In the last post, we started our Patagonia Expedition in Bariloche with our first hikes to the Tronador and Refugio Frey. Now, we continue in Chile with a hitchhiking adventure along the,km long Carretera Austral, a mostly unpaved road which connects the most remote areas of the country. In this post, we explore the fjord region, take some bumpy rides, and hike through the Queulat National Park near Puyuhuapi. We’re on a boat! Covering the first part of the Carretera Austral adventure. In the next part, we’re going to hitchhike down to the most remote part of South America. First stop is Chaiten. To get from the start of the road in Puerto Montt to Chaiten, you have to make long ferry crossings through the fjords of Patagonia and its temperate rainforest.
Chaiten Puyuhuapi Queulat NP Carretera Austral in Chile Patagonia Photo Gallery
These are particularly impressive at the Pumalin park, which is situated between Hornopiren and Chaiten. It is one of the first conservation projects by the American Douglas Thompkins, founder of The North Face, who bought large areas of land in this region to put them under protection. So, we made our way to Chiaten, which was destroyed by a volcano. when? years ago. years ago. So in May, the Chaiten volcano, which is over there in the backyou can’t see it because of the clouds. This volcano erupted after years of inactivity. And it basically destroyed the city by a big flood. The ash came down, it dammed the river, which we are walking next to right now, and then made the river overflow. But the whole city was evacuated before, so nobody was killed. But, the whole city was destroyed. And now, years after, it comes back to life. We have a lot of construction areas here around. They built new streets. And it seems a lot of inhabitants came back to live again in their old city. We’re packing our bags and we’re heading out for the first day of hitchhiking. Yay! Yay! So it begins. The first stretch hitchhiking the Carretera Austral. Look at us. We look like turtles. We did the first stretch on the Carretera Austral hitchhiking. It was Christian who took us from Chaiten to Villa Santa Lucia. How was the ride, Kristin? Bumpy. It was really bumpy because the asphalt road turned into a gravel road. And this is what is waiting for us for most of the Carretera Austral. So, we still had about an hour’s drive left to go on the day. And unfortunately, we’re stuck for about hours trying to get a ride. There was a lot of competition.
There were a lot of people waiting there also trying to get a ride. But as everyone else gave up, we stuck around and just as we were thinking we were going to quit, we were able to get a ride. After hours of waiting, we made it to La Junta. And now we try to find a hosteria if. ah, there is one. Good morning from La Junta. This is our starting point for today, and we want to go to Puyuhuapi, which is just one or two hours from here. So, there are just two guys in front of us. This might be a good day. We’re waiting here in the rain for about hours in La Junta. There aren’t many cars. Apart from all these hitchhikers, there are a few people who are more crazy than us, and these are the people who are on a bike. Woo! Yeah! Push it! Push it! And it is still raining. But, we switched our hitchhiking spot. And as you see, there are no cars. So, we need to play the waiting game. Alright people, we are now in the back of a truck on the way from La Junta to Puyuhuapi. On the back of a truck. We made it to Puyuhuapi. And tomorrow, we’re going to visit The glacier Queulat. Good morning, people. Sergio is the guy over there. He took us to the Queulat National Park where he’s the park ranger. And now, we’re going to see the glacier. We’re going to hike up. The Queulat National Park contains,km of glacier capped mountains and virgin evergreen forests. An early hike up to the viewpoint is the best way to see the park’s centerpiece. We made it to the top! And this behind me is the Glacier Queulat. So, what does the chef recommend today? Palta sandwich. Sandwich with palta, tomate, a little bit of chicken breast, and a big portion of mayonnaise. And now we do it like we always do itwe try to get back by hitchhiking km. What shouldn’t be missed? Good food. And so, we treat ourselves today with some fish from the region and steak from the region. And of course, wine from the region. And in the next post, we will hitchhike out of Puyuhuapi down south to Villa Cerro Castillo, where we hike up to one of the most iconic mountain ranges of the region and continue to Puerto Rio Tranquillo afterwards. So, stay tuned. Check out the related travel guide linked below this post, and don’t forget to comment to this blog for new travel posts every Thursday.
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