Chile and recollections 8 years later

END OF KUMUKA TRIP

It was sad to leave the Trip as a great bunch of folk of varying ages and nationalities. Backgrounds varied from having worked on preserving Scotts´hut in Antarctica, offshore oil platforms, teachers, masseur and engineering with musical talent too. It was time to try something new of duo independent travel.

SANTIAGO

We spent 4 or so days staying at the good and friendly Aconcagua Hostel.  The private room with a bathroom was next to a small courtyard and a simple breakfast for 23 US dollars.  The city centre was clean, very efficient metro system, nice bohemian pavement cafes, well policed with a good humoured street demo because of football but one never knew if it could become violent as election day was imminent so the police and soldiers were out in force.   The presidential palace was bombed by one president or want-to-be candidate whilst the real one was inside. Some of the fountains were spectacular with spouts varying in volume and height and lit up at night in different colours.  I recall a lovely botanical garden laid out on a massive rock outcrop with posh houses at the foot where city folk go jogging, picnicking etc. It had a very nice, well to do air and like many places a world away from the poorer ends of towns. We met up with some KUMUKA folk for evening meals or a bar drink in one of the centre plazas which were bustling at 9pm and so balmy to sit outside and watch the world go by.

We ambled around the UNESCO port town of Valparaiso and Vina Del Mar about 2 hours away by bus trip.  Some of the buildings were higgledy piggledy on hillsides, large, rambling and ocasionally semi derelict or smartly decorated in bright pastel colours with crestellated towers and dormers whizzing out of every cornice. Had a walk around and took one of the cable cars down the hill to jump aboard a modern, clean, quick metro train along the coast to Vina Del Mar, stopping at a small beach to dip the toes in the Pacific and have a good seafood lunch.

SEVEN CUPS

A lovely Oz lass working in the hostel recommended we visit the 7 Cups in the Andes foothills, about 3 hours south of Santiago.  We took the train to Curico which was efficient with compulsory seat allocation, at seat buffet service and very clean with a man mopping the aisles every couple of hours. I recall the attendant coming to our seats to inform us of our arrival station. Immediately outside was the bus station for Molina with buses going every 10 minutes.

At Molina we sat in a lovely tree plaza and ate icecream whilst waiting for the 1 bus a day at 5pm to the hamlet of Radal in a National Park. This was a very rickety minibus with broken seats and springs sticking into the bottom. I recall feeling sad watching at the bus station a thin, coughing black dog with eyes and nose covered in mucus and everyone oblivious. I gave it a bread bun as a token gesture.

We found a small, basic camp site with a cranky toilet and basin next to the river.  The area was very quiet in the early part of the full season.  The place was run by a great bloke with a lovely horse tied up under a tree with friendly dogs, chickens and chicks ambling about.  I well recall this serene spot and foothill scenery. The next day we walked for 4 hours up and down about 1000m altitude along tracks by a river which Dave was adamant led to the 7 Cups. I suggested following the road-track where there was a signboard. My spanish is insufficient to cope with fast Chilean spanish where ends of words are often chopped off, so we eventually realised we were going utterly the wrong way and headed back. This diversion provided good views of the higher Andes with snow, forested hills and crystal clear fast flowing rivers. The correct route was along the road! and as it was 7km away we were lucky to get lifts both ways. The 7 Cups were magnificent, large hollowed out bowls in a river bed, full of blue green water cascading down a forested gorge.

Back at the tent site we packed up and had a cold shower before getting the one bus a day back to Molina to arrive about 8pm. I asked a passer by for accommodation and was directed to a non Guide Book Hosteleria which proved satisfactory as a room with cable TV for 16000 pesos for 2 of us.  Due to the Election weekend one could not buy alcohol and restaurants were closed, so we ended up in a tiny cafe only used by locals with a lovely waitress but limited menu so supper was a cheese sandwich and tea.

PUCON AND NORTHERN LAKE DISTRICT

The next day, we took the train again 2.5 hours further south to Chillan. The line goes on but seems the service was limited either due to not being maintained or disruption due to on-going political strife between the National Government and native Mapuche peoples from the south who felt strongly disenfranchised as some of the poorest in the country.  Again, a short walk to the bus station and 5 mins later on board a double decker modern, comfortable bus for 6 hours to Pucon.  The countryside became greener as we entered the Lake District with numerous lakes, forested hills and snow capped mountains -volcanoes.  I recall the fabulous large scale scenery and ambience.

