3 days on a cargo passenger ferry

25 December 2009 (from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales, Chile)

Navimag is the name of a Chilean ferry company which had a brilliant business idea several years ago. Formerly a cargo only ferry servicing Chilean Patagonia, it rebuilt its two ferries to accommodate passengers and now charges these passengers a nice little fee to ferry them between Puerto Montt (Chile's lake district) and Puerto Natales (Chilean Patagonia). It is actually one of the more straight forward ways to travel to this isolated southern most part of the continent, often referred to as "el fin del mundo". So we booked ourselves a cabin on board this ferry hoping for the best. We had a cabin to ourselves with comfy little cots (though a bit small for Gaudi). Life on board was as follows: around 8am we got woken up by our 2 ferry guides and were given one hour to have breakfast; then we hung around deck watching the wonderful scenery of forest and snow covered islands and peninsulas; a daily info session in the morning and normally a lecture on fauna of the region or glaciers; then 45 min for lunch; more hanging out on deck or in our cots if feeling lazy; 45 min for dinner; movie in the evening.

One day we visited one of the world's few expanding glaciers, Pio XI, it was impressive especially as the ferry kept getting closer and closer. Along with the other tourists we braved the cold, wind and wet to watch the approach. The tourists all went nuts with their cameras, clicking away, pushing left and right, no " excuse me's" when there are pictures to be taken. Then the ferry turned around and we left the glacier behind us, the weather cleared up offering us an even better view but most people had already disappeared from deck (probably now inside checking out the pictures they took).

Another very interesting excursion was to Puerto Eden. Wow this place really gives meaning to the expression "in the middle of nowhere". It is a tiny port town whose only contact with the outside world is the once a week ferry that comes by. The ferry passenger getting off and strolling around the town actually at least doubles the number of people. We did a lovely little walk around the island (on a board walk built by the ferry company) but hardly saw any locals or any activity at all except for a few souvenir sellers. We wondered what it would be like to have to stay here for a week until the next ferry arrives (let alone life there) . . . hmmm . . . then we rushed back to make sure we did not miss our ride back to the ferry, we were the last two to board the Zodiac.

The passengers. Most people looked like they had walked straight out of an outdoor shop, showing off the latest fashion in outdoor gear, from their super hiking boots to trendy caps. There were some exceptions such as the large English group which appeared to lack any sense of fashion, the group of Chilean bikers with their jeans and leather jackets and always at least one bottle of whiskey at hand to keep them happy during the trip, and of course the two of us who at times felt like a couple of hobos. There are lots and lots of Swiss Germans on the boat (easily identifiable by their Switzerdütsch, and the Mammut brand outdoor clothing), closely followed by German and French. Very few locals.

Pudu on the road

24 December 2009

One of the amazing animals in southern Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego is the Pudu. The Pudu is a deer living in the forest, but what makes it so special is its small size - an adult Pudu is only about 35 cm tall. During our extensive walks in the region's national parks (NP), we hope to spot a Pudu and keep our eyes wide open in: NP Huerquehue, NP Nahuelbuta, NP Vincente Perez Rosales, and in remote NP Chiloé ... but regrettably the Pudu keeps itself well hidden in the forest. And then one day who do we spot but a pair of Pudus! Not in a national park, but running along highway number 5 in Chloé. How ironic, apparently if you want to see rare and endangered wildlife, don't go to the national park - drive along the highway.

Luckily, we did not honk at them. According to a guide, a honking car could kill the Pudu by causing it a heart attack.

Link: Wikipedia - Pudu

Switch off the light!

21 December 2009 (Chiloé, Chile)

We decide to explore Chiloé by rental car, and have to cross over to this island by ferry. At the pier, we have to wait for the next ferry - environmentally conscious, we switch off the motor. Several ladies try to sell us goods, ice cream, or other stuff. So we wave off anybody approaching our car - amongst them a young boy distributing leaflets. As we can board the ferry, I can't start the car: I left the headlights on, and now the battery is dead (now it becomes clear why the man of the rental agency urged us, to always switch off the lights when not driving - it's mandatory to turn them on when driving). We stand there dumbfounded, don't know what to do. The ferry leaves without us. The boy with the leaflets approaches and offers help. A friend joins him. Two of us push the car, while his friend skillfully gets the car started (the secret: with the right timing release the clutch in second gear). Well, after that episode, we have to accept one of his leaflets which detail the ruta de las iglesias - a road trip connecting the nicest churches of the island: exactly what we were looking for!

