On to Patagonia

1/13/2017

Sierra finch, Isla Grande de Chiloe, Chile.

Although I am not sure where Patagonia officially begins, and think it does depend on who you talk to, for me, once I got to Chaiten, I was in Patagonia. That would be where Expedicion Patagonia would officially begin.

I really enjoyed my time in Pucon, great little town on the lake, I highly recommend a visit if you are in the area. And Volcan Villarrica, just amazing, tall, conical, snow-covered, with little puffs of smoke blowing from the top. At night, at least on a clear night, you can see a bit of orange, the glow of lava flowing out of the cone. It seemed cloudy every night I was in Pucon, but the day I left was beautiful.

After I left Panguipulli, I again headed south. Many, including Luis, an American I met at the campground in Pucon, said I should head to Valdivia, interesting place, German heritage, and a brewery, Cerveceria Kunstmann. Valdivia is supposed to be one of Chile's most scenic cities, but the detour would cost me at least a day, and I was on a mission, get to Patagonia before Christmas, and, I wanted to visit Isla Grande de Chiloe before catching the ferry to Chaiten. I guess I would have to pass on a visit to Valdivia. Maybe next time.

I quickly got back on Ruta 5, and headed south, first past Rio Bueno, then Osorno and Purranque, towards Puerto Varas, just north of Puerto Montt. The weather quickly turned for the worst, rain, and lots of it, all day. I had decided to head to Puerto Varas for a few reasons, including the facts that the town lies on the southern shore of Lago Llanquihue, and the town is much smaller than Puerto Montt. Also, there was supposed to be a nice place to camp just outside of town, right on the lakeshore, so, I was off for Puerto Varas. Well, it rained all day, really poured, and by the time I got to town, the streets were running like rivers as the town is not flat, the land flows down from the highway to the lakeshore, and it was pouring. I took a quick look around town, including a look at a couple of hostels and places to camp, decided for sure to head to the place north of town along the lake. It was still pouring. I got out of town, and actually ended up driving all the way to Frutillar, the next town up the west shore of the lake; the campsite was further away than I thought. But, the campground, Playa de Werner was great, and again, I was the only one camping there. And I was really glad to have my van, and that I did not have to pitch a tent; it was still pouring. The place sits right on the lake (though fence along the campsites prevented easy access to the lake and water), owned by an old German, Werner. Bathrooms were great, hot shower was wonderful on a rainy day, though WiFi was pretty inaccessible, as there was a family party going on in the building where WiFi was available, lots of people, so I felt uncomfortable intruding. Whatever, had some organizing to do, dinner to cook, cold Cristals to drink, plenty to keep me busy. It was still raining, but, that did not stop me from going for a quick swim before my hot shower. Water temperature was brutal, though interesting when you go from cold air, into cold water for a swim, then back into cold air, just does not seem so bad, well, not terrible at least, and of course, headed off immediately for a hot shower, then the cold Cristals and more beans and rice and whatever green or orange or red stuff I had to add. Slept well, constant sound of rain drops on the roof of my van helped get me to sleep quickly.

Next day, made it to Puerto Montt, big city, tons of traffic, and with Christmas right around the corner, place was crazy. Stayed at Hostal Pacifico, room tiny, but cheap, hot shower, WiFi, and safe, off-street parking for my van. Had time to wander around a bit, grab a bite to eat, and work on this blog, though city, not a fan. I guess I had expected something different, less crowded and crazy, more a gateway to the south, to Chiloe and Patagonia. But, Puerto Montt was just a big, crowded city, and I was happy to leave.

I left Puerto Montt early on the 18th of December, headed for Pargua and the short ferry ride to Isla Grande de Chiloe. Trip a short one, though weather again threatened to be unpleasant. After the ferry, drove up to Ancud, did a little shopping before heading to the northwest corner of the island, towards Punihuil. From there, you can get a boat tour of small islands with penguin rookeries, but man, the roads were crazy, even those which were paved. Everywhere you went, winding, steep up, and down, often narrow roads were the norm. And often the pavement would quickly end, and the van would struggle, the steep, uphill gravel roads were brutal. I could not get a penguin tour, seas too rough for the small boats that afternoon, so headed to a camping spot high on a bluff overlooking the Pacific, Ballena Azul. Place also has a Fogon, or small restaurants, plus hot showers and an amazing view, all for only $4000 pesos. I could not actually drive down to the campsites, with small shelters and tables, so parked near the restaurant, along fence, with views of the rocky coast and waves down below. It started to rain again, though sun did try and fight back a bit now and then. I ate at the restaurant, mussels, some meat, bread, a pile of food, also for only $4000 pesos, a good deal. Hopefully the weather would improve, as I had a few days to explore Chiloe before catching the ferry to Chaiten.

Well, unfortunately, I did not get to see much of Chiloe, not Parque Nacional Chiloe, or Queilen, not the many historic and interesting churches or the colorful houses on stilts, did not really see much of anything as it rained, pretty much the whole time I was on the island. I drove around a bit, visited Casto (not impressed), and spent a whole day in Quellon waiting for the ferry (which leaves at 3:00 am). Guess the spirits, the trolls, witches and mermaids said to frequent the island were out-and-about, imagine they love the foul weather which I heard (and learned first-hand) dominates on the islands. I did meet a fun German couple who shipped a VW van (much different from my '75 van, first vehicle I owned), who were also a bit stranded by the weather, and who also needed WiFi and electricity. Nothing you can do about the weather, except move on, and hope things get better. Unfortunately, that did not happen, but after the five hour ferry ride to Chaiten during the early morning hours, to finally get there, even if in the rain, was great. I felt that I was finally in Patagonia. I exited the ferry, drove to the small plaza in Chaiten, and took a nap. It was still raining.