PHOTO ALBUM UPDATED: Click here for "Enter Patagonia" album.
We have entered Chilean Patagonia and it is.... What words can really illustrate it with any sort of accurate picture? Exotic, remote, vast, infinitely beautiful, wild, stunning, untamed... It's hard to encapsulate it - both in words and in photos. We are doing our level best to bring it home to you in our photos and videos, but it's so hard to do it real justice. We have been able to experience mountains, fjords, glaciers, forests and steppes in just 3 weeks from our last post. Incredible!
Our road of travel is now the Carretera Austral (Southern Highway - though "highway" is a relative term). Most of the trip involves gravel, winding curves and unpredictable weather, and the rewards of the challenges are enormous. It’s no exaggeration to say that each mile (kilometer) offers picture-perfect vistas. The highway stretches a total of 200 kilometers from Puerto Montt to Villa O’Higgins. We will reach as far South as Cochrane, which is just North of Villa O'Higgins.
The 3 hour ferry ride from Hornopirén to Caleta Gonzales and Pumalín Park was a pivotal moment. We FELT the change and the true entrance into what we think of as Patagonia. The snow-capped Andes towering above us, jutting into the sky with razor edges. Beautiful, but wet and ankle-deep muddy rainforest hikes greeted us, and we learned how you build a trail through the messy bamboo that intertwines itself through the floor of the rainforest! As a local put it, "the messy bamboo is everywhere! So thick, not even a cow can get through it!" Now we know the standard by which to judge a hike or a way through...
Futaleufú has been one of our favorite places so far. It is a mecca for whitewater rafting and kayaking, and we had a blast hiking all over in the backcountry, stumbling upon the Argentinian border where they did not want Chilean cattle to cross (disgusting!).
After freezing cold hikes in the thick rain forest in torrential rain and snow, we stumbled upon a treasure of a place with hot springs by the lake! Heated clear through in a surprise patch of sunshine, we even got hot enough to dive into the icy lake to cool off - for a 1/2 second, then back into the hottest pool for a skin-electrifying shock! To add to our comfort, we endeavored to make paleo chocolate chip cookies in the van one rainy night, and think of our friends back home, with warm hearts and happy bellies!
We have had the incredible experience of viewing hanging glaciers and seeing them calve off and thunder to the ground below. They are known here as the Ventisquero Colgante, in Queulat National Park and another one at the end of the Enchanted Forest trail, up above an alpine lake.
From the glaciers we headed further South toward the more open steppes of the Coyhaique and Balmaceda area. The drive was paved (YAY!) for awhile and filled with purple, pink, and white lupine in the foreground of distant peaks, and we have started to see some quaint old bridges across the rivers. Once in Coyhaique, we had the pleasure of crossing paths once again with another one of our Santiago Level 1 participants! Fidel owns and gym and took us on a nice, long 14k run through the HILLS and back roads of this region. Beautiful, but oh, MY, our legs!
On to Buenos Aires from the remote airport of Balmaceda, we got a great view of the flatter grasslands where the wind TEARS across these steppes. It's just a taste of what is to come, as we transition from tranquility of the green mountains and rivers to the desolate and wild Southern regions of Patagonia, as the Andes tumble toward the end of the continent.
Thanks to our seminar team we worked with in Buenos Aires for a great Level 1! We had some tough workouts with Pablo and Myriam Cervigni at their gym, CrossFit EMOM, as well as with the seminar staff at CrossFit Jotun!
Van Catastrophe's
1. After returning from teaching CrossFit in Lima, we discovered our rear brakes were going out! What? We had these replaced a year ago! Apparently the mechanic forgot to finish the job and only gave us front brakes! We ended up delaying our trip by a week as we searched for brake pads on Chiloé island, to no avail, and ended up heading back to Puerto Montt. Faith in humanity was restored with all the assistance offered and given to us in the repair shops and volunteered labor when we were jacked up in a barren industrial lot. Within a few hours, we had new brakes, a smoothed rotor, and new friends and were on our way! On our way after a quick delivery, by Mike jumping the fence later that night, of beer and wine left on their doorstep, as thanks...
2. Fuel pump goes on the fritz for unknown reasons. We have 40 gallons of gas we can't access. The rain has been TORRENTIAL most days, making it nearly impossible to get out and look around and see why it won't work! Thank goodness we have a map of where there is no fuel, so we fill up the main tank frequently! Reasons for this snag remain mysterious.
3. Odd klunking noises from the back of the van are heard as we beat the heck out of ourselves on rough roads around Coihaique, searching for climbing routes. All we can see is that my bike has fallen off the rack and is laying against Mike's bike inside the bike storage cover. No problem, we right it back into the rack. Unfortunately we don't notice the portentous crack that was likely forming in the rack supports, where it connects to the back bumper. More on that to come...
4. On our way to the airport, abnormal vibrations underneath the van show us that a bracket has cracked that holds in one of the shocks! Sheesh! What next! We make it to the airport ok and park the van, to be dealt with when we return from teaching in Buenos Aires.
Upon our return, we decide to limp the van ever so carefully back North to Coyhaique to have the shock and bracket hopefully repaired. As we headed into the strong winds of the Patagonia steppes outside Balmaceda, that odd klunking has returned and is now turned into a sickening THUNK. In the rearview mirror we saw the bike rack and storage box peel off the back bumper and hang swaying in the wind, just above the pavement. Once again, we are parked on the side of the road, desperately trying to solve a problem as quickly as we can in inclement weather....
