CHILE-ARGENTINA

CHILE

 

20 th of January

Cerro Santa Lucia

 
After an endless flight and a non expected landing in Buenos Aires we arrive around lunchtime in Santiago de Chile. An agent from “Andes Nativa” receives us and after a quick check in at Hotel Galerias, we immediately start to visit the town. Driving up to” Santo Cristobál” we have a view of Santiago (7,5 millions of habitants) from the “Cerro”, a hill that we shall find in many towns of Chile, usually with a huge statue of some holy character acting as a protector of the town. We stroll through “Bellavista” , the bohemian part of Santiago with art galleries, arts and crafts shops and little cafés and restaurants. Walk on to the "plaza de armas"; the main square, see the neo-classical buildings around there , Town hall, post office, cathedral etc…We continue through the pedestrian avenue and stop at the “Moneda”, the government’s building where Allende was killed. After many years they put his statue close to the moneda and re-established his name.

After the visit we have a rest, find something to eat and have our first “supermarket” experience in Chile: if you go for shopping, you really need patience and a lot of time, attendants in a Chilean supermarket are extremely slow and the queue at the cashier’s is endless…

ARICA

21st of January



Early morning we take a plane to go to Arica, in the north. Here we get our first car and drive to Hotel Arica to check in. The town is protected by the “Morro” ,the typical hill mentioned before,  that we climb up. Arica has been involved in the “War of the Pacific” ( “Salpeterkrieg”) since the town holds an important harbour. From the Morro we can see the whole bay and the town at our feet. We walk down again to find a small museum “San Antonio Museum” ,famous for the “Chinchorro  Mummies” the world’s oldest mummies. To our deception the original mummies are not there, we can only see part of the excavations, which are not particularly spectacular.
We find a nice pedestrian avenue, busy with people and life going on. We get dinner at “café del mar”, very nice, and stock up in a supermarket. We walk back to the hotel and enjoy the walk along the shore…

22nd of January

We leave Arica and take a wrong road: it looks very good but turns into a dirt track after a while. We don’t take the risk and turn back onto the official R 11 to Putre. On the road we see the tall “candelabra” cactuses, the look like a crossing between a tree and a cactus, can reach the height of up to 5m… Unfortunately we cannot detect the geoglyphs or “petroglificos”,  giant pre-Columbian designs on the hills. We drive on through the vally, “valle de la luta” which is quite green like an Oasis, but the mountains are dry and “Sierra”-like, reddish in colour, reminding us a bit of the Marrokian Atlas….barren and sandy.

We feel like driving through the filmsetting of “The Martian”. The bizarre landscape makes one feel like being in the middle of nowhere. It changes from “sandy” to “stony”, extremely barren and dry…After an endless drive we find the little village of “Putre” and Hotel Qantati. Bad news: there has been no water for 2 days by now and nobody can tell us when the water will be running again. We decide to leave the dry hotel and drive towards the “Parque nacional de Lauca”, a parc at 4600m of altitude. On the way we see our first “Apachetas” little stone cairns that are built to honour “Pachamama”, mother earth, to give thanks or make a wish. 

A bag of tacos brought from the sea level up to 4600 meter

We see lamas, alpacs and vacuňas on the way. The road is busy with Bolivian lorries thundering down the mountains, the only accesss from Bolivia to the port of Arica.  Huge works are going on and we need a lot of time to drive up to the park.  We start feeling a bit dizzy but no headaches…The high altiplano is characterized by patchy grassland, spiky scrub stands and the “llareta”, a lime-green dense cushiony shrub. At 4600m we see the snow covered tops of Parinacota and Pomerape volcanoes. We arrive at lake “Chungarà”, one of the world’s highest lakes,  beautiful with flamingos and black necked swans on it. Here in park Lauca we see our first “Ňandus”, an Emu like bird, quite big and impressive.

The building on the road is a strain on our patience, but the latino way is “tranquilo” and all we can do is hang on….

Driving back we realise that petrol is going to be a problem. We find a mini-market selling us some, enough to reach the next big town. At the hotel we are lucky: the cut-off from water is over and we can enjoy a hot shower. Nice dinner in a little village restaurant.

23th of January

Early start from Putre towards Codpa, via Belén. At the beginning the road is paved and easy to drive on. After Belén the dirt track starts. We are serpentining our way up through dusty, dirty, stony and dry hills and sierras, the views are stunning : nothing but barren stone desert, not a single soul on the road, a bit scary indeed. We are glad we’ve filled up the car, we really don’t want to get stuck here. In pueblo Ticnamar  a friendly lady explains the way to Codpa to us, our garmin has lost the track long ago. We enter Codpa valley and expect VERY modest accomodation seeing the village as it is…. But we are happy to find Codpa valley lodge, with cosy rustic rooms, solar-powered and electricity only 2 hours nightly. Food is quite expensive at the hotel but there is nothing else. We stroll around in the village and spend a rather (unexpected) warm night, same as in Putre. No need to wear warm clothes…

Candelabra

24^th of January

It is dark in the morning and no electricity, so we don’t leave early, we need to see what we pack…Driving out of Codpa is not so easy, we don’t want to get the wrong turn or direction…On the altiplano we find some more Apachetas and build our own.  Again the landscape is spectacular: huge gorges with patches of green in the vallies, where a river runs, stony dry desert and endless horizon…On the road we pick up a father with his son, who have been waiting on a lonely busstop for a bus….We give them a lift to Iquique, a 280 km drive…They are happy and polite.

Iquique we find Holiday Inn hotel , check in and start our walk through the town. The “paseo” along the Pacific shore is highly recommended, the beach is crowded and the waves attract some surfers. We get to the “Baquedano”, the pedestrian zone. On the whole Iquique is on the verge of becoming an popular town but it will need some more years to develop its potential attractivities. The old colonial houses will be beautiful once they’ll get properly restored. On the main plaza, Plaza Arturo, we find an international bazaar with music and food. In the harbour lies beautiful “Esmaralda”, Arturo Prat’s ship during the War of the Pacific. We see a colony of huge sea lions living right in the harbour, many pelicans and cormorans living there as well. We’ve had a long and tiring walk and have a nice meal at “Da Nicola’s Pizzeria”.

25^th of January


A 500km drive ahead… We start early up the hill to get out of Iquique. The road is ok and driving not too slow. A straight road going on for hours, no bend, some heat glimmering at the horizon, a bit boring on the whole…Aduana stop and showing some papers, then entering Calama. 
We take a good look at the roads, we will be here at the airport in 3 days’ time. Drive on to San Pedro de Atacama and check in at “Casa Don Tomàs” hotel. The little town is busy with tourists and tour operatours. (in competition for the tourist’s attention). We drive to Laguna Cejar, famous for the “Dead sea Feeling” you get there while having a dip.  The place is crammed with tourists and buses and the wind is rather cold. We get into the water, indeed bobbing up and down  like a cork. Our skin is very dry and salty, we feel like a “Crisp” and long for a soothing shower since our skin starts to itch terribly. Dinner at “Los delices de la Carmen”, delicious indeed. We decide to discover the “Tatio Geyser” on our own, and NOT before sunrise but at a reasonable early hour.

26^th of January  

Up and out at 7.00 a m, get some petrol and off to Tatio’s. The road is good and we enjoy the sight of the typical animals: lamas, alpacs, vacuňas, lagunas with flamingos and other birds, a beautiful drive all up to the geyser. Here it is chilly (10 C°) and very windy, but the best of it: NOBODY there. We are happy that