Adventures in Chile

Feb.10

The task this morning was to finish packing and take a taxi to the airport. We had made a reservation yesterday and the taxi cab was waiting when we got to the taxi stand. When we checked in the agent looked at our mound of paper work and said Perfecto. Not sure what he looked at, but as long as we could get on the plane, that was all we needed. We are on our way to Buenos Aires.

Looks like it is going to be a beautiful day for flying,

We see Chile out of the plane and realize how close we are, but we need to go to Santiago first which is the entry point for covid times.

We have a two hour layover in Buenos Aires. We hope that is enough time. When we get off of the plane we look for an agent to tell us where to go to get an international flight. Alas, there is none to be seen. We walk past several empty counters and finally see one with an agent. She told us to go downstairs and to hurry. With that direction we take off, find the stairs and a bit of panic sets in as we see that there is no obvious international gate. There is a sign saying that we can not go back up the stairs and if we go out the door we can not come back in. This could get interesting. Finally we see an official looking person that tells us go out side and you will see a sign that says international flights. We are off doing the 50 yard dash to the gate. We are pointed to an agent who once again looks at our forms and tells us that we have what we need and more. He gets rid of the more. He senses that we are a little frazzled, but he tells us that he has seen worse and shows us the way to the immigration line where we will exit Argentina. A man who seems very bored with this procedure, takes our photo, stamps our passport and we are on our way to Chile. We get to our departure gate with plenty of time to spare. It is a two hour flight to Santiago. The clouds over the Andes are amazing as we make our way to a new country.

There was some turbulence as we headed through the clouds.

WOW!

We land and are immediately directed to where the lines are for taking the PCR Tests. The procedure is fine tuned with paperwork checking and efficient test swabs. We get deep swabs in both our nose and throat. If there is any covid germs they will find them. They hand us more papers and tell us we should know the results in 24 hours. The challenge will be if we test positive we will be quarantined. We don’t even go there and gather our luggage after going thru the Chilean immigration. We head outside and are immediately asked if we need a ride. We have reserved a room in a hotel that is adjacent to the airport and in walking distance. Not the cheapest place we have stayed but it is quite convenient. We are somewhat exhausted and the best plan is ta take a shower and go to bed. We are in Chile!

Feb.11

When we wake up, we grab our phone and check to see if our results have been sent. They are and we both are negative. We are going to go explore Chile! we can even start to plan. We had done a little research, but wanted to wait to do more after we knew the results of our covid test.

We pack up and make our way back to the airport by 9:30. We fill out the required form for being negative and smile!

We wheel our luggage over to a kiosk. A man sees our hesitancy and immediately says follow me. He essentially walks us thru the whole process of checking our luggage and getting our boarding passes. I think that we could have figured it out, but it was fun to see this man at work. He tells us that he has done this occupation for 25 years. He knows how to hustle!. Before sending us thru the X-rays, he looks at us and says a very good tip. Don has already gotten out a tip for him and he sends us on our way.

We have time for breakfast before our gate opens. Prices are quite similar to what we would expect in the USA. It is quite different than what we paid for food in Argentina. At the gate a man starts talking to us and as the conversation continues, we have mutual friends. He lives near the NOLS branch in Coyhaique. He and his son are returning from a ski trip in Italy. It was extended by 3 weeks when he tested positive with Covid. They are ready to be home.

So many interesting stories.

The flight to Coyhaique didn’t disappoint. We went over the mountains, past numerous lakes and even a smoking volcano.

Somehow we got premium seats so were treated quite well with lunch, water and comfortable seats.

We arrived at a much smaller airport and sensed a sigh of relief when our luggage showed up.

A shuttle had been recommended for us to take to the NOLS branch. We looked at the many vans and found the right one. He assured us that he would drop us off at the branch. However when we stopped and he turned around we realized that he had missed it. He left us off at the parking lot and Marissa came out to greet us. She had been waiting for our arrival. Marissa lives in Alaska near where we have our property. She gave us a tour and showed us where we would be staying.

We had a room in this straw bale house. The tree on the right was full of pie cherries. We are back in full summer.

NOLS has a branch here that they continue to improve. It is a beautiful location.

This is what we looked at from our window.

We plan to spend several days here and figure out an itinerary. We catch a ride with some instructors going to town and buy some groceries as well as eat at a vegetarian restaurant. It is easy to catch a ride back to the branch.

We are treated to this sunset.

Feb.12

It felt good to sleep in and not have to be anywhere today. The last couple of days have kept us on the run. We head up to the staff house and see a familiar face. It is Flavio from Brazil. He has worked in Alaska and we catch up on what we all have been doing. He has just finished a course and is heading back to Brazil today. He has spent several months here which included doing some hikes with his daughter. He gives us some ideas of places we should visit.