And once again, Chilean hospitality to the rescue. A new friend put us up in his home/hotel and hooked us up with his friend, a mechanic. Within a couple of hours, we had a repaired shock, welded in better than before, and he had even taken it upon himself to repair and re-weld our aluminum storage box back onto the bumper - beautifully repainted and all! Unbelievable! All for $100! Unfortunately, the bikes could not go back onto the rack and we had to make the hard decision to leave them in Chile with new homes. A sad day between me and my trusty, faithful friend who took me on many a good ride - my Turner.
Through all of this, the kudos all really go to Mike,
who is becoming quite a proficient mechanic. He was able to figure out
and fix the fuel pump at finish of this post! We would not be here if
it weren't for his McGuiver abilities!
Our road of travel is now the Carretera Austral (Southern Highway - though "highway" is a relative term). Most of the trip involves gravel, winding curves and unpredictable weather, and the rewards of the challenges are enormous. It’s no exaggeration to say that each mile (kilometer) offers picture-perfect vistas. The highway stretches a total of 200 kilometers from Puerto Montt to Villa O’Higgins. We will reach as far South as Cochrane, which is just North of Villa O'Higgins.
The 3 hour ferry ride from Hornopirén to Caleta Gonzales and Pumalín Park was a pivotal moment. We FELT the change and the true entrance into what we think of as Patagonia. The snow-capped Andes towering above us, jutting into the sky with razor edges. Beautiful, but wet and ankle-deep muddy rainforest hikes greeted us, and we learned how you build a trail through the messy bamboo that intertwines itself through the floor of the rainforest! As a local put it, "the messy bamboo is everywhere! So thick, not even a cow can get through it!" Now we know the standard by which to judge a hike or a way through...
 |
| We are pretty happy we have our own means of transportation! Saw this bus as we entered the Carretera Austral off the ferry! |
Futaleufú has been one of our favorite places so far. It is a mecca for whitewater rafting and kayaking, and we had a blast hiking all over in the backcountry, stumbling upon the Argentinian border where they did not want Chilean cattle to cross (disgusting!).
After freezing cold hikes in the thick rain forest in torrential rain and snow, we stumbled upon a treasure of a place with hot springs by the lake! Heated clear through in a surprise patch of sunshine, we even got hot enough to dive into the icy lake to cool off - for a 1/2 second, then back into the hottest pool for a skin-electrifying shock! To add to our comfort, we endeavored to make paleo chocolate chip cookies in the van one rainy night, and think of our friends back home, with warm hearts and happy bellies!
We have had the incredible experience of viewing hanging glaciers and seeing them calve off and thunder to the ground below. They are known here as the Ventisquero Colgante, in Queulat National Park and another one at the end of the Enchanted Forest trail, up above an alpine lake.
From the glaciers we headed further South toward the more open steppes of the Coyhaique and Balmaceda area. The drive was paved (YAY!) for awhile and filled with purple, pink, and white lupine in the foreground of distant peaks, and we have started to see some quaint old bridges across the rivers. Once in Coyhaique, we had the pleasure of crossing paths once again with another one of our Santiago Level 1 participants! Fidel owns and gym and took us on a nice, long 14k run through the HILLS and back roads of this region. Beautiful, but oh, MY, our legs!
On to Buenos Aires from the remote airport of Balmaceda, we got a great view of the flatter grasslands where the wind TEARS across these steppes. It's just a taste of what is to come, as we transition from tranquility of the green mountains and rivers to the desolate and wild Southern regions of Patagonia, as the Andes tumble toward the end of the continent.
Thanks to our seminar team we worked with in Buenos Aires for a great Level 1! We had some tough workouts with Pablo and Myriam Cervigni at their gym, CrossFit EMOM, as well as with the seminar staff at CrossFit Jotun!
Van Catastrophe's
1. After returning from teaching CrossFit in Lima, we discovered our rear brakes were going out! What? We had these replaced a year ago! Apparently the mechanic forgot to finish the job and only gave us front brakes! We ended up delaying our trip by a week as we searched for brake pads on Chiloé island, to no avail, and ended up heading back to Puerto Montt. Faith in humanity was restored with all the assistance offered and given to us in the repair shops and volunteered labor when we were jacked up in a barren industrial lot. Within a few hours, we had new brakes, a smoothed rotor, and new friends and were on our way! On our way after a quick delivery, by Mike jumping the fence later that night, of beer and wine left on their doorstep, as thanks...
2. Fuel pump goes on the fritz for unknown reasons. We have 40 gallons of gas we can't access. The rain has been TORRENTIAL most days, making it nearly impossible to get out and look around and see why it won't work! Thank goodness we have a map of where there is no fuel, so we fill up the main tank frequently! Reasons for this snag remain mysterious.
3. Odd klunking noises from the back of the van are heard as we beat the heck out of ourselves on rough roads around Coihaique, searching for climbing routes. All we can see is that my bike has fallen off the rack and is laying against Mike's bike inside the bike storage cover. No problem, we right it back into the rack. Unfortunately we don't notice the portentous crack that was likely forming in the rack supports, where it connects to the back bumper. More on that to come...
4. On our way to the airport, abnormal vibrations underneath the van show us that a bracket has cracked that holds in one of the shocks! Sheesh! What next! We make it to the airport ok and park the van, to be dealt with when we return from teaching in Buenos Aires.
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