Chiloé, Chile

After getting in a bit of a tizz about how we were going to travel Chile we finally made a decision. The ferry options were both too expensive and as we've managed to travel completely overland throughout South America so far we didn't want to fly to our next destination. We decided on a 30 hour coach ride to Puerto Montt from Punta Arenas, unfortunately we'd be skipping the Carratera Austral completely as the coach travels up through Argentina. 

Thirty hours on a coach sounds hellish but as we've done several very long overnight journeys it wasn't anything we're not used to now. If you are planning to travel South America on a budget then be prepared for mammoth lengths of time on buses, and download lots of podcasts to listen to. 

Magazines at the Hostel in Ancud

Cute Sign at 13 Lunas House in Ancud

We arrived in a very hot Puerto Montt laden with bags and no place to stay. The city was a little rough around the edges, it's primarily a stopover for travellers as there aren't too many sights to see. Wandering around in heat we haven't felt in weeks with our rucksacks was a struggle but we managed to find a cheap place to stay on the main street. Once in the room I noticed stains on the sheets, a dank smell and how shabby the walls and furniture were. We logged onto the wifi and I had recieved a message from my mum, her uncle had passed away. I immediately began to well up, it's so hard being away from home in times like these, all I wanted was to be home and give my mum a hug. 

The next day we caught a bus to Ancud on Isla Grande de Chiloé, thankfully it was a quick couple of hours away. The hostel was just across the road from the station, we checked in and it was a dream. Beautiful wooden floorboards, a clean and equipped kitchen with free tea and coffee and fresh fruit. Upstairs featured a terrace overlooking the water and a comfy lounge area. Our bunk beds were huge and wonderfully comfy, we'd gone from one accomodation extreme to the other. After chatting with the guy on reception about buying local and supporting small we went shopping and bought everything we needed from the little independent stores in town. We popped into Retro Cafe for a late lunch and were served massive portions, a 'man vs food' style vegetarian burrito for me and potato wedges and toppings for Craig. Chiloé is famous for its wooden churches and so we visited a museum inside a church. In the evening we watched the sunset from the terrace. 

Local House on Chiloé 

Chilean Garden

Now, I don't want to go on about it but the breakfast in the hostel was amazing and we were telling people about it for days. When you're backpacking on a budget all that really matters is a clean and comfy place to stay, good wifi for keeping in touch and a delicious breakfast. It really is the simplest of things that make us happy. We spent the day wandering around Ancud, visiting the fort and local beach before retiring to the hostel terrace for an evening chatting with other travellers. 

Church of San Francisco in Castro

Blue Skies and Pink Flowers

Unfortuately we couldn't justify another night at the wonderful hostel so we moved on to Castro a town further down the island. We checked in and went out in search of the famous palafitos which are the houses on stilts over the waters edge. We waited till high tide and then did a little boat trip to take a few photographs.   

Palafitos

All the Colour

The next day we donned shorts and t-shirts for a first time in a long while and set off for Chiloé's national park. We went for a walk along the boardwalks and enjoyed a leisurely pace, the sun was shining and it felt very peaceful. 

Chiloé National Park

Walking at Leisure

We decided to visit one of the smaller islands and so the following day we caught a local bus to Achao where we wandered along the sea front and saw one of the oldest wooden churches. We got chatting to a Canadian couple on a year long adventure in the evening. Gordon and Ginette gave us some helpful tips on places we should see in the north. In the morning before we left Craig and Gordon woke just before sunrise to capture photographs of the harbour and palafitos. I enjoyed the extra hours of sleep. 

Sunrise by the Water

Sunrise and Boats

 Next stop: Chile's Lake District. 

🎥 Chile - Up's and Down's: 

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Torres del Paine, Chile

Torres del Paine; one of the worlds most beautiful national parks and a place Chilean's are extremely proud of, and quite rightly so. The park is a Unesco Biosphere Reserve, home to soaring peaks, shimmering blue lakes, enchanting forests and herds of guanaco. 

We travelled from Ushuaia in the early morning and arrived at Puerto Natalas by nightfall. We were officially starting our Chilean adventure after many weeks in Argentina which felt very exciting, a whole new country to explore. Our accomodation in Puerto Natales was a little different, we checked in to Domos House which comprises of several PVC covered domes with bunk beds inside. It reminded me of the tents in Harry Potter, these were not quite so magical as I had to wear several layers and thermal socks to bed. 