Flavio helps with showing us places we should go.

Patty another NOLS instructor that we knew while our time in Alaska has invited us to lunch. What happens with our meeting can be found under the title Gaucho trip Feb. 2022 This blog will continue after our time spent with the Gauchos and Patty. (See Gaucho trip Feb. 2022) After lunch we return back to the NOLS branch and can’t resist picking cherries and making a cherry crisp

The cherry tree is right outside our cabin,

Couldn’t resist turning these cherries into a cherry crisp.

Exploring more of Chile after the trip with the Gauchos.

Feb.24th

Going with the flow and letting things just happen has worked for our unplanned trip to Chile. We finished our Gaucho trip yesterday and are feeling so fortunate that we got to experience it. Now we have been able to connect with a friend from the 90’s decade of NOLS. He lives on a ranch about an hour away by boat from the town of Puerto Bertrand. Patty will drop us off in Puerto Bertrand and John will pick us up tomorrow. We haven’t made any reservations, but Patty has a friend who lives in town that rents rooms. We are hoping that is the case. We park outside of the house and Patty goes in and returns with a thumbs up , we have a place to stay.

Patty wants to start the long drive back so we say our good bye and thank her once again for this opportunity,

The owner of the house serves us tea, home made bread with jam and cheese. She shows us our room and we settle in. We are both tired and a nap is going to be most welcome. After the nap, we explore the town which doesn’t take much time as it is quite small. We are glad we bought some supplies in Cochrane. There is a small restaurant that will open later. We check out the lake which is a beautiful blue color.

This is Lago Bertrand , famous for fly fishing and it is the headwaters for the Rio Baker which is known for rafting. In the summer time it is quite the busy tourist place.

The restaurant is small with only a couple of tables. We are told what is on the menu tonight and wait for the delicious smelling food. It is a short walk back to our lodging and we quickly fall into a deep sleep.

The next morning, after breakfast we pack up and head to the dock where we will meet John.

John lives at the very end of Lago Plomo.

By mid morning we see a boat coming towards the dock and quickly recognize our friend John. We haven’t seen him for several decades so we will have some catching up to do. He is dropping off a couple of clients that spent a week at his ranch doing a horse back trip. After John left NOLS, he started an Outdoor Program in this area called Patagonia Frontiers. He was able to buy several large ranches and runs some of his programs on the ranch that he owns. We are looking forward to seeing his place, but first we need to travel the hour and half by boat to get there.

We are glad that the wind is not blowing, if it was we would have to delay our travel.

When we reach the ranch, John gives us a quick tour and shows us where we will be staying.

It is a beautiful cabin nestled in the trees with views of the surrounding mountains.

It is quite cozy

With a small kitchen for making our hot drinks in the morning

John shows us his house which was the original ranch house. He lives here and this is where we will also be eating our meals.

In the kitchen is the wood stove, which is not only used for cooking, but adds quite a bit of warmth in the winter.

In the summer there are students, visitors and ranchers that live up the valley stopping to see John, but the winter is time for solitude. This summer, however, due to the Covid virus(,Chile has only recently opened her borders) John has only had 3 students. Fortunately there are more courses in the near future,

We meet Michael and his two daughters Ignacia and Kimberly. Michael has worked for John in past years. He is from Tanzania and met John there. He is now going to dental school and brought his girls down for a visit.

Ignacia shows us the green house. Michael had worked hard to get the soil good for growing plants.

John needs to go back to work so Don and I check out the area with a walk down the beach.

We ae surrounded by beauty.

And come across an Ashy Headed Goose

And the Magellanic male and female woodpecker

We are looking forward to exploring this place and spending time with John and his crew.

Feb. 26

After breakfast we decided to do a hike with John, Michael and the the Girls. We will be doing a little climbing to get a better view of the valley.

The girls show us the way. Rose bushes are taking over the land and it is challenging to keep the trails open. The only way to get rid of them is to dig them out which is almost an impossible task.

We meet some of John’s horses.

They are quite friendly and approach us.

The views are magnificent and to know that there are no plans of development makes this hike even more enjoyable.

So much beauty.

There is a storm developing so tomorrow may be a stay in the cabin type of day.

Feb. 27 The rain and wind started falling during the night. No need to head out anywhere today. We had a breakfast of pancakes at noon and enjoyed the warmth of the stove. It was a good day to hang out at the cabin with some good books to read. The plan if the weather permits is to do an overnight hike tomorrow.

