because the road from the sunken forest to the colony is too sandy and too steep for our van after about 1/3 of the route, so we have to turn back. The second attempt (and a clear detour) works and it goes first to the northwestern end of the island and then about a kilometer by van to the beach. After the last experience with sand a little spooky, but he manages it without problems. We then see the penguins directly from the beach and therefore save on the boat trip for animal and cost reasons, which sometimes approach the penguins absurdly.

After a last picnic on a last deserted beach in Chiloe, we take the ferry back to the mainland to Puerto Montt, where we will meet again.

Carretera Austral – 1200 km of spectacular landscape (Part 2)

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Now that we have almost 2/3 of the Carretera Austral behind us, it is time to take care of the next section, the island of Chiloe. To do this, we inquire about the ferry options, there are three options (mind you, air distance is approx. 300 km): 1500 km through Argentina plus a ferry for € 15, 1000 km and three ferries for a total of € 80 or 500 km and a ferry for € 140. Everything is pretty violent (and in the end almost everything is equally expensive), but we opt for the shortest variant, but with the problem that the ferry only runs three times a week, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. Great, since it is Wednesday, we have to complete our (manageable) remaining program on the Carretera Austral in either 3 or 7 days. Who comes up with such a timetable? Since seven days are too long for us, we opt for the Saturday ferry at 8 a.m. and hurry to get to the next national park.

The Parque Nacional Queulat is mainly known for its hanging glacier, but since we have had enough of it slowly, we are much more interested in the cloud forest that occurs here and we were recommended two hikes to enjoy it. Unfortunately, the attempt to explore the southern Sendero Bosque Encantado ends after a few hundred meters in front of a river without a bridge, because the path is currently not maintained and is therefore officially closed. We are already too late for the second hiking trail at three o’clock that day, because the park closes at 5:30 p.m. and we are no longer allowed in. Sad smile Therefore we spend the afternoon in the village of Puyuhuapi, founded by Germans, directly by the lake and manage to empty our car battery again because we forget to switch off the lights. This time, however, it will cost us a lot more effort to get going again. After the first two attempts with a hectic Chilean and a police car were unsuccessful, a German traveler (somewhat grumpy and pessimistic) rushed to our aid and we got the van humming again after almost 30 minutes. The battery was probably really empty. Somehow not our day today, but of course we don’t let that spoil our good mood. Winking smile

After we set off for the hike the next morning, the anger is almost gone and we simply enjoy the beauty of the forest, which reminds us a little of the Mossy Forest in Malaysia. This is of course also due to the fact that it has been getting warmer and warmer over the last few days and now there is also the high humidity. Patagonia really has something to offer from every climate zone and we are happy to have variable clothing with us!

The next “highlight” of the Carretera, the Park Pumalin, which was also founded by Douglas Tompkins, will be left behind due to lack of time, because we want to go to where supposedly hardly any Carretera travelers get lost. 70km of gravel (yippie !!!) plus free ferry (yeah !!!) to the small town of Puerto Raul Marin Balmaceda for a walk along the fjord. There are supposed to be seals, dolphins and orcas (!!!) here. We arrive in the evening and the first attempt at dusk is not yet successful, but the next morning we manage to spot a sea otter and then even a few orcas from afar (we are not sure of it, but we are do not want to destroy the illusion Smile). Finally, a group of dolphins visits us right in front of our parking lot !!! Breakfast doesn’t get any better than this. On the way back we have to wait for more cars on the ferry and start talking to the captain (Erwin). Well, conversation is a bit exaggerated, it asks us a little bit in Spanish about our professions etc. and we try to put together the few bits of Spanish that we have learned in the meantime into reasonably meaningful sentences. But somehow the communication is not that bad Smile

