January Travels South - a summary!

As we mentioned in our last post a while ago, after New Year in Valparaiso we headed down South to start making the most of our summer break from teaching! We've been on the road since Anna's birthday on the 3rd January, so haven't been able to post for the whole month. Here's a summary of where we've been, hopefully we'll find time to post in more detail later (or at least post the rest of the photos) - although we're off again in a couple of days up to the northernmost part of Chile and into Bolivia!

We planned a loop heading south overland ultimately ending up in the southernmost city in Chile (though not the southernmost settlement by any means, that and a few other places we didn't get to will have to wait for another trip), Punta Arenas, and then taking a boat part of the way back up to Santiago, through the desolate Patagonian fjords. We're trying to see as much of the country as possible so we tried to avoid flying - we had to take one short flight to cover a stretch of northern Patagonia but otherwise it was all boat and bus (and foot), literally thousands of kilometres in all. At some point we'll try to post a map which shows our route. 

Valdivia riverfront

So first stop, Valdivia, about 10 hours south by bus from Santiago, the attractive capital city of the Los Rios Administrative Region of Chile in what is broadly known as the "Lake District". It sits on a major river estuary so was a key strategic port for the Spanish conquerors. The surrounding area is characterised by the old coastal and island forts built by the Spanish to control the area, but the city itself is dominated by more recent Germanic architecture as it was heavily settled by German immigrants after Chilean independence.

Old map of the river estuary

cannon battery from one of the restored Spanish forts

As this is just a summary we won't go into too much detail about each place - for now it's a few photos then move on!

The Germans brought pretty houses, but more importantly really good beer!

We celebrated Anna's birthday on our first night in Valdivia - amazing steak in a place called "Thor's Barbecue"!

we didn't really cook them ourselves, it's pretend

Our next stop was a great little lakeside town called Puerto Varas, another place heavily settled by Germans, and now known for adventure and watersports, and proximity to the awesome Osorno Volcano.

Our hostel, straight from northern Europe

Volcan Osorno

Us mountain biking to the Volcano

Sunset over Lago Lanquihue, Volcan Osorno in the background

From Puerto Varas we took a boat from the nearby port Puerto Montt onto Chiloe Island, known for its myths and legends, slow pace of life, and beautiful wooden churches. To an extent it's a place of contradictions - the last part of Chile to win independence from Spain but one of the least "Spanish" and most indigenous parts in character - known for a huge number of UNESCO protected wooden churches but also the place where Christian missionaries had the hardest time converting the locals and where pre-Christian religion was visibly suffused with Christianity to win souls.

Chilote Church

Chiloe ferry

Chiloe is also known for its iconic palafitos, originally fishermen's homes built on stilts overlooking the coast with a balcony and boat moored at high tide.

Palafitos at low tide

Chilote at lunch

us with ceviche (fresh chopped fish cooked in lemon juice) by the sea

Chiloe was incredible, but time to move on. We went back to Puerto Montt and took a 50 minute flight down to the capital of the Aisen Region, Coyhaique, a town which grew up around cattle farming. Puerto Montt is for some Chileans the de facto end of Chile, it's where civilisation ends. The far south of mainland Chile, southern Patagonian Chile, is actually very accessible as a major holiday destination for people from all over the world and many visitors fly straight into Santiago and then down to Punta Arenas perhaps via Puerto Montt for a connection. We were determined to see something of Northern Patagonia and Pinochet's great project, the Carretera Austral (Southern Highway).  

Pinochet forced a road the length of those parts of Chile that are not glaciated, and prior to doing so the area south of Coyhaique and north of the Southern Ice Field (Campo de Hielo Sur) was largely accessible only on foot, by boat in places, or air. The Carretera Austral now runs from Puerto Montt through Northern Patagonia down to a tiny town called Villa O'Higgins. It is "bridged" in three places by ferries across lakes or fjords, and is for most of its length essentially a winding gravel track with just about two lanes. 

don't mess with the Carretera Austral

We took a couple of packed local buses down the Carretera Austral from Coyhaique to Villa O'Higgins with a stopover halfway at another tiny remote town called Cochrane, passing through national parks on the way.

Cochrane and Villa O'Higgins are truly remote places, largely without paved streets and where the next town is a 12 hour bus ride, and the available fruit and veg makes that in the supermarkets in Santiago look cheap and top quality (which it really isn't).

look for the dog!

from inside the bus, eek

Pinochet's declaration

Villa O'Higgins was a good place to spend a little time, with an excellent hostel and some great walks.

