Carretera Austral

Monday 6th December.

After leaving the gang I was back travelling on my own again. I caught a connecting bus from Perito Moreno to Los Antiguos (which is in Argentina but right on the border with Chile) and arrived about 12:30. After a short walk into town and a chat with tourist information, I took a walk to the otherside of town to 'Sol de Mayo' hostel, but it was more like a hospedaje. 'Hospedaje' is more of a homestead and a family home with a room rather than a typical hostel.

I wouldnt recommend staying here for more than a night but it was fine just to take it easy for the afternoon after travelling overnight on the bus the night before. After getting settled in the hostel I took a walk around town, visited the ´miradors´(viewpoints) and then took a walk to see a nearby cherry farm. The town is famous for its cherries and has several cherry farms around the town which sell homemade cherry jams and liquors.

Went for a meal later in the evening and then went back to the hostel for an early night. I was the only person in the 10 bed dorm until about 10pm when a huge group of backpackers arrived, so didnt get much of an early night ... the joys of backpacking and hostelling.

Tuesday 7th December

Early start this morning. The other backpackers were all up at 7:30 so I had no choice but to get up. Was glad though to make an early start. No point hanging around Los Antiguos for much longer. I packed my bag, checked out and was on the road at 9am. I walked across the border into Chile. The distance from Los Antiguous (Argentina) to Chile Chico (Chile) is about 10kms ... was a nice morning to walk but I was shattered tired carrying a full backpack. I took a walk around the town, but there was not much to see or do.

Was difficult getting information about bus services to the next town and tourist information appeared to have outdated information. I kept getting conflicting information but eventually found a bus operator who was leaving the town at 16:00 and travelling to Puerto Guadal (115kms) and charging 6,000 CHP (9 Euros). Road to Puerto Guadal is unpaved but had very scenic views of the lake, although at times I felt that the minibus van could easily skid off the road and over the cliffs into the lake. Nervewrecking!

I had wanted to go further to a town called Rio Tranquillo but there was no transport apparantly, so I decided to spend the night in Puerto Guadal and take another bus to Rio Tranquillo in the morning. I had no idea what was to see or do in these towns, only that they were small little villages on the banks of Lake General Carrera and I figured it would be a good experience to go off the beaten track and see them. The route also led to the Carretera Austral which is supposed to have nice picturesque views.

http://www.hotels-chile.org/carretera-austral.php

I had no accomodation booked so after getting into the village of Puerto Guadal (which is tiny), the bus driver directed me to the local grocery store (which was also the bus stop in the town). I got my bus ticket to travel to Rio Tranquillo next morning at 8am. Meanwhile the lady in the grocery store directed me to a hospedaje for the night which was actually pretty good. Big farm house with big rooms. Private room with big double bed for only 6,000 CHP for the night.

Absolutely nothing to do in the village whatsoever so I sat in the kitchen for the evening chatting to the owner and another guest. Heres a picture of Puerto Gaudal:

Next morning, (Wednesday 8th December) at 8am, I boarded the bus to Rio Tranquillo (61kms). The road again was completely unpaved. My first impression was that Rio Tranquillo looked like a ghost town .. nobody was about.

I saw some random guy standing on the main street who looked like a backpacker so I started talking to him and it turned out he was from Fermanagh! He wasnt staying though .. his bus had only stopped in town as he was travelling further North. There were a few cafeterias on the main street .. all of which were closed. I spoke to 2 local builders who were working on a house and they directed me to a local hospedaje called ´Silvania´ hospedaje who charged CHP 6,000 per night. This place was very family run .. and the guests shared the kitchen with the family and also the tv room. Was a nice experience but one night was enough in Rio Tranquillo as there wasnt much to do. Also the room in the hospedaje was cold and the shower was brutal.

The main local attraction in the village was the ´Capilla de Marmol´ (Marble caverns). I made some enquiries but as I was travelling on my own it was working out too expensive. For a large group it would cost about CHP 4,000 per person (6 Euro), but for one person it worked out at 25,000 CHP (38 Euro) as this was the cost of renting the boat (regardless of how many were travelling). I came back later and met a nice couple ... Victor and Dessa (Chilean guy and his girlfriend from the U.S) who had hired a boat for 25,000 CHP but said I could join them for just CHP 5,000. Was delighted to get the opportunity to see the caves, rather than just staying overnight in Rio Tranquillo and moving on. Fair play to them for letting me come along. As it turned out, they were living in Santiago and said if I was up that way over Christmas I could join them and their family for Christmas dinner. Great Chilean hospitality. :-)

Heres some pictures of the ´Capilla de Marmol´:

When I got back from visiting the caves I had some dinner in a local hosteria for CHP 6,000 (It seems like everything along Lago General Carerra was costing me 6,000 CHP ... travel, accomodation and meals!) After that I went back to the hospedaje for the evening. Weather that evening was miserable ... wind and torrential rain. Read a book and had an early night.