Feb.28

Yesterday we decided to do an overnight hike today. It looks like the weather has cooperated so we pack our packs and head out with Michael and the girls. There are a couple of interns and an employee that are working with John this summer. With no courses they are also able to go with us.Their names are Henry, Oliver and Jeremy. Before we start up the trail, we take notice of the firewood they have been working on for the upcoming colder months It is impressive.

kindling

The fire wood

We also enjoy some of the ripe plums that are growing outside of the main ranch house.

They are quite tasty

It is time to go hiking and within 10 minutes we need to do a water crossing. The water is glacier fed so it is quite chilly. Kimberly gets a ride across the river.

We had to do several more crossings as we head up the valley.

The hiking was easy as we followed the river valley up towards the mountains.

A group of horses were free ranging.

At one point we looked across the river valley and saw a little ranch tucked into the trees. Most of the ranches in the area do not have people living their year round. The ranchers will spend some of the year in the towns that we had visited. It is quite the undertaking to travel back and forth by way of horses then boat.

We make it to the confluence of two rivers and find an area to set up camp. The interns make us a delicious pasta meal. The planned campfire activity is aborted as the rain begins falling shortly after we eat dinner. Tomorrow John, Michael and the girls will head back to the homestead., Don and I along with Henry and Jeremy will head up the valley to another ranch that John has purchased.

We will be continuing up this valley in the morning.

March 1

The sun came out in the morning and by the time we had breakfast our tents were dry.

Henry and Jeremy lead us up the river valley. This is Henry’s third year at the ranch. In the North America summer he works at an organic farm in the state of Washington. This is Jeremy’s first season here. With no students they have been doing a lot of projects around the ranch. They are both looking forward to the upcoming courses.

The hike up the valley continued with beautiful views.

The ranch that John purchased butts up against National Parkland of Chile.

John’s crew has been working on the buildings to enable them to be used as a basecamp for his clients. There are no longer bears in the area, but we are wary of the bulls. We hear one in the distance and give him a wide berth. They have been known to be aggressive and should be avoided.

After a lunch at the new ranch, we head back down the valley to the homestead. Tomorrow we will be leaving the ranch and going to Cochrane. Originally John was just going to take us to Puerto Bertrand and we could catch a bus for the 20 miles to Cochrane, but then John decided that he needed to do some shopping so he will drive us there.

March 2

It is quite peaceful this morning, with horses grazing in front of our cabin.

It has been a good week of being relaxed after our trip with the Gauchos. We have a better understanding of how this area has been so impactful to John’s life.

We wave goodby to our new friends and head down the lake with John at the stern.

We are treated to a rainbow as we depart.

The lake is quite calm today, but if the wind blows large waves are formed.

On the way to Cochrane we once again pass the Rio Baker.

We had hiked down to the river with Patty and her nieces before the Gaucho trip so today we just take a photo at an overlook.

When we arrive to town, we stop at a couple of hostels only to find they are full. John knows of one more that he has used in the past and they had a room. We plan to stay here for a couple of days before heading up to the National Parque de Patagonia.

We found a business that will do our laundry and we can pick it up tomorrow. We also walked to the bus station to figure out the logistics to get to a town south of here called Tortel and then return back to Cochrane and catch a bus back to Coyhaique. It dosent seem that we will have any problems with bus tickets so we are going to wait until our plans are more firm. Meanwhile we need to figure out how to get to theNational Park day after tomorrow. As we were walking some of the side streets we see Marcio, the taxi driver who took us to Villa O’Higgins. We ask him if he would be able to drive us to the park day after tomorrow and he says yes. We give him the address and he will pick us up at 11:00 am. There are two grocery stores in this town. the smaller has the most usable items for us, so we stock up on food for our 5 day trip. We have dinner in town followed by some ice cream at the ice cream store. Tomorrow will be a day of rest and organization.

It has been enjoyable to just walk around town and get a feel for the area. Having driven here from Coyhaique we get a feel for the isolation of these small towns. There are many miles of dirt roads between these towns.

March 3

Today was indeed a day of rest.. We picked up our laundry and were able to convey to our hosts that we were going to be gone for 4 nights and would like to leave some of our luggage here. We will spend another couple of nights here when we return. We like this town and glad that we got to spend some time her.

National Park of Patagonia

March 4

Marcio meets us at 11;00 and we head to the park. It is about an hour and half drive. Marcio wants to learn English as much as we want to learn Spanish so we share our languages as we drive to the park.

When we were traveling south with Patty, we spent the night with some of her friends. One was Christian who was responsible for bringing the National Park of Patagonia back to its natural state. Doug Thomkins (founder of North Face) and his wife Kristin had purchased many acres of land in Patagonia with the goal of returning it to Chile to be made into National Parks. National Park of Patagonia is the result of this purchase.