Struan in the excellent Hostel El Mosco

However the big prize for getting to Villa O'Higgins was the chance to continue south but across the border into Argentina, a two day journey across the Andes by boat, trek, and bus. The ultimate destination was a small town in Argentina called El Chalten, with a stopover at a small farm in Chile in a hamlet called Candelario Mansilla. The farm provides lodging and meals to hikers who first have to get there on a boat across the lake from Villa O'Higgins via our first Patagonian glacier (O'Higgins Glacier). 

Glaciar O'Higgins from a boat

whiskies with glaciar ice!

After staying at the farm (more of which another time, but it was great, we shared the place with 4 friendly Germans, and entertained/ were entertained by the owner's 4 year old grand-daughter), we had to hike 22 kilometres over the Argentinian border with our backpacks carried by packhorse.

the sideview of our lodgings

packhorse being packed

After yomping 22km we were rewarded with this view of Lago del Desierto, which later that day we crossed on another boat and then took a minibus to El Chalten, Argentina.

El Chalten is known as the "trekking capital" of Argentinian Patagonia, situated on the edge of the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares. It's a fantastic little town with the feel of a ski resort, plenty of excellent bars and restaurants in town for the evenings, but the trails all start from just outside the small street grid - no need for buses to get to the walks, and no park fees to pay!

view from a very steep hill

the beautiful freezing cold blue lake on the other side of that hill

Like Chile, Argentina has a big sky

It's not too far from the town, El Calafate, that serves the other sector of the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, where the famous Glaciar Perito Moreno is.

Glaciar Perito Moreno

El Calafate is named after a berry endemic to southern Patagonia, this photo was taken later in Chile, but here it is anyway. Apparently if you eat one you will definitely return to Patagonia, we had some in some mousse in a restaurant which presumably counts. 

the calafate berry

So after a few days in Argentinian Patagonia, we headed back to Chile, down to Punta Arenas. We were lucky to get there because while we were in Argentina huge protests in Punta Arenas (against rising gas prices) forced closure of the border, and for several days nobody could cross either way. Nobody likes bigger heating bills, but it's a particular issue when you live in a part of the world where you have to heat your house year round.

No to the rise in gas

Anyway we got there, and Punta Arenas definitely deserves a post of its own. Here's some highlights from this fascinating town rich in history, made once great by daring and entrepreneurial German, British and Croatian immigrants.

overlooking Punta Arenas

Charlie Milward's house/ castle - a British pioneer brought some crenellated style to Patagonia

these beautiful flowers are all over Southern Patagonia

the cemetery in Punta Arenas

We did various things while in Punta Arenas but one to note is visiting the geographical centre of Chile. Santiago is obviously the political and economic centre of Chile, and is roughly in the centre of mainland Chile, but when you include Chilean Antarctic territory the geographical centre of the country is actually much further south, almost at the southern tip of the South American continent.

Struan at the geographical centre of Chile

The final part of our trip was a 4 day boat ride back up to Puerto Montt through the Patagonian fjords (and after that a not fun 14 hour overnight bus trip back to Santiago...). The boat left from Puerto Natales, also known as the gateway to the hugely popular Parque Nacional Torres del Paine, so we made sure we got there a few days early.

Puerto Natales is another commercial port once thriving at this end of the world on trade and various industries (such as cattle farming), but now making as much of a living from the tourists visiting Torres del Paine. 

Cordero Patagonico al Palo (Patagonian Lamb on a skewer). Yum. 

The Towers of Paine

So onto the Navimag Ferry, headed back north to complete our loop!

The Evangelistas in port

Briefly, the shipping company Navimag runs freight ships from Puerto Natales up to Puerto Montt carrying cargo including live cattle. A few years ago they decided to convert decks of their freight ships to take paying passengers. It's not exactly a cruise (it's strange for one to be out at sea and smell cattle as if you're actually on a farm), but it's comfortable and really well run with a great social side.

Anna on deck

We loved it and saw a largely uninhabited part of the world which it simply isn't possible to see any other way. Sailing through that part of Chile where the coastline breaks down into archipelagos was an amazing experience and it was really satisfying to complete a loop heading north parallel with where we had a couple of weeks earlier come south down the Carretera Austral, almost as remote in its own way.

spot the rainbow

and again

Struan with the pilot

a dead ship

the open sea

We hope this has given you a good idea of what we've been up to. For us, apart from good travelling fun, it's been fascinating to see how the country changes - in landscape, the people, the history, the weather, the architecture and so on - as you head south. Hopefully we'll have chance to explain and show more in other posts. For now, we're off to the far north of Chile next for something a little different.

Chao!