Thurday 9th December

I had made some enquiries yesterday about getting a bus out of Rio Tranquillo and was advised that there was one ´passing through´ around 10:30am. I go some other conflicting information but most people seemed to suggest that there was a bus heading north at 10:30am and I was told by several people that there would be seats on the bus and there was no need to reserve a place (although I think making a reservation itself was not possible). The bus eventually arrived at 11:30 but I knew by the number of people waiting that there was no way we were all going to fit on the minibus. The driver eventually agreed to let 6 people on ... 4 local Chileans and 2 tourists. There were 2 local Chilean army personnel who myself and a German guy (Markus) got chatting to and apparantly they had a word with the driver so he agreed to let myself and Markus on the bus. Thank God! I cant say enough how relieved I was to get out of Rio Tranquillo. It was a 4 hour trip to Coyhaique (226km) and there was only one seat for myself and Markus which we agreed to share between us. Crowds of backpackers were left behind in Rio Tranquillo which wasnt very nice but they were all travelling in large groups and it was impossible for the driver to take them all on the bus. If I wasnt travelling on my own I dont think I would have got a seat either.

I had planned in stopping in more towns further north on the Carretera Austral such as Villa Cerro Castillo and Puyuhuapi but over the past few days I have come to realise that travelling the Carretera Austral alone, and without a car is not ideal. First of all, there are numerous scenic sights off the Carrertera which are difficult to get to without having your own vehicle and secondly, relying on public transport in this part of Chile is bordering on the ridiculous. Its grand if you have all the time in the world and dont mind staying in small local villages but I made up my mind that I wanted to get further north to Coyhaique which is a bigger town. The local villages are nice and you really get a taste of local culture in Patagonian Chile and if I had more time and the money for car rental I would definitely recommend it. My lack of Spanish also proved to be an obstacle as I could not converse very well with the locals.

After arriving in Coyhaique about 16:30, myself and Markus went to the local tourist information office to get some information on what to see and do in the town. We also got some information on local hostels and hospedajes and took a short walk around the town centre.

Victoria who I had been in El Calafate and El Chalten with was also travelling the Carretera Austral and she had recommended a hostel in Coyhaique called Patagonia Hostel so I checked myself in there. Markus stayed in a hospedaje close to my hostel. There was only myself and a girl from Germany called Marie in the hostel. Marie had been staying there a few days and also knew Victoria. As it turned out, Victoria had only left the previous day.

Later that evening, I had some dinner and a shower ... am well impressed with this hostel. Very nice. Beds are very comfy and shower is super. Only downside is the lack of kitchen facilities for guests but the owners tell me they are working on that. Cost per night was CHP 9,000 (14 Euro). I could have got a cheaper place but was willing to pay extra for the comfort. The breakfast here was also amazing. Best I have had so far in South America .. warm homemade bread, selection of jams, juice, coffee, and ham and cheese. Yummy!

http://www.patagonia-hostel.com/en

I met up with Markus at 22:30 and we headed downtown to check out a few bars. We ended up in a Karaoke bar which was packed out for a Thursday night ... full of locals who all seemed to be able to sing professionally. Amazing ... although all the songs were in Spanish so I hadnt a clue what they were singing about. Difficult to get used to people smoking in the bars over here. I was stinking of cigarettes when I got home.

The next day (Friday 10th December), myself and Markus spent walking around Coyhaique, checking out what the tourist office had told us the previous day ... just some scenic walks around the town which didnt take too long.

Later that evening I made enquiries about buses travelling further north .. still the same problem as before ... very difficult to get accurate and reliable information. At the bus terminal, I was told only one bus operator was going to Futuleufu late on Saturday afternoon, but after asking around I found another company leaving at 8am next morning (Becker Buses) .. cost was CHP 20,000 (31 Euro). Not cheap but it was a bit of a distance ... 11 hours on the bus and 412kms. I bought my ticket, went back to the hostel and had dinner. Met up with Markus later to say goodbye. He was leaving tomorrow also but was flying up north to Valdivia.

Saturday 11th December

Early start ... left the hostel at 7:30am. Great staff in the hostel got up extra early to make breakfast ... fantastic service. Got the bus at 8am. Becker Buses was only a minibus service, so I was having bad thoughts about an 11 hour journey on s stuffy minibus with no toilet! Turned out it was ok .. with regular stops in small villages  including numerous touristy photo stops which I didnt expect.

Bus arrived into Futaleufu that evening about 20:00. Had no accomodation booked but that didnt seem to be a problem here. I met a French couple on the bus and also a guy from Hungary and we all went with the bus driver to a local hospedaje which had rooms. The bus driver was actually staying there too before his return trip back next day. Cost for the night was only CHP 6,000.

After checking in, I took a walk around town and made some enquiries around town about river rafting (apparantly this place is world famous for river rafting). The cost was appx USD$100 which was way out of my budget so I decided to give it a miss. Would definitely like to try it some place else though .. maybe as part of a group and for a bit cheaper. Heres some pictures of Futaleufu:

There was no bus out of town until Monday morning, so next morning (Sunday 12th December), I started hitch-hiking out of town. I started about 9am. Eventually got a lift of a local Chilean guy to go as far as the Chilean border (10km) but he couldnt take me any further. I passed through the Chilean and Argentinian border control and after a while caught another lift (from a Chilean couple) to Trevellin in Argentina (30kms). Was glad to make it to Trevellin ... if I had been stuck at the border, Im not sure what I would have done as there was nothing else there only border control and no hostels.

I decided to keep hitch-hiking and next I got a lift from a Dutch couple who brought me as far as Esquel (33kms). From here I could catch a bus to El Bolson (180kms) for appx Arg$32. Long day travelling ... 3 hitch hikes, walking and a bus journey ... was so happy to arrive in El Bolson that evening :-)