In one of the more remote parts of Chile, you need to be patient, especially if you don’t have a car. Like many other tourists I had to make my way North from the Southernmost tip of the carretera Austral. From Villa O’Higgins I decided to visit Caleta Tortel. The buses only go a few times a week and are pretty small, so I’m glad I got a ticket. It was very cheap, so I was surprised to see a whole line of hitchhikers along the road. Good luck to them. It didn’t look like there was a lot of traffic. My bus was the kind that optimizes space. Seats unfolded so people could sit in the isle. Backpacks and other luggage were loaded through the window to fill up the back seats. The actually ride was incredibly scenic. I drove through the landscape that I’d sort of seen from the hikes in the past days. We drove until the ferry crossing to Caleta Yungay. There seemed to be a traffic jam, but it was the long line of cars that was waiting to get across. Our bus just passed them all and got on the small ferry along with the lucky cars at the front of the queue. Just over an hour later I arrived at another end of the road.
Caleta Tortel is a quite a special town, because there are barely any streets. When you arrive by bus, you end up on a sort of big roundabout with parking spaces. Then there is a gigantic staircase that leads you to a system of boardwalks along the water’s edge. The houses are built on the hillsides, often with stairs leading up from the boardwalks. My hospedaje was towards the end of town. I’d debated camping, but boy was I glad I hadn’t done that. There was so much rain when I was in Tortel! I’d booked a private room in a really cute place. There was a shared living room and a beautiful view. In my room I found two beds covered with a gigantic pile of blankets and some hooks on the wall. But the place was somewhat odd.
There was a kitchen, but the guests were not allowed to use it. Later I found out they’d made an exception for only one of the guests. Luckily our breakfast was included. The table was set with all the necessary things, including some thermoses with hot water and two little bread rolls per person. Our host didn’t show her face until after breakfast. In the meantime we’d run out of hot water. I’d looked for her to see if she could provide us with some more, but couldn’t find her. The German family that was also staying there had gas cookers and thus started preparing water for everyone. At 9.45am the host showed up and I asked her for some more hot water. She reacted with “oh no, breakfast is over. It’s only until 9.30am”. After a lot of hassle she agreed to make some more, as long as we were done by 10am. But it wasn’t the only thing. At night the living room was heated by a fire. It was lovely. However, later in the evening it started to cool down and one of the guests asked if we could put some more wood on. The answer was a stern no. We’d used our ration of wood. And it was freezing in the rest of the house. There was a strange fictitious hospitality. The lady said we could ask her for anything we needed, but if we did, everything was difficult. In the evening I’d taken a cold shower, because I couldn’t find her and the hot water was turned off. She hadn’t shown me at check in how to turn it on and only offered instructions the next morning. Apparently it was strange to have a shower in the evening. This homey-looking place left an unwelcome impression.
But well, what about Tortel?
The town has one hike that goes around the back of the town, over a hill. Just when I entered the starting point, someone came off the trail. He sighed: “ooooh it’s so wet!”. I smiled. I should have cried. I had no idea how right he was! The route was indicated with poles and at times it was hard to see where you were supposed to walk. It was a swamp with footsteps and broken plants everywhere. Because there was no walkway, everyone just tried to keep their feet as dry as possible. I think it was ruining the nature and I felt bad being there. It took ages trying to find the driest way to the next pole. At times my foot sank ankle deep into the mud. Since it was only a short walk, I hadn’t brought my hiking poles. I should have! When I reached the top, the sun came out for a moment and revealed a beautiful view of the surrounding water and fiords, sparkling underneath the clouds. There was a little hut where you could sit or picnic.
I was soaking wet and it would still rain more, so I didn’t enjoy it as much as I hoped. I just wanted to find my way down safely, and that turned out to be a challenge! The trail went down on the other side of the hill. They’d put long wooden planks with perpendicular lats on the ground. They were in various states of disrepair. But even the good ones were terribly slippery! I slipped and landed on my hip. Covered in mud I stood up and decided to plow on, walking through the mud, rather than over the wood. Lower down I found the walkway to the tiny airport and, in the other direction, back to town. I passed a cute and new-looking school. I heard the kids in the sports hall before I arrived. Further down I got back to the stairs where I’d arrived earlier.
The town’s main attraction is its looks, but you’ve quickly walked the main boardwalks. I decided not to take the boat trips that are offered because of the bad weather and just wandered up and down stairs, to the outdoor gym equipment and the beach, and passed the information panels. Originally it was a logging town and many of the cypresses are used for the walkways and houses. It’s what gives the town its charm. When founded, there were no roads here, but now it’s connected to both Villa O’Higgins and Cochrane. The town pretty much runs on tourism now and is a popular day trip from Cochrane. Others may arrive on the ferry from Puerto Natales.
Continuing my walk, I found a really nice food truck style café that had delicious cinnamon roles. On a nice day you could sit at their terrace and enjoy the view. There are a few little shops and supermarkets. It’s likely you’ll have to visit a few different ones to get a meal together. When I went to the bakery, I found out they have on offer whatever just came out of the oven. I bought a few more of the tiny rolls we’d had for breakfast. If you wanted something else, you had to come back later, when the cookie batch was done for instance. Honestly, it was pretty quiet in town and because the weather wasn’t great, the time passed very slowly. A few friendly locals in the shops were happy to exchange a few words. Their time didn’t seem to pass any quicker. Thank goodness they had some covered plazas with benches, so I took a seat at a viewpoint and waited until my bus to Cochrane arrived. I’m glad I visited, but I was also glad to leave Tortel behind.