After a chat with the owner of Domos who has travelled Chile extensively we found ourselves in a predicament; how were we going to travel Chile and where next after Puerto Natales? He rattled off what felt like a million ideas, all seemed a little difficult or involved a lot of expense. Our options included the 4 day Navimag ferry through the fjords for USD$550 each or a cheaper 2 day ferry and then hitchhiking. Hostels would be few and far between so we'd probably need a tent too. As we thought through each option our headaches became bigger and the costs seemed to be spiralling. We hadn't quite realised how difficult the south of Chile would be to travel, there are pros and cons to winging it round a continent, this is one of the cons. We mulled over our choices and looked forward to our tour of Torres del Paine for the following day. 

The bed was so warm and cosy but the dome was not. I struggled to get up as the cold was biting but our tour awaited. The minibus picked us up and we made our way towards the park. The first stop was at a cave where milodon (huge land dwelling creature related to sloth) skeletons have been found. As the entry cost was extra we decided to instead photograph the mountains and go for a short walk while we waited. 

The second stop was at a shop/cafe selling the usual merchandise, I enjoyed flipping through photography magazines next to the roaring wood burner, warmth has been feeling a little like a luxury lately.   

Wood Store

Azure Lake

Finally we arrived at the park and paid the hefty entrance fee of $21,000 CLP each which equates to around £25.00. Luckily the ticket can be used over three days. Each viewpoint inside the park was truly breathtaking, azure lakes, herds of guanacos milling around and mountain back drops. We saw rainbow embellished waterfalls, turbulent rivers and crossed rickety bridges to see ice berg topped lakes. 

At the Waterfall

River View

For lunch we ate our picnic with a lake view, the sun was shining and was warm enough that I could remove my coat. We had to be careful not to let the resident and not shy at all armadillos get at our food. 

We'd experienced all four seasons while in the park; gusts of wind that nearly knocked me off my feet, warm sunshine and heavy rain. 

Lonely Tree

Walking to the Clouds

The next day we decided to see more of the park and attempt to get up close to the famous towers, the element that the park is named after. We donned our walking boots and layers and caught a transfer to the rangers office. As we bought our tickets the day before we skipped the queue and watched a short compulsory video about the park including do's and dont's. A huge portion of the park was destroyed by fire in 2011 caused by a tourist and so measures have been to taken to ensure this doesn't happen again. 

The Route  

Working Horses

We started the walk, it was a lovely clear day though quite brisk. A few minutes in we were headed uphill, it's nothing we're not used to but it's still a challenge each time. As we rose higher the views got better, the colourful landscape contrasted with the cloudy sky. We walked along a ridge with a steep drop and eventually reached a refuge where a helicopter was dropping off supplies a few metres from where we were stood. Onwards we went through forests and winding tracks, leaping over puddles and balancing on logs to avoid the boggy mud. As we walked snow started to fall, once enough accumulated on the branches above a load would fall narrowly missing our heads. 

Woodland Walking  

Snow Dusted Trees

Eventually we reached an opening and were blinded by the snow, the trail carried on to the most difficult section. We walked up and up, raising our legs high to gain purchase on the improvised rocky steps. Branches became helpful handrails although I needed a hand from Craig to negotiate some of the steps. The trees thinned out and the path was a mess of dirt and compacted ice. I have trouble keeping my balance on ordinary roads and so the ice and snow made things especially difficult for me. I was making progress though at a snails pace, helpful passers by lent me their hands so I could walk without slipping. I was beginning to lose patience, the walk felt never ending and I was feeling fatigued at the constant fear of losing my balance and falling. 

The Towers

Blanket Snow

At last, the towers were in sight! Shrouded by cloud but still visable enough to admire. A couple close by were looking overjoyed, after asking Craig to take their photo they announced that they'd that minute got engaged and she showed off her ring. We tucked into our cheese and avocado sandwiches perched on a snowy rock before negotiating the walk down. With more confidence and with gravity on our side my pace was much quicker, we walked back barely stopping to ensure we made the last transfer. It was a tough walk, but one that will remain in my memory. As is tradition we had hot chocolates at the end of the walk and once back to Puerto Natales we treated ourselves to dinner out, such a rarity on our budget but well deserved. 