Me and my sandals

17 December 2009

I bought a pair of 100 USD rubber sandals in Panama City. We naively assumed that the high price was an indication of high quality, and the waterproof label was also reassuring. Nevertheless, at first contact with water, the right sole came undone. The left sole soon followed suit. Rather than replacing the shoes, I went on a quest (which Natasha had to join much to her regret) to find superglue. I bought the first tube of glue for 1.60 USD and glued the soles back on. This worked and I was really pleased with myself until . . .well yes the sole came lose again, first one then the other. Never mind this set back, I would not give up this easily and just bought more and more glue, one tube after another, trying different brands. On the positive side, we learned the Spanish word for glue, in every country we passed through. We asked for 'adhesivo' in Colombia and searched for 'pegamento' in Argentina. Either way, wether glued with pegamento or adhesivo, the soles refused to reunite with the rest of the shoe. No matter if on a beach or in the desert, the flapping noise of the lose sole accompanied me with every step. Finally, I said goodbye to my sandals in Pucon (to Natasha's relief).

Our time in Chile - the unabridged version

02 December 2009:
We spend a few days in Valparaiso or Valpo, as the locals call it. This city has its charm, although some of its neighbourhoods are in need of restoration (after a gas pipe explosion blew up a whole street of historic buildings classified as UNESCO world heritage - posters demand compensation from the gas company). Countless "ascensores" lead up the steep hills to viewpoints over the city and the bay. Further up are forests which are unfortunately prone to fire in the dry summer. One evening we witness part of a hill going up in flames.
We also spend an afternoon in Valpo's "open air art museum". Murals painted by well known Chilean artists on the facades of houses. While wandering around the neighbourhood, trying to find all of the works, we get lost.
Gaudi gets a haircut: surprisingly the hairdresser is fluent in German, having lived in Hamburg for some years.
On a walk along the coast, a bit outside the city, we discover an open air exercise park - we thought these things only existed in China. These exercise parks are a kind of playground for adults with machines similar to those you find in a gym - but a bit more robust, no electronics, use of your own body weight (as they are outside). As in China, we again wonder why these don't exist in Europe or the US? We take the opportunity and exercise our muscles a bit.

05 December 2009:
Santiago surprises us. No sign of the smog that allegedly plagues this city (we later learn that this only happens in winter when the heaters are blasting). We dine in nice, tasty restaurants in a charming pedestrian area, take a cablecar up the Cerro San Cristobal and enjoy the views over the city surrounded by snow-capped mountains. We do this on a Sunday and discover that a favourite Sunday activity of the locals is to bike up the steep hill or walk around on the hill. The city centre is compact enough to discover by foot. We like best Cerro Santa Lucia, a very green hill in the middle of the city centre with a castle, full of fountains and winding stairs, viewing platforms, and benches. There is even a Japanese garden.

09 December 2009:
We break our journey southwards near Los Angeles (Chile), in a picturesque countryside B&B out in nowhere. The B&B is set in a beautiful garden by a very cold small river (we soon change our mind about taking a dip). The B&B is owned and run by a German couple, who migrated to Chile 20 years ago for "ecological" reasons they claim citing Chrenobyl and lots of pollution in German cities. As we are in the middle of nowhere without our own car, we have our dinners at the B&B. Both breakfast and dinner are served at the kitchen table (seats about 8) and the owners eat together with the guests. After having several meals with the owners, we learn that the lady has not been back to Germany once since she left 20 years ago and the man only went back twice, makes us wonder if they really came for "ecological" reasons.

From the hotel we set off on a wonderful walk through the surrounding farmland to a nearby laguna. We're completely alone here and find a nice picnic spot on a tiny beach. We were looking forward to taking a refreshing dip in the laguna after our 2 hour walk through the hot sun but . . . then we spot a rather strange and disconcerning phenomena in the laguna . . . water starts bubbling up and dispersing in a sort of circle as if something is about to surface (though nothing surfaced). Well we don't take any chances and decide it is best to give the swimming a miss.

One day we rent a car and together with Thomas, another guest at the B&B, and set off to Parque Nacional Nahuelbuta, we ascend a peak that rewards us with views over the countryside and seven snow-covered volcanoes in the distance (we will see them from much closer up when we go to the lake district), and towards the pacific ocean on the other side. The park is famous for its beautiful Alerce trees. We also come across several large brown and hairy spiders. Back in the hotel we enquire about them, and the lady of the hotel explains to us that there's no need to be worried: those were not THE poisonous spiders. The really dangerous ones would be very small, and prefer to hide in houses.

12 December 2009:
We arrive in the lake district: blue lakes surrounded by green hills - and white volcanoes.

Pucon: Gorgeous views of the Volcan Villarica, a tough but gorgeous bike ride through green fields and along wild rivers to lake Caburgua (where Gaudi took a very short but refreshing dip), a day bathing in natural thermal waters (hot hot hot). But the highlight is a full day hike in the PN Huerquehue, to five beautiful tranquil lagunas, hidden in dense forest on a high plateau, surrounded by mountains. On our walk, we unexpectedly have to cross some patches of snow.

