A Whimper In The Night

This was posted in the hostel I was staying at in Puerto Natales, Chile. I try not to make fun of translations, especially because my Spanish is so atrocious but I just could not let this one go without an honorable mention.

Since my last post I rode almost the full length of the Carretera Austral, seen unimaginable grandeur and sailed on a ferry for two days through the fjords of Patagonia. I am not quite sure how to begin describing this part of the trip so hopefully with the use of many photos I can convey just how it is that being wet for so long can be such an amazing experience. There seems to be just two types of weather at this time of the year, raining or about to rain. During the periods of "about to rain" the sun comes out fleetingly and transforms the scenery into something magical.

Over the stile

Cerro Mackay

Through the fields, over the stile and through the enchanted forest brings you to the top of Cerro Mackay with a great view of  Coihaique, the largest town in the region

Moss covered trees

From Coihaique the road is paved and an easy ride to the little town of Villa Cerro Castillo where the sidewalks ends and the gravel begins again. 

Cerro Castillo

A 3 hour hike through beautiful indigenous forest and then tundra brings you to the the base of this 2800 m ( 9200 ft ) peak 

Bloody cold glacier lake

With the sun out and the wind calm I had no excuse not to, oh so briefly,  go jump in the lake

A real gaucho

On the road to Puerto Tranquilo on Lake General Carrerra the towing mountains with hanging glaciers made it difficult to keep my eyes on the road. Even though it had rained just a few hours before the fine dust on the gravel road coated me in white.

Catedrales de Marmol

Look at the color of that water!!

In the little village of Puerto Tranquilo a twenty minute boat ride takes you to the Catedrales de Marmol - Cathedrals of Marble. These caves have been sculptured by the waters of the lake pounding the cliff faces and created a fascinating labyrinth.


A beautiful section through indigenous forest on a gravel road brought me to the end of my Carretera Austral ride at the tiny town of Caleta ( Cove ) Tortel. I arrived with two days to spare before the, once weekly, ferry departed for Puerto Natales. I was concerned that I would not get on this ferry which would have meant either waiting a week or retracing my steps for many hundreds of kilometers and then riding south through Argentina - no need to have worried as there was plenty of space onboard.

Caleta Tortel

The fire brigade 

With two days to explore this tiny town I think I walked every step of the wooden walkways that connect all the houses up and down the cliffs. This walkway followed the cove for about a kilometer - what a charming little place to spend a couple of days. I can only say that in winter this fishing village must be frigid because even in the height of summer it was not exactly balmy.

With no roads in the town the fire brigade consisted of this minute vessel seen in the photo above, a couple of hoses and a portable pump on board. With everything in the town being constructed of wood and all heating with wood burning stoves I suspect that the fire department stays busy. I saw at least four burned-out buildings so obviously the equipment is in drastic need of an upgrade.

Fjords shrouded in mist

The two day ferry trip south from Puerto Yungay ( the ferry port near Caleta Tortel ) was stunning with the endless waterfalls cascading off the cliffs that hung over the fjords. Albatrosses followed along next to the vessel without seemingly flapping there wings, skuas and gulls would take off noisily as the boat approached and many seals, dolphins otters were seen along the way. There was a shout of "Orca" from a delusional passenger at one point but I think that might just have been a figment of his imagination brought on by the forced abstention from alcohol aboard this "dry"vessel

Wreck

A would have thought it safe to assume that these interconnecting fjords were thousands of feet deep - I guess that is what the captain of this vessel thought as well.

Puerto Eden

A brief stop in the remote fishing village of Puerto Eden brought supplies to this town that is only accessible by boat.

Forty one hours later we arrived at the port town of Puerto Natales, gateway to the hiking paradise of Torres del Paine National Park. I will not spend too much time here as I will be returning in a couple of weeks, with my daughter, Erin to take on some of the legendary hikes in the park.

Downtown Puerto Natales

Fishing fleet

Black necked swans

Next stop is Punta Arenas