The Towers and Us!

Next stop: The Island of Chiloé.

🎥 Chile - Up's and Down's:

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Ushuaia, Argentina

We got back to El Calafate and checked in to our cosy hostel. Our coach to Ushuaia wasn't for a couple of days so we spent some time in the hostel working out our travel finances, I relished having some time to do some drawing.

The journey to Ushuaia was a tricky one. Our coach was leaving at 3AM, we managed to stay in the hostel till pretty late before being kicked out at about midnight. We sleepily walked down the hill to the coach station and waited to board. We had a four hour trip to Rio Gallegos then a two hour wait. More hours on the coach followed then a border crossing, a ferry, another border crossing and more hours on the coach until we finally reached the so called 'end of the world' Ushuaia after sunset. 

Ushuaia  

Shipwrecked

On our first day in the town we went for a wander and took some photographs of the snowcapped mountains that sit behind the town. The mountains, colourful houses and boats really reminded me of Reykjavik in Iceland. After lunch we made our way to a nearby glacier for a walk. It was a sunny day but the wind and cold temperatures meant that coats were definitely required. I found the walk to be really quite tough, a combination of factors meant that I had no belief in myself and urged Craig to carry on without me. After a few tears and some encouragement I began to walk again and step by step made progress up the steep trail. Just as we reached the end point of the walk, high on a ridge the weather closed in and it started to snow. We had an obscured view of the glacier and Ushuaia thanks to the blizzard conditions but it certainly made for an interesting sight. After taking a few snaps we headed back down and couldn't believe how deep the snow had got in such a short space of time. Luckily we wear heavy duty waterproof walking boots and we had lots of layers on so we felt fairly prepared for the weather. The snow dusted the trees and made for a magical landscape, I'd have liked to have stayed longer admiring the frosted surroundings but the snow was really whipping at our faces and piling on our rucksacks. 

At the Glacier

White Out

We got to the bottom and dusted ourselves off, we treated ourselves to a much deserved hot chocolate at the refuge while our things dried off. 

The following day we decided to do a walk to Laguna Esmeralda as we got up a little too late to do Tierra del Fuego as we had planned. We took a jeep to the start of the walk with four other backpackers, all hailing from Israel. We arrived at the start of the walk. The snow was thick, our driver decided to do doughnuts just as he was about to drop us off, skidding around on the ice was exhilarating to say the least! We all decided to walk together and it was so much fun, it was only the second time that the girls from Israel had seen snow so they were extremely excited which was contagious. We walked through the snowy forest being careful not to slip and made it to an open bit of ground. Everything was white and most of the snow was untouched, just a path of footprints revealed the trail. We made it to the lake after a couple of hours walking in the cold, after a very quick lunch perched on a branch we hastily walked back as the cold was starting to chill us to our bones. Conversation flowed, we discussed film and our futures, the compulsory military service that all Israeli's must complete and agreed on hot chocolates at the end of the walk. 

Snow Day

Laguna Esmeralda  

At the refuge we played with husky puppies and drank the sweetest and thickest hot chocolates before our driver collected us. 

November 11th; Parque National Tierra del Fuego. I'd been looking forward to walking in this famous national park for a long time. We woke early and caught a bus to the park, after paying the park fee we started our walk. It was a drizzly day but it soon brightened up as we got going. We walked along the waters edge, through forest and with Beagle Channel and mountain views. The colours in the landscape reminded me of an autumnal day in my home county of Hampshire, oranges and browns. 

Beagle Channel

Pebble Beach

For lunch we sat on a branch and ate our sandwiches, it was so quiet beneath the trees. The trail meandered on to a pebble beach and then steeply up through the trees again, I felt a surge of pride as I was able to keep going up the steep track. On so many occasions on this trip I've felt inadequate, too unfit and not prepared enough. For the first time in a long time I felt like I could do this and I did, I walked through the ache in my legs and through the breathlessness and reached the finish point. 

Mirror Lakes

Tierra del Fuego

Next stop: Puerto Natales and Torres del Paine National Park.

🎥 Argentina - Patagonia video:

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