My “failed” escape to nature in Chiloé
Before heading out to Cucao, on the West coast of Chiloé, I had a spare day in Castro. I waited with my move because of the weather forecast. A girl in my hostel mentioned she had a car and wanted to go hiking. She confirmed in the morning, but when…
Culture across the water
I was on the last ferry of the season from Chaitén to Castro, a city on the island of Chiloé. I entered a different world. As the ferry approached the big island, there were many smaller islands we came past. There was so much life here! I saw towns everywhere.…
Pumalín national park
The Pumalín park is stretched out over about 80km of the carretera austral. Not the easiest park to visit without a car, especially since the low season has started. Luckily I have my tent and the weather forecast looked great, so I had the bus from Futaleufú drop me off…
El Limite, a new border experience
It seems like there isn’t one system for border crossings. Crossing the border for the 3rd time was very different from earlier crossings. I went from Futaleufú, about 10km from the border in Chile, to Esquel, about 64km further, in Argentina. It involved a short ride in the minibus, walking…
Holidays in Esquel
I had taken a side trip from the carretera austral to get to Futaleufú for rafting. The problem with this border region is that there are beautiful things on both the Chilean and Argentinian side. Planning a logical route seemed impossible to me, so I decided to take a holiday…
Los Alerces, but which one is it?
I’d come into Argentina to see the los Alerces national park. With the fires around El Bolsón, I’d decided to skip the Lago Puelo area and this was my chance of camping near the lakes and enjoying some nature. Of course there was now also a fire here, but it…
Queulat, just before it closes
“We haven’t really had much summer this year”, says my host in the hostal in Puyuhuapi when we compare the weather here with the Netherlands. “It’s been very rainy.” And of course it rains during my stay as well. But it suits the setting. I’m here to head into the…
Cerro Castillo
Doubts. They just keep coming back. No matter how many hikes I’ve done, problems I’ve solved and adventures I’ve lived, I always end up questionning if I’ve got what it takes. This time I’m feeling particularly vulnerable. I leave camp early and the thoughts start rolling in. Then I’m doing…
50 shades of blue in Río Tranquilo
There’s a lot of trekking on the Patagonian part of my trip. Currently I’m on the carretera austral, Chile’s southern highway, and it’s basically a string of national parks. But after many hikes, it was nice to make Puerto Río tranquilo my base for a few days of different activities.…
Patagonian challenges
Some days are tough. There’s not always a clear reason and often it’s more a feeling of being out of sorts. Of being in your head. Of not really being in the moment. And I had this the day I took all my things into the Chacabuco sector of Patagonia…