Frosty Friday photos pt1

A bit of a glitch with the app...

Frosty Friday

Winter mornings can be challenging at the best of times. When you're camping... the sun is up after 7am so we figured we'd stay in our tent and get up when we feel a bit of warmth from the sun, which we did.

I was first out - my eyes taking in the frost on the grass and wonderful icicles on the tent, plants, car and everything else. It was cold! The sun was up but not yet visible, trying to make its way out from behind a nearby peak.

I got our gas cooker going and before long we were eating breakfast (Oatso Easy) and drinking tea and preparing to head off. We guessed it to be around 9am by the time the sun was shining (softly) on our site.

And then Celliers saw the time on the clock in the car - 11am! And it was still  sub-zero!  Brrrr... we took a while to get ready. We shook the ice off our tent, dried it out and packed everything away before we headed off on the trail to the cascades. We'd had a taste of the trail yesterday afternoon and oh goodness were we in for more and more magical!

From what we've experienced, Chileans know how to build trails. This rainforest is incredibly dense and it is also wet and mushy underfoot. There are wooden steps and ladders and walkways and it is just spectacular.

It is about 20 minutes walk to the bottom of the one waterfall and at least another 20 to the high falls. The second part is definitely used less often but incredibly worth the effort. The trails are a marvel and they are beautifully maintained.

The dense vegetation with ferns and mosses and trees is a wonder. The falls are a treat. Even more special was seeing the ancient, indigenous alerca trees, which have been protected here. I stood beneath a massive one (of many) and was dwarfed by the girth of the trunk.

What a magnificent walk! The pictures we took really don't do justice to the scenery but they at least show some of the magic of the route.

Our drive to Chaitén was excellent and we stopped many times to take photos of lagos, mountains, rivers... and then near Chaitén we stopped to look at the sea from a beach. Celliers was looking at stones on the beach when I spotted dolphins barely 20 metres from him! We watched for them for ages, spotting many in clusters all around. A superb sighting. It seems dolphins are common in this inlet in front of the town.

At a hardware store in town (to get another gas cannister) I met a Canadian - Chilean chap, Nicolas. He is actually mentioned in our guide book (we only read this tonight). He runs various tours and is the guy to speak to when it comes to activities in the area.

He told us about a hike to a glacier, which must be near Volcan Michimahuida. It sounds great. We decided to head for the next settlement in El Amarillo to get a good start for tomorrow. Unfortunately we couldn't  find any available cabañas so we had to return to Chaitén, where we found one on the main road.

Nicolas told us about a South African couple living in El Amarillo. It would be nice to meet them and say hi.

Our plan is to head into Parque Pumalin in the morning  (not too early!) for a hike. The forecasted weather looks decent (mostly clear). Depending on the timing,  we'll stay over in the area or head directly for Futaleufú.

Thursday for ferry riding

What a fabulous day for ferry riding! Calm sea, not a cloud in the sky and a comfortable ferry for the long trip from Hornopirén to Leptepu.

The ferry was a large one with an excellent passenger area complete with large tables, padded benches and warmth.

I spent most of the trip working on a cable crochet beanie for myself. I made a simple green one for Celliers last week. 

The trip was smooth and enjoyable. We delighted in the scenery along the way. We looked up two fjords and saw islands, Volcan Huequi and other snow-capped peaks. We also spotted some waterfalls cascading from steep cliffs and marvelled at solitary houses on the shores of islands - accessible only by boat. Really in the middle of nowhere.

We also saw many aquaculture farms. A decade ago my friend lived in Chile and worked on a project setting up an abalone farm off the coast of an island near Chiloé  (big island). What we saw may have been abalone or mussels or salmon?

My friend Mane warned us about eating shellfish because of the red tide in the area. Celliers is allergic to shellfish so that takes it off our radar but we definitely think we saw large areas of it, especially close to our stop at Leptepu. 

From here we had a 10km drive in convoy with the other passengers - across the peninsula. Here we got on another, smaller ferry, for the short  (40min) trip to Caleta Gonzalo. There is nothing more than a few houses at the harbour.

We had a large articulated truck, with two trailers, on the trips. He was carrying a load of large plastic pipes. We all had to reverse on to the ferries and while some car drivers found it challenging (the friendly ferry guys couldn't help laughing - neither could we!), the truck driver nailed it. The trailers alone were the length of six cars!

When he got on the second ferry I was watching from the deck. I gave him a smile and a thumbs up - he returned a relieved smile.

Our initial plan was to head to the main town of Chaitén for the night. From the ferry we'd seen signs for campsites and so we pulled off when we saw a nice looking entrance.

Most of this area is part of the Parquet Pumalin nature reserve, established by the late Douglas Tompkins of the Patagonia gear and apparel company (he died a few months ago while kayaking in this region - he fell into the icy water). 

We are super impressed with the infrastructure that we've seen. They are clearly not expecting visitors at this time of year and the two friendly guys we met clearing vegetation and tidying the site said that as they didn't  have camping tickets for us we could just stay free. And off they went home.

We walked a little of the sender (trail) to the waterfall but turned back to set up camp and make dinner before dark. Each site has an open piece of lawn for your tent and a wooden roofed structure with table and benches. The ablutions had only cold water - but tidy loos and basins. No electricity, but it looks like they hook up gas in the summer.

By the time we got into our tent at around 18h30, there was already frost on it! Sub-zero already! Fortunately we've got thick down sleeping bags. I finished off my beanie and bedded down for the long night. 

We both woke in the middle of the night to pee. What a sky! Cold but crystal clear and stars so crisp to see. Magnificent! We enjoyed a quick look and dived back into the warmth of our sleeping bags for more sleep. We looked forward to hitting the trails in the morning.

Heading South again

This morning (Wednesday) we left the warmth of Mane and Raini in Puerto Varas and headed to the larger town of Puerto Montt, 17km south and on the sea.

Our first stop was the ferry booking office to book our ferry trip for tomorrow - it has to be pre-booked. We then went a bit along the coast and walked some streets in the town before heading out on the Carreterra Austral for La Arena.

This is very much the end of the road because from here you have to catch a ferry to take you across the 5km of sea to the town of Puelche on the other side. It takes about 40 minutes. 

Just before boarding I got empanadas (like a pie, but different) from the port-side store and had a friendly and basic conversation - in Spanish - with the owner. The best empanadas thus far (our second of the trip).

I don't  have sea legs (errr... a sea stomach) but the trip over was smooth.

Then it was a 45km drive to the small town of Hornopirén, where we are sleeping tonight. We walked around a bit - after dark. We're not sure what happens here. Certainly fishing and maybe salmon and other aquaculture, ferry stuff...

We are staying at the first friendly and warm and open looking place we saw as we drove in. We had a super delicious dinner and are in for a good, warm sleep. The sweet lady informed me that we had a cama caliente, a hot bed. We've got an electric blanket.

Temperatures today have been between 8 and 11C. It has been raining and overcast. We got so lucky going to Volcan Orsono and the Petrohue River yesterday.

In the morning we catch a five-hour ferry to Leptepu. Mane says this is an awesome stretch of water (in a fjord with mainland on one side and islands on another). It is popular for sailing snd kayaking.

We then drive overland (the cars all follow each other) and get on to another ferry for a short crossing (40 minutes) to Caleta Gonzalo. We'll drive to the town of Chaitén for Thursday night and then on to Futaleufú on Friday.

Celliers has been looking forward to seeing this river for two decades.

Images show our route from Puerto Varas to Puerto Montt and down. A few shots from Puerto Montt and some from the ferry ride.