When we arrive to the park, the first wild life that we see is the guanacos grazing in front of the visitor center.

We had seen some of these animals from afar, but this is the first time that we were so close.

They reminded us of a cross between a camel and a llama.

The first stop was the visitor center where we could pay our entrance fee and purchase a campsite for the both of us. The campsite is about two miles away so Marcio will drop us off there and then we can come back to check out the visitor center which looks really nice. Before he leaves Marcio tells us that tomorrow he is picking up a couple of people from another camping area. It is known for is beautiful stone house. If we want to see it, we can meet him at the visitor center at 3 and he will take us there and bring us back. We plan to do a longer hike tomorrow but we will try to be back.

We head to the visitor center and spend some time looking at the exhibits. We are thankful that they are in English as well as Spanish.

Most of the building in the park are made with these stones. There is a restaurant here, but due to covid it was closed to the public.

Tomorrow we want to hike the the Lagunas Atlas trail so we take a photo of the trail so we can use it tomorrow.

After having spent some time with the Gauchos, this statement says it well.

After spending several hours here, we decided to take a 6 mile hike to a suspension bridge. The trail ends here but eventually will be connected up to other trails.

On the way to the bridge we pass a guide with a couple of clients. He stops to talk to us and tells us that if we hear guanacos screaming we should look to where they are pointing with their heads and we may see a puma. The puma preys on guanacos so they are always on the alert.

The hike meanders to the river and we see the suspension bridge in the distance.

We cross to the other side where the trail stops.

Not a bad view from the bridge.

Headed back to camp and had some noodles for dinner. We plan to be up early to see if we can get the hike done before 3.

March 5

We were up and on the trail by 6:30. It is around 20 km so if we hike a consistent pace we should be back in time to meet Marcio by 3:00.

At the start of the trail we encounter this sign.

I guess we will be alert and hope that the guanacos will warn us if a puma is near.

The sky is a deep blue and a flock of parrots seem to be following us. The sunlight accentuates the color of the feathers.

The trail is well marked and ascends out of the valley to a ridge.

More scenes from the trail

Once we reached the top of the climb we passed numerous lakes.

And then it was mostly downhill as we worked our way down to the valley.

Only a couple more Km to go

As we continued down the hill a couple of larger guanacos were stationed on both sides of the trail. They were definitely making a screaming sound and both were facing the same direction. First we thought that they may be upset that we were walking on the trail then we remembered the guide telling that if there is a puma in the area they will sound an alert.

This guanaco was definitely in alert mode.

The guanacos were still screaming when we reached the bottom of the trail and saw this sign.

We decided to take a lunch break here and as we looked in the direction that the guanacos were facing we saw a large puma come out of the trees and then head back into the tall grasses. I am not sure if we hadn’t been told of this behavior by the guanacos we would have seen this puma.. It was Don’s first time to see a puma in the wild.

After eating our lunch we headed over to the visitor center to wait for Marcio. While waiting we were entertained by this sleeping guanaco.

So relaxed!

Marcio shows up and we drive to the stone house campground. He tells us that the drive is a gift to us. We appreciate his kindness. The stone house is another building made of stone that campers can use, a stone path crosses a bridge to get to the building.

At the stone house, we are greeted by the ranger that works and lives at the house when he is on duty. It is a beautiful building with hot showers and an indoor space to cook and sit. The ranger was quite proud of the ornate cook stove.

If we had more time and more food, it would have been nice to stay here. Marcio was waiting to take us back to our campsite. He had picked up two hikers that were heading back to Cochrane. We were glad to have been able to see this place. It make us appreciate what can be done to conserve our wildlands. Tomorrow we will pack up and head up and over a pass that will take us back to Cochrane. We have the route on our phone so hope it goes. There wasn’t much information about it at the visitor center. It was quite the day starting with a beautiful hike, seeing a puma and connecting with Marcio to take us to the stone house campground.

March 6

The rain had fallen thru the night and several guanacos screamed periodically. We were told that a puma was often sighted at the campground, but decided to stay in the tent and not check it out. By first light we were ready to head back up the trail again. The first part of the trail was the same one that we had done yesterday. At the top we saw the sign that would send us down the other side and eventually back to Cochrane.

Our packs are heavier than usual so our pace is slower than yesterday. The rain continues to fall so the camera mostly stays in the pack. The trail is not marked as well as yesterday, but there are stakes and rock cairns most of the way. We have an All trails app on our phone and this trail was on it. Several times when we seemed to be off trail, the app guided us down. It was obvious that this trail has been recently worked on, which made for easier travel. What seemed to be lacking was any recent footprints. Patty told us that Chileans don’t hike much so that could be one of the reasons. We finally came to the lake that is a little over half way to Cochrane. There was a picnic table here so setting up camp here was a no brainer. The rain has continued to fall so we were glad to have our tarp to eat under.