Now it is time for our last section on the Carretera Austral to Chaiten, where the ferry will leave the next morning. We are now slowly coming to the volcanic region of Chile and are also welcomed in Chaiten by the smoking volcano of the same name. Here we end the trunk road 200km before the end (or beginning), but that would be only two ferries anyway and the island of Chiloe appeals to us much more. We spend the evening on a nice beach with a wonderful sunset and clearest starry sky before we arrive at the ferry at 5 a.m. The ticket says 3 hours before departure. We almost realize that this is probably nonsense, but we don’t want to risk it either. Of course there is still no sign of the ship at half past five and boarding only begins at 6 a.m., since nothing is going on we might as well have arrived at 7:30 a.m. But well, in the high season it is sometimes wild, so we prefer it so much. In positive terms, it starts at 8 a.m. and Chiloe is waiting for us !!!

Carretera Austral – 1200 km of spectacular landscape (Part 1)

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sorry, only google translate…

One of the reasons why Carretera Austral is compared to Route 66 is due to the spectacular and diverse landscape. It is also touted as the “Ruta del Parque Nacional” because it connects the most important national parks in Patagonia with the rest of the country. Construction began during the Pinochet military regime and later continued under the socialist government as a social promise. As I said, it is not finished (for a long time) and the existing part does not have much in common with a modern trunk road, especially in the south. It is only tarred there in the villages, the rest is partly a rough gravel road. We sometimes hardly drive faster than 40 km / h for a long time, but that somehow makes this road trip so appealing.

The landscape changes every few dozen kilometers, sometimes forested steep slopes that remind us a little of the island landscape in Halong Bay, then green hills and rivers like in New Zealand or steep mountains like in South Tyrol. Everything alternates and mixes, you could just stop constantly.

After Cochrane, our first shorter stop is the village of Rio Tranquilo. It is located on Lago General Carrera – the second largest lake in South America – which stretches across the border to Argentina. It is mainly visited by tourists because of the tours to a glacier and the marble caves found there. We already had a glacier tour in Iceland (and it is also absurdly expensive), but marble caves are new to us and we take a boat to explore them. In principle, they are similar to sandstone caves, but they are remains of the glaciers and have only been expanded and rounded off by the water. Nevertheless, it is astonishing that water eats its way through the hard marble. Incidentally, the formations are of course much more stable and radiate a corresponding majesty.

We continue to Cerro Castillo, a mountain with a hike that is said to be similar to Fitz Roy and Torres del Paine. And shortly before the suitable starting point Villa Cerro Castillo, we hardly trust our bodies shaken after more than 1000km (yes, we have calculated that) gravel road, the road is suddenly paved! Definitely very pleasant, but somehow weird not having to yell at me anymore or to turn the music to full volume, because it is too loud at 50 km / h in the car. And somehow a bit boring …

When we see the Cerro Castillo from a distance, however, we lose a bit of the desire for 20 € per person. (!!!) output. Mind you not for a day in the national park of the same name, but only for the hike !!! We still stay overnight to wait for the weather the next morning. Perhaps we will still feel like it … The weather then makes the decision halfway easy for us, it is clear, but we can already see the clouds coming up, it really doesn’t have to be that way! In addition, Tobi’s shoulder suddenly started to hurt at night some time ago and accordingly he is a bit tired.

Therefore, we decide that the distant view must be enough today and drive on to Coyhaique, hoping to find an open pharmacy for a few pain relievers after almost a week. In addition, after a week without a reasonable supermarket, our supplies are slowly exhausted, we have to do the laundry and organize a ferry. After we have given up our laundry, we are annoyed again by one of these completely inefficient supermarkets. It is particularly bad here because there are many people, so everything takes forever and we spend almost two hours shopping. Someone should offer Aldi efficiency seminars in Chile, maybe that’s a gap in the market … We’ll get painkillers too, and really strong ones. 100mg diclofenac, in Germany you only get 25mg, otherwise you need a prescription. And the pharmacist thinks Tobi should just take two a day !!! We limit that to one, the night will be funny anyways…

Villa O’Higgins – we start at the end

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sorry, only google translate…

The small Chilean town of O’Higgins is the end of the “legendary” Carretera Austral, the South American counterpart to Route 66. Of course we will not miss that!