We camped for 4 days at a nice site near a lake shore.  By chance on the 1st night we met with 6 from the KUMUKA trip so had a good evening meal and chats. The lazier days were spent sauntering around a posh, touristy small town with great cafes, lake shore beaches where we took out a rowing boat in sunshine and blue skies. We asked about the numerous tours available to climb volcanoes, fly fishing or canoeing. I decided to have a solo trip by a 20 min local bus journey to a privately owned nature reserve, Reserva Forestal Cani where for 16000 pesos (20 quid) I had a superb guide for a 6 hour -10 mile hike in sunshine and blue skies up to the view point at 1550m through managed forestry and pasture to the stunningly beautiful, ancient forest with massive coigue, lenga and araucaria trees and 17 small lakes.

We chatted mainly in english about the forest, logging, almost the disappearance of 1 endemic fox species because of habitat loss and isolation, Chilean national park system and lack of ecologists or interest in their ecosytems and the Mapuche peoples and their spiritual association with the lakes, trees etc.  I also practised my spanish and recall a fantastic panorama of 4 volcanoes, forest and lakes from the Mirador with some snow left in patches and lovely sociable day with the leg muscles worked too! A snapshot of vivid memory. Some talk of no spring that year because of El Nino?

We hired push bikes for 1-2 days for a hardish pedal on a dirt back road to near Lake Caburga and back the 19km in rain and a headwind!  Saw some more gouged river pools or saltos below waterfalls, called Ojos or Eyes, and watched a canoeist drop over a 5-6m fall and made it look so easy!  The ride justified the large cake portions of raspberry and dark chocolate cake. This was followed after a hot shower by a good mixed salad for 4500 pesos and a big bowl of simply cooked mushrooms and prawns. The food was good! We had another excellent meal at a lake shore restuarant with happy chatty Chileans, good views over the water of the sunset and a few boats.

SOUTHERN LAKE DISTRICT

We took a series of buses south via Villicarra, Licon Rey and Panguipulli with a spectacular 2 hour trip along a partly paved road where road building was underway with dynamiting of the steep cliff faces to the village of Choshenquo.  Not much was open and only a few tourists were passing through and we were lucky to find by chance a comfortable hotel on the lake shore with fabulous views. 25000 pesos for the room. All locals on the buses and packed to the gunnels with a nun talking to me earnestly in spanish holding my hand which I could only briefly understand!

I sat by the lake, read, drank beer in the warm evening sunset, had a go in a rowing boat and took the bus further east to a beautiful lake trip for the one a day vehicle and passenger ferry from Puerto Fey to Puerto Pirehueico.  Both places were sleepy with not a lot happening just out of season but gorgeous scenery with vertical, folded and faulted rock faces, forested and snowy volcanoes.  One trip had 4 cars with 2 sheep tied to the railing. The cost was 800 pesos for 1.5 hour ferry trip and 700 pesos for 22km on the bus.

MORE LAKES!

Another bus journey for 7 hours and 300km further south to Puerto Vjaras on Lake Llanquihue about 30 mins from the gloomy and dirty port of Puerto Montt.  We spent 3 days there hanging around the lake shore and town, in cafes, internet and Dave hired a car for a day to go around the 2nd largest lake in Chile and 3rd largest natural lake in S America.  We left the car headlights on at Frutillar Bajo a posh, clinical feeling German town where a kind man helped us to get a lift to a garage for jump leads etc.  Had an hour wandering around an interesting re-constructed german settler village from 1850´s of water mill and grand house etc in lovely gardens with photos showing steamboats on the Lake and woodland clearance and building by the settlers.  Great cakes and coffee in cafes –despite my reservations about the big trolls outside!

The return journey was by an unpaved road through spectacular volcanic scrub landscape of Perez Rosale National Park.  The weather was changing by becoming cooler with grey skies and drizzle but there was still some sunshine and blue skies for the amazing scenic views of  3-4 snow capped volcanoes such as Osorno at 2680m.