We walked around the lake, to find the trail we will be taking tomorrow. you can see our tent in the distance.

We weren’t able to find a fuel canister in town and hoped that there would be enough for dinner, We were relieved that our meal was cooked when the canister ran our of fuel. The rain continues to fall so time to take cover.

March 7

The rain finally stopped during the night and the silence was noticeable. Since we didn’t have any fuel, we decided to eat our cold breakfast in our sleeping bags in the tent. (no worries about wild critters here). Our packs were lighter, but our knees were a little sorer due to the terrain that we had traversed yesterday. The trail started out flat which was helpful, but we knew that we had to loose a lot of elevation and soon we would be going down the steep part of the trail.

We are glad that at least the trail is not too wet. We take our time as we are careful about our foot placement. This would not be a good place to twist an ankle. We can see the valley below which is our destination.

Eventually we see the town of Cochrane. We have a lot of downhill to do. If we thought yesterday was steep, today is really steep!

Our app of the trail tells us that we are making progress so down we go, occasionally stopping to give our knees a rest. Finally we reach the dirt road that will take us back to town.

We liked how the Chileans post their signs. A polite way of saying the suggested speed,

We reach the hostel that we stayed at before our trip and they have the same room available. We take showers and are able to dry our very wet tent. The magical powers of sun. We decide to take our laundry to the place where we had taken it before our trip. The sign in the window said abierto(open) but the door was locked. We knocked and the owner came out. He said he works in the back so he locks the door. It was good that we knocked. We talked to Raul the director for NOLS Patagonia and asked him about the bus that will be heading back to the branch on March 12th from the town of Tortel. We are going to Tortel tomorrow and then it would be a two day bus ride back to the branch, if we use public transportation. If we can catch a ride with the NOLS bus it would be a long day (about 11 hours), but we wouldn’t have to spend another night in Cochrane. We found out that NOLS has courses starting in Tortel and we know some of the instructors. Perhaps we can make the connection.Always fun to figure out logistics. We checked out another restaurant and had delicious beef stew. Of course after the long hike that we did today, a treat at the ice cream store was a necessity.

Back to our hostel and looking forward to a night in a bed.

March 8

Today is a do not do much day. we caught up on some reading and listened to the rain falling. Tomorrow we will be catching the bus to Tortel. We have enjoyed staying in this town and checking out all the shops.

Tortel

When we asked our friends what places should we visit in Chile, the town of Tortel was often mentioned. We put it on the to see list and then figured out how we could get there. It is located about 90 miles from the town that we were staying in and we could take public Transportation there. Tortel is made up of a small group of houses that are built along the shores of the ocean and along the cliffs. It is quite unique because there are no streets in the town only cypress boardwalks. The town has about 500 residents year round, but increases quite a lot in the summer.. When you arrive to Tortel there is a parking lot above the town and then one must walk down a flight of stairs to connect to the town itself.

March 9

After listening to the man who was in the room next to us snoring, I was ready to get up at first light. It is getting colder at night and instead of turning on any heat, a lot of blankets are given. We headed to the bus station and eventually figured out which bus we should get on. It was a regular sized bus and since there was only 10 passengers, we had a lot of room. We pulled out on time and headed down the dirt road to the town of Tortel. The bus driver seemed quite familiar with the route. He would honk at houses as we passed by them or stop and talk to people in their yards. This stretch of road had very few houses. At one point he stopped the bus at a house and said if you want to buy some sopapillas, here is your chance. Most folks got off and bought some including Don.

Another stop was for a man who had quite a load of baggage. His boat was docked on the river and he was taking supplies to his ranch. We stopped once for a bathroom break and to stretch our legs. we were the only Americans on the bus. Finally made it to the town and the driver stopped in the parking lot and let us out.

No English translations, on their information sign.

We headed down a long flight of wooden stairs to get to the main part of town. Some reports say there are 7 km of boardwalks, other say 15km, regardless we were impressed. The maintenance people carry boards to repair the boardwalks.

The people that first explored this area came by boat so there was no need for roads.

Everything is made of wood, including the playground.

Before the road was built, the only way to get here was by boat. Now there is a dirt road that connects to the towns north of here. It is becoming more of a tourist destination. We hadn’t made any reservations so when Don saw a sign for a hotel, he went to check it out. Since he had to go up a steep flight of stairs, I stayed down below with our gear. He came back down with the news that they were full, but nearby was a newly opened bed and breakfast. We checked it out and were happy to say it was a great fit for us. The couple that owned it had just moved from Santiago to change their lifestyle. They were still cleaning the apartment from previous guests so we left our luggage there and headed to a nearby restaurant. The meal was good but the cake was supreme.