The distance between El Chalten and O’Higgins is about 120 km as the crow flies. We need almost four days for this … To cover this distance, we drive about 1100 km, around 800 of which on gravel roads, cross a border crossing and use a ferry four times a day. In addition, as already mentioned, it is the route that we were warned about due to lack of petrol. And it comes as it should, the third and most important gas station for us is empty and we have to wait a whole day for new gasoline … 🙁

It all sounds a little more negative than it actually is. The waiting for the petrol in Bajo Caracoles can be partly filled with a visit to an impressive human cave (Cueva de los Manos) with paintings dating back around 10,000 years. The petrol announced by the attendant at 3 p.m. is delayed indefinitely and we are waiting at the petrol station in the middle of the pampas together with other travelers, among others. another German couple who jet around with the same camper as we do. At around 8 p.m., the tank delivery finally appears and all waiting people cheer unanimously.

From then on, the route will just be bombastic. A large part runs through national parks or nature reserves, with jungle, green meadows as far as the eye can see. Always framed by the ever increasing peaks of the Andes. Among other things, the trip takes us through the National Park “Parque Patagonia”, which was first built up by the Americans Tom and Kris Tompkins with their own funds and later transferred to the National Park Administration of Chile. This is particularly astonishing because around 170,000 hectares of agricultural land have been restored within 20 years and that across borders between Chile and Argentina.

After we have to use up all the fruits and vegetables again at the border crossing to Chile (and have to be so careful that we don’t run out of pages in the passport at all the border crossings), we stock up in the small Chilean town of Cochrane. Then the most beautiful part of the journey begins. First 120km of gravel road to a (free) ferry that takes us across a fjord in just over an hour. Then another 70km to O’Higgins, along a beautiful fjord and picturesque lakes. We can not believe that we have this great stretch of road almost to ourselves.

Few tourists do this “ordeal” to themselves – O’Higgins had around 1,300 holidaymakers this season. Accordingly, it is very quiet, most visitors are cyclists and motorcyclists who want to make it to the end of the Carretera Austral. This road is said to connect the southern regions of Chile with the capital Santiago. Currently this is only possible with a boat or via Argentina. Its end is just 10 km south of O’Higgins, so there is still a lot to do with a 400km straight line to Puerto Natales …

In O’Higgins we stay two nights, take a short hike and (of course) take a photo with the street sign, which testifies to the end of the Carretera Austral.

On the way back to Cochrane we take the small town of Caleta Tortel, which is built into the slope with stairs and footbridges at the end of a fjord and can only be explored on foot. There are countless tourist buses in the parking lot, but the place is surprisingly quiet. They are probably all on one of the boat tours starting here to one of the many glaciers.

Our journey continues northwards, let’s see where we go next …

Nationalpark Los Glaciares – “finally” real tourists

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sorry, only google translate

In addition to the Perito Moreno glacier, there is also a small lake landscape (which we leave to the left due to lack of time) and further north of the so-called southern Patagonian ice field to the Los Glaciares National Park. The largest glacier area outside of Antarctica. For this we drive from El Calafate around 250km to El Chalten, which is often seen as the Argentine answer to the Torres del Paine National Park. Here we “finally” find all the tourists we missed all the time. In contrast to the Torres or the Perito Moreno glacier, El Chalten has the “advantage” that its main attraction is not dozens or hundreds of kilometers away, but can be reached in a few minutes on foot. The mountain Fitz Roy, which among other things adorns the logo of the “Patagonia” outdoor brand. The place has developed into a paradise for hikers and mountaineers and attracts them from all over the world. It offers several day and multi-day tours that start directly in town. The most desirable leads to the foot of the Fitz Roy towers.

