On the road again

View of Lago General Carrera from beach, Puerto Rio Tranquilo, Chile.

I got to Coyhaique without problem, great town, though weather was not the best. I stayed at the Hostal El Nevado, $20,000 Chilean pesos per night, shared bath (with only one other room, which was only occupied one night, by two Americans, twin brothers), not bad. Coyhaique good place to fuel up, stock up (last supermercado) and get cash (last ATM on Carretera Austral). I got in a bike ride, Reserva Nacional Coyhaique which borders the town. I spent New Years here, and actually had fun, hanging out at the only restaurant that seemed to be open. It was nice to get a break from life on the road, do some shopping, get laundry done by professionals, get cash and fuel for the van, and even bought a fishing license so I could legally catch more fish in Chile.  It poured on New Years Day, time to work on the blog, and get ready for the run south, to Parque Patagonia, my next destination.

I spent a few nights in Coyhaique, then took off south, back on the Carretera Austral. I headed for Cerro Castillo, road paved, and wonderful, though not the most scenic stretch, until I headed into Reserva Nacional Cerro Castillo, and eventually down into the valley containing Cerro Castillo. I read that some of the best treks in Patagonia are in Reserva Nacional Cerro Castillo, though I met no one who had done any serious hiking there. I spent a night in Cerro Castillo, rained again that night, next day, off for Puerto Rio Tranquilo. 

The stretch of road between Cerro Castillo and Puerto Rio Tranquilo very scenic, but very challenging as well. The drive borders Reserva Nacional Cerro Castillo, and then Parque Nacional Los Huemules, and eventually, I got my first views of Lago General Carrera, the second largest lake in South America after Lake Titicaca in Peru/Bolivia. I got to Puerto Rio Tranquilo late afternoon, time for a beer, before picking my camping spot for the night, wild camping at the edge of the beach on the lake, pretty much right in town. I do have one serious regret about my time in Puerto Rio Tranquilo, as I did not get out to Catedrales de Marmol, peninsula made of marble, with caves that can be visited by boat. I did not got that first afternoon, evening, as it was a long day on the road, and I instead concentrated on taking lots of photos. I thought I would just go the next morning, but unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate, too much wind, so they did not allow any boats to make the 20 minute journey out to the caves. Darn. So instead, took off pretty early, back onto the Carretera Austral. On my way out of town, picked up two hitchhikers, couple, young woman an American, guy was a Brit. Nice couple, and they ended up riding with me all the way to Cochrane, which was as far south as I planned to drive on the Carretera Austral. I also picked up a woman from Spain, traveling alone, dropped her off at the road heading for Chile Chico. It was another long day, but did drive by the road to Parque Patagonia, so got very excited for the next day when I would back-track from Cochrane to the pack. The last 17 km into Cochrane was another scary stretch of road, steep uphill climbs, drop-offs, blind curves, locals driving way too fast, typical stretch on the Carretera Austral. The Carretera Austral continues for another 230 km past Cochrane, to Villa O'Higgins, too far for me and my van, 230 km down, and 230 km back, all unpaved, and sure some stretches are brutal. This would mean I would miss visiting Tortel, an interesting little village, with houses and buildings all connected by cedar walkways. I did not have the time, needed to get to Parque Patagonia where I hoped to be able to spend some time.

Cochrane was not that impressive, and none of the campgrounds were anything special. We ended up stopping at a campground which was basically the backyard of a house, but nice enough, lots of homemade structures, hot water, and a kitchen area, plus, Wifi, which never really seemed to work. We were the only ones there at first, but I was amazed at how quickly the little backyard filled up, including a motorcyclist from Argentina, a huge camper from Chile, a Dutch couple in a WickedCamper I had met the night before in Puerto Rio Tranquilo, and Thomas, a Swiss backpacker/hitchhiker. Thomas and I would actually end up spending a lot of time together as he would decide to travel with me to Parque Patagonia the next day, a decision I know he would not regret. It rained again. Such is life in Patagonia, and, so glad to have my van, as I slept well, the pitter-patter of raindrops on the roof of my van.  The next day, off for Parque Patagonia. It was already the 5th of January, time was starting to fly by. But I was deep into Patagonia now, all was good.
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