We still had some extra time before checking in so we decided to explore the town some more. There is a lot of carved wooden sculptures throughout the boardwalks.

Telling early history and

the importance of logging to the area.

The Chilean govt. has put a lot of money into this town to develop it into a tourist destination. Several wooden pavilions are along the boardwalks with information about the area.

The board walk along the coast.

This afternoon we decide to go and try to find the NOLS course that were dropped off yesterday. We found where NOLS stores their kayaks, but no one was there. A man who lived next to the storage area, told us that they are probably camped on the other side of a fenced in area near the river. We continued our walk and then saw the familiar tents. As we approached our friend Dave came out. He introduced us to the group that were preparing for their kayaking expedition.

Notice the jacket. So fun to meet familiar faces in different places.

We said our good-boys and then it was time to go back to our lodging. First we had to go up the staris

and then back down

Pretty easy to get your steps in for exercise!

March 10

It was another night of being smothered in blankets and a down comforter. There was no heat in the room but a pellet stove in the living room warmed that area up. Our hosts cooked us a good breakfast of homemade bread, cheese, meat and scrambled eggs. In the morning we tried to find a trail that goes behind the town, but alas that wasn’t to be. Later we encountered a couple of hikers who told us where to look. We stopped at a grocery store, but the only thing we got was some crackers. We were glad that we had brought some food from Cochrane . After a lunch of quesadillas we headed back to the trail and tried it again. This time we were successful.

At one point we say the NOLS group practicing their kayaking strokes.

There were some good view points from the trail above.

The trail started out as a boardwalk but soon became a muddy trail. We finally gave up trying to stay out of the mud and just embraced it. Back to our hostel and all those blankets.

March 11

After taking showers to warm up, we had another good breakfast. We are heading down to camp with the NOLS group tonight. Another NOLS group is arriving tonight and we want to catch the bus back to Coyhaique with the NOLS bus tomorrow. Don tries to buy some sopapillas but once again the stores are closed. And once again we are glad for the extra food we brought. We were all walked out of boardwalk walking so had a leisurely day by our tent. I had fun taking photos of a young turkey vulture.

March 12

If all goes as planned, we are hoping to hop on the NOLS bus today and catch a ride back to the branch. We had stayed up a little later than usual last night to see if we could talk to the driver. I guess they came about 11:00pm. (long after we were in bed) We make contact with the driver and our friend Oscar in the morning.We helped them move their gear and boats to the dock.

Lots of memories with students, trying to keep everything organized.

A boat is coming to take the boats to another location where they will meet a larger boat that will eventually get them to their starting point. When we see the boat coming we are talking to Oscar and are thinking that it will take 3 trips to get these kayaks to the bigger boat. Well to our amazement it only took one!

I guess the boat driver knew what he was doing! Away they go

We say goodby to Oscar,

And get ready for a 13 hour bus ride.

We arrive back to the branch about 11:00pm. Thankful for this opportunity .

March 13 We sleep in and then reorganize for our next adventure. Raul, had invited us to dinner, but his son was sick so thought that it was best if we did not meet up tonight.

Cerro Castillo and visiting Pilar

Another idea that came up often was to hike the Cerro Castillo trail. There is a famous trail in southern Chile called Tores Del Piane. It is known for its beauty, but it is also quite busy. The Cerro Castillo trail is not as well known but also is quite beautiful. One needs to get permits to hike Tores Del Piane but not so for the Cerro Castillo. Another factor that we considered was that this trail is only an hour away from Coyhaique and a bus will drop us off at the trail head.

March 14 We had thought that we would walk to town, but Raul offered to drop us off. Definitely saved us some time. We needed to go to the bus station to get our tickets for the bus ride tomorrow .

The terminal was new and the inside was well organized.

We purchased our tickets and were told that the bus stop is on the other side of the NOLS driveway. Now that is convenient. We spent some time walking around the town.

We enjoyed seeing this sculpture of an arm reaching out with a cup of Mate. It is a sign of friendship and sharing.

We ate at our favorite restaurant , Basilica. And were psyched that they had some of their delicious bread for sale.Then we checked out the health food store Antigua Gravel.

One of the owners is the wife of our friend Raul. It was a great store and we were able to get most of the food that we will need for our next hike

The large grocery store here had everything else we needed. It was a successful day in town. Flagged down a taxi and made it back to the branch by mid afternoon. The rest of the day was spent packing up our packs and enjoying the bread that we had purchased.