Since we only arrive around noon, the nice ranger in the visitor center of the park recommends a hike to a glacier lagoon and the associated glacier “Glaciar Grande”, which is a little shorter with only 6-8 hours, not without first following the most important rules of conduct on the trails of the park. Among others (original sound): “Please use the pit toilets, so that we can concentrate the poop in the park to certain areas. If it is an emergency, go 30m away from the river and dig a hole of 30 cms ”. Smile And actually you will find out-of-the-way toilets along the paths at regular intervals, but how to dig a 30cm deep hole with your hands in dry earth remains a mystery for the time being.

The hike itself turns out to be the first endurance test for the wind resistance of our jackets, because the closer we get to the “Laguna Torre”, the stronger and icy the wind blows around the ears with easy 80-90 km / h gusts. When we hike around the lagoon to another lookout point, it blows us almost from the relatively steep slope. But we arrive, but we can only enjoy the view of the mountains and the glacier for a short time, because we have to realize that Tobi has blown the spare battery out of our camera bag somewhere along the way. Even if it seems hopeless, on the way back we look for the gray battery in the gray gravel where we took photos and actually find it at the foot of the lagoon. Tobi happens to be on it …

Back at the car we unfortunately have to make sure that the car battery is empty because we forgot to turn off the light. Ufff … Thanks to a nice Argentinian and the jumper cable from Condor Campers, we are back on the steamer in a few minutes and are looking for a place to sleep. That should be easy, because the nice ranger gave us information about a free parking space. Here we are confronted with the other tourists, because there are 30 other campers. We are so scared that we go unsuccessfully to find other places, but we end up there again. In order to remain fair, one should say that it is the weekend and some Argentinians are also romping around on the pitch. Interestingly, we also see a number of European marks on the campers, including those from the Upper Allgäu. It seems to be quite popular to ship your camper to South America ..

The next day is raining and we are content with doing laundry, a short walk and a long visit to a café to plan our journey a little. We also find a super nice and delicious vegan restaurant for the evening, which we wanted to try out on our camping stove for a change from our usual cooking repertoire. And that in the Steak Mecca Argentina !!!

However, the evening will be a little bit exciting, because we are very hot to find that we are at the start of the section of the route where Danny (our van rental company) advised us to fill up with every possibility because of the sometimes long distances. Actually no problem, but the next three petrol stations only take cash and the only machine in El Chalten has some problem with our credit cards (or is just empty). The nice service in the restaurant increases the bill for a little cash, but that only goes to the next petrol station. This is a bit of a hot needle, but if necessary we have to stay in El Chalten a day longer and hope that the ATM will be refilled on Monday. After we have our laundry again (with an delay of about an hour), we try it at the ATM one last time and the last one now takes at least Kerstin’s card if we select “Savings” instead of “Credit”. Lucky again and we’ll take as much as we can Winking smile

On the last day of our stay in El Chalten the weather should be clear and we dare to climb the foot of the Fitz Roy. Although we start early, there is a lot going on and it takes time until we have made it past the slowest hiking groups, large families and sneaker wearers and can finally run a bit briskly and enjoy the view of the (still) cloud-free Fitz Roy. Then the last part of the climb begins and it has it all again. The total of 10 km to the foot of the mountain is divided into three parts: First it goes moderately uphill, then a long stretch straight and in the last kilometer a little more than 400m upwards. Here we feel like at Tongariro Crossing in New Zealand. Dozens of inexperienced hikers are slipping and stumbling upwards in a caravan step by step. But what to do and it is also worth it, because once again we find a breathtaking sight, even if a small cloud has now formed around the Fitz Roy, which will not resolve in the next one and a half hours of our stay. We still enjoy it and despite the bitterly cold gusts of wind at already negative temperatures anyway. Even if the descent strains our nerves again, we are completely satisfied.

That was the last longer stop in Argentina for the time being, because now we’re going back to Chile, which we take a little bit because of the almost 1000km …