Puerto Varas: The town has a lot of German immigrants who came during 19th century looking for better opportunities. Amongst many clues to this heritage is the name of the local speciality: "kuchen" (pie). The town still has many wooden houses built in German style, and a church modelled after the Marienkirche in Schwarzwald. The owner of the B&B is fifth generation Chilean-German, and speaks good German.
We take a boat trip across the amazing Lago de Todos Santos to Puella a "town" with a 120 inhabitants (as the welcome sign boasts), two very pricey hotels and a little shop. The beautiful lake is in one of Chile's national parks, nevertheless there are several private properties within the park and some people live along the shore of the lake. The only transport for these people is the one boat that crosses the lake (back and forth) once a day. This boat service is owned by the same family that owns the two hotels in Peulla and the island Margarita (in the middle of the lake) on which you find one of the family's vacation mansions. On our last day we explore the isolated and beautiful Cochamo river valley.

21 December 2009:
Chiloé: All Chileans we meet urge us to go visit this island, famous for its nature and architecture. What a hidden gem: lush green vegetation, a wild, rugged west coast with dramatic cliffs and sand dunes - and plenty of wind and rain (in this respect, it reminds us a bit of Cornwall, England). The tides here are very strong - several meters in difference between high and low tide. For that reason, the houses on the coast are built on stilts. They are high above the ground when the tide is low, and at water level, when the water is high. On the land-side, the houses have a normal entrance to the street, and no unusual appearance. We stay in such a Palafito house and it feels like it's shaking at night...

Most churches on Chiloé are wooden constructions - all of those are classified as UNESCO world heritage. We follow the "Ruta de las Iglesias", which leads tourists to some of the most interesting churches on the island. Some of these wooden church roofs look like the hull of a ship: traditionally, many of those seaside villages specialised in shipbuilding - so when the locals built their churches, they used the technique they knew from building the ships. At each church on the ruta, a guide from the local village (sometimes only with a hundred inhabitants) attends and explains a bit of the history of the church, or the village. The guides record the flow of tourists in order to demonstrate the importance of these monuments for the tourist industry, get funding for preservation. The initiative of the "Ruta de las Iglesias" seems a very smart initiative to promote tourism and the conservation of these wooden buildings.

We eat good food - lots of fresh fish especially salmon (we learn that Chile is the second biggest salmon exporter in the world, largely for the Asian and Japanese market).

More Fotos in our Foto Album.

What we did in Chile - the abridged version

03 December 2009 - 05 January 2010

We knew little about Chile before we arrived and had actually not planned to visit this country . . . but we are very happy that we did.. After spending months in very dry and barren regions, we enjoy the powerful rivers, many waterfalls and lush vegetation of Chile's central valley which profits from the rain coming from the west. Agriculture of all sorts (lumber, vine, fruits) and farming are done here. This means good food - and finally a choice of vegetables, fruits and salads. Chile also has impressive flora and fauna. We visit more national parks than in any other country (ten in total), admiring the special plants (like Arauca trees) and wildlife (amongst them the smallest deer in the world (30cm tall), sea elephants weighing five tons, and hairy spiders).
We enjoy the cities of Santiago and Valparaiso, admire the natural beauty of the lake region, discover the island of Chiloé, sail south through the untouched Austral canals on a ferry boat, spend time in the nature of Southern Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego and finally cruise to the southernmost point on this continent (Cabo de Hornos).

Chile - are we still on the same continent?

02 December 2009

We have travelled through numerous Central and South American countries by now - Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and now Chile. Even though they have much in common, most notably their language (though even here there are countless differences), colonial past, and the catholic religion, each country provided a very distinct experience. But it was only once we arrived in Chile, that we felt we may have arrived on a new continent . . . this especially in terms of the level of economic development. All in all, Chile feels nothing like a developing country - infrastructure is in excellent condition, all services are very professional, the country is well organized (though Gaudi complains they have too many laws) and efficient. Of course the down side of this for us is that it is so much more expensive! Crossing the border from Bolivia to Chile means that our average daily spend has doubled. We find it striking that the most developed country we have experienced so far is right next to the least developed one, Bolivia. Well there is a huge dessert separating the two but still you would hope some there would be some spill-over . . . Chile has also been the country were politics has been least on the foreground (even though we are here in the middle of the presidential elections).

Keeping out plagues

02 December 2009 (Paso Los Libertadores, Chile)

Crossing the Andes from Argentina to Chile is an experience. We get a glimpse of the highest mountain in South America, and spend two hours at a border post at 3500 meters above sea level. Every person's luggage is thoroughly searched - not for drugs, but for fruit and cheese! Smuggling of fruit or dairy products carries a fine of up to 22,000 USD.
The reason soon becomes clear: We descend from the barren Andes and enter lush green vegetation: many trees and almost every imaginable fruit is being farmed here. Chile is an agricultural production giant. The thorough search at the border keeps fruit diseases out. According to one Chilean, Chile is an island free of agricultural pests, while the rest of the continent is full of disease (especially the neighbouring countries).