March 15

We were up by 7 and waiting at the bus stop by 8. The bus was full except for the two seats behind the driver. We think they were saved for us. The bus driver drops us off at the Horquetas trail head and we walk a short distance to the guard station to pay a fee and have our covid vaccination app looked at.

Before arriving to the guard station, we cross a wooden bridge.

and go by an old ranch.

Looks like it is a working ranch.

Then we see the sign welcoming us to the park.

and the sign telling us the guard station is ahead.

When we arrive to the station there are several other hikers signing in. The ranger waits till we have signed in and then gives us an orientation in Spanish. I think we got most of it. She spoke very slowly for us.

The guard station,

The first day of hiking is easy as we are heading up a valley. The scenery does not disappoint.

The main challenge of the day was all of the shallow stream crossings. We wanted to keep our feet dry so we used our wet shoes for water crossing, which slows one down.

We liked this sign reminding hikers to take out their trash.

The trash does not return on its own!

We were the first ones to camp so we pitched the tent and had some time to check out the views.

This view was so special that there was a sign announcing it.

It is always nice when one can just sit and enjoy their surroundings.

Lots of cows today, but none were aggressive.

March 16

We woke up at 6 and had breakfast in the tent. We were on the trail by 7. It was just beginning to get light and we had to use our flashlights when we walked thru the forests. We started the climb up in the forest, but soon the trail led us out into the open and we saw the trail is now going to be a path of rocks.

When we got out of the forest, we were greeted by rocks.

Needless to say we worked our way thru this section carefully

There were so many rocks. Above us was lots of scree that added to the rocks on the path. It didn’t help that it was rainy and windy making the rocks slippery.

Waterfalls were pouring down the sides of the mountains. Lots of clouds today so the photo ops were difficult.

Finally reached the top of the pass and the trail continues to be made up of rocks.

There were markers on the trail that showed the general direction,

We knew that going down hill on this path was going to be as slow as going up hill. All foot placement had to be carefully selected as the rocks will roll and easily twist your ankle.

We each chose our own route as we headed down.

When the clouds lifted we could see how the area got its name as the mountains did indeed look like castles.

It was still raining when we got to camp. We were glad that we brought our tarp that we could set up and cook dinner. Somehow my sleeping bag had gotten damp during all he rain today We had brought some hand warmers and by putting them in the bottom of my bag they mostly dried it out! whew!

It is getting colder as fall is approaching.

After we had eaten we took a short walk up to the lake behind us that was glacier fed.

The mountains are rugged and beautiful.

Back to the tent and what we hope is an opportunity to rest our knees so that they recover. We have another pass tomorrow with a lot more down hill.

March 17

We left camp around 7:30 and began working our way up to the last pass of the trail. It was a chilly morning with lots of small water crossings. Fortunately there were plenty of rocks to use so we were able to keep our feet dry.

Like yesterday, we found the path was very rocky.

The weather is cooperating today and the sky is a deep blue. The sun is out but it is below freezing when we reach the top of the pass.

The lake below us is a deep blue.

Don finds a trail as he makes it up the mountain.

At the pass there is a sign telling us if there is a lot of wind one should not continue on. Fortunately the wind that is blowing is not too strong so we continue on.

What a view.

The wind isn’t strong at the pass, but with the cold temps we don’t linger long before we start another steep downhill to the valley below. Looks like we are going to have another day of choosing our route and going slow.

Down we go

We are heading down to the river valley below. Slow and steady was our pace.

When we finally got to the bottom we met a younger hiker, who had come up from where we will be ending our hike.He was breathing quite hard. He said Hola and then in Spanish wanted to know how old we were. He then asked if he could take a photo of us with him. “Sure” we said. I guess he was impressed that we had just done this trail. If my Spanish was better, I probably would have given him some suggestions of how to lighten his load. Our packs were much lighter than his. We head off to the campground and set up our tent. There are several campsites filled with tents. This campsite is closer to the roadhead and has a much easier approach than the route that we took getting here. There is another campsite further up the valley, but we decided to camp here and just walk up the trail to check out the area,

More mountain views.

And a definite feeling that fall is fast approaching

It wasn’t a long hike today, just steep and rocky. We are ready to head to bed and enjoy the fact that tomorrow we won’t be doing any long sections of trail that are mostly rocks. Our knees are going to appreciate that!

March 18

Knowing that the hike today is going to be our shortest hiking day, we enjoy staying in bed a little longer to let the temperatures warm up. The trail down to the road is well marked and easy to follow. We appreciate that the rocks of the last two days are no more. The trail leads us down to the road taking us past several nice ranches.