PATAGONIAN FJORDS

On Christmas Day we joined the Navimag cargo and passenger ferry south to Puerto Natales.  It was expensive at 480 US dollars for a tiny 4 berth cabin and indifferent food of greasy chickeny, noodly, eggy soup, very greasy meat and sloppy packet mash but an iconic journey through the myriad of channels 20m to 280m deep along this western coast with 12 hours in open sea.  This part can be rough and the ship started pitching into a lumpy sea with some rolling. I was sick but only after I ate the greasy food!

Good, fun, chatty, friendly bunch of passengers, almost all backpackers older and young from all corners of the World.  The weather was quick to change from low grey cloud and cold rain to bouts of warm sunshine and blue skies where the colours stood out vividly.  The ship took a detour up a sea loch to show us a sea glacier and a rainbow appeared through the rain, followed by some sun – but cold!

At Puerto Natales we found a basic but friendly Hosteleria for 6000 pesos for a room with cable TV and private bathroom with a fab HOT shower! My italics obviously resonated with the delight of hot water although don’t recall this speciality!   The town is situated on the evocative sounding Last Hope Sound which was settled from 1892 mainly by sheep farmers, forming the landscape of estancias and grazing grasslands.  There were some beautiful black necked swans feeding and gliding in the Bay against a backdrop of snowy mountains.

TORRES DEL PAINE NATIONAL PARK

Dave suggested a route around part of the Park and we spent 4 complete days on the famous W Walk and a potter for me on another short path to watch 16 circling condors on very strong winds with the short Patagonian steppe herb rich grasslands flowing in a myriad of colours – reds, greens, purples, yellows and whites.  There was a herd of guanacos with skittish young and I think it was males that were barking and chasing others.

The W Walk is VERY popular so like being in Beatrix Potter shopping centre land which got to me as silence to appreciate the tranquility and scenery was often in short supply!  I recall it was busy, passing folk every few minutes on the path and I did question my presence contributing to loss of silence as well as environmental impact. We took the expensive Catamaran across Lake Pehoe for 11000 pesos for 30 min ride to Paine Grande Refugio and camp site. After putting up the tent and dumping most of our kit, we headed out for a 5-6 hour walk along Lake Grey to see the Glacier and general scenery of birch type forest, grassland, semi bare scree slopes and the snow capped towering mountains.  Saw recent evidence of snow and or rock avalanches where swathes of trees had been taken out to leave piles of bleached dead trunks or the tops had been chopped off  from snow mass.  Also areas of bare rock with sharp edges to the tree line showing glacier retreat.

On the 2nd day we went east on the W walk for 2 hours along Lake Skottsberg to the Italian Camp to leave our packs at the Guard House.  Made the 2- 3 hour walk much easier up the Valle Del Frances over a boulder field and through lovely forest to a Mirador rock viewpoint looking over Cerro Paine Grande.  Saw 2 snow avalanches after hearing loud rumbling on several occasions.  Picked up our packs for a 2 hour hike along Lake Nordenskjold to Los Cuernos Refugio and camp site for a pasta meal over the camping stove.

The 3rd day we hiked 3 hours or so, sometimes in silence with no other people – wow! along the Lake to Camp Chile. This was a crowded camp site under trees with lots of insects but a nice Refugio and splashed out 20000 pesos for a fabulous buffet type New Year Meal with a pig smoked over an open fire for 5 hours!  Chatted to a young Argentinian bloke who is training to be an architect.

4th day without packs, spent about 7 hours walking up the Valle Ascencio to climb steeply for 40 min to the Mirador and view the famous 3 Torres.  Lucky with the weather again as just a bit of spitting but fairly high cloud so a goodish view of the Towers–and a condor circling too! We carried on up the valley next to the river through lovely quiet forest and bird activity to the Japanese climbers camp.  Climbed very steeply up a dry river bed past the tree line on to moraine and bare rock slopes into the Valle Del Silencio to view other snowy, vertical-ish rock pinnacles. Back down to the Chilean Camp and 1.5 hour hike down to Las Torres Camp site which was well set out set out between trees grazed by horses with picnic tables and open fire places, but proper rain had set in!  We made a makeshift shelter from a space blanket, tent guy ropes and camp meal of pasta again and visited the posh Refuge to sit by a wood burning stove and dry out with a bottle of wine!  I recall being wet, cold and miserable but a lovely warm hotel – next time that’s where I will stay!