We can see the ridge that we walked on from the road. Today’s hike is only about 12 km. We pass several groups of hikers as we make our way to the town of Villa Cero Castillo. We arrive to the town about 12:00 and discover that the bus comes at 12:30. There is already a line waiting for the bus and after checking at the visitor center the ability to buy a ticket does not look good. The other news that Don learned was that there is not a bus tomorrow. The good news is that when Don was talking to the man at the visitor center, he learned that this man was a friend of our friend John Hauf. And that he was going to Coyhaique tomorrow and could give us a ride. He also told us about a hostel that was near his house and that they most likely would have a room for us to rent. The hostel was close so off we went and looked forward to a shower and checking out the town,

Our lodging for the night.

After the shower, it was time to explore and eat some food. Most of these towns have a square which generally contains a place to meet and a place for the children of the town to play. We enjoyed the sculpture at the square that shows a man sharing Mate, the favorite Chilean drink.

Next stop was the restaurant that we had eaten at when we came thru this town a month ago with Patty. What a month it has been! We have gotten to see and learn so much about this area.

March 19

We stayed in the Matrimonial room last night. There were a lot of blankets piled on the bed and with no heat in the room, they were much appreciated. The owner of the hostel brought over a breakfast of eggs and bread and talked to us about the town. At 9 we headed outside to wait for the the man that Don had talked to yesterday. As all of our conversations have been in Spanish, we hope that we understood everything. About 10 minutes later the man who Don had met pulled up in his car and we loaded up our gear. One could tell that he was used to speaking to people with not a great grasp of the Spanish language. He spoke slowly and we were able to understand most of what he said. We learned that the reason he was going to Coyhaique today was to celebrate his Mom’s birthday. It was also my birthday today so it was neat to have that in common! He dropped us off at the NOLS driveway and we headed to our room for the night

As we grazed out the window, one could tell that the seasons are changing here.

March 20

For once there is not a lot of activity today. I made some bread, did some reading, played cribbage , took advantage of the internet to catch up on what is going on and repacked again for our travels to the town of Chillan where our friend Pilar lives.We are starting the journey to head back to the States.

The count down is on…….5 more days till we head back to the states

March 21

We had reserved an airport van ride this morning to take us to the airport. They were on time and off we went, waving good-by to our friends at the branch. It was nice to reconnect with such nice people. There were a lot of folks at the airport with quite long lines. we managed to find the correct one and then it was check in and relax. We saw John Hauf at the airport, he was dropping off some clients. We got to say good-by again and thank him for sharing his way of life with us. We are going to fly to the city of Concepcion and meet Pilar, a friend who worked with us in the 90’s in Alaska. We get a text that she is waiting outside. It is about a 90 minute drive to her house. Her family is patiently waiting for our arrival. Pilar’s husband is called Gonzalo. She has two daughters Rosario and Magdalena and one son called Nicolas. They have picked up some delicious sushi and are ready to eat. After eating, we are ready to head to bed as it has been a long day and our brains from trying to speak and understand Spanish is tired.

March 22-24

For the next three days, we get to hang out with Pilar and she shares her life on the ranch. One of her passions are horses. She has given lessons, but mostly likes to hang out with them and ride them

Pilar and her husband own a blueberry patch. In a normal year these berries would have been picked and sold to the US markets. This year with covid and problems with shipping the berries are going to rot on the plants. Sorry to hear that information, but we have no problem with eating them and turning them into blueberry crisp.

So good!

The crisp was a success and enjoyed by all.

For dinner we had tamales prepared by a local cook.

It included fruit from the garden.

The garden was quite productive and we made apple sauce and fresh tomato spaghetti sauce.

Pilar took us to the big market. With patience and time one could almost find anything for sale. She showed us the school that her kids attend.There are no buses so she is a chauffeur for some of the day.

We had to find a service that would provide us a PCR test in order to leave tomorrow. We checked with some local clinics, but they couldn’t assure us results in 24 hours that we would need.After a couple more calls Pilar found a business that had a van that would come to her house and administer the test and guarantee the results in the time frame that we needed.

Pilar’s house.

Pilar and Gonzalo’s house.

Last night we received the results of our PCR test and they were negative so today we are on the journey to head back to the states. Our travels begin at the Concepcion airport. All our paperwork is in order and our flight on time. Next stop Santiago, after a couple hours of waiting here we board the flight to Dalles and eventually San Diego. The flights add up and we are pretty tired by the time we get to the last airport. Ryan and Beth are gone for the weekend so we will need to get a Uber to head to their house. Normally one just calls one up and heads to the Uber waiting line. There is a lot of construction going on at the airport and with it is a lot of confusion. There are a lot of people waiting to get rides. We join the crowds of people and 30 minutes later our ride appears. Our trip of visiting Antartica, Argentina and Chile has come to an end. It definitely was a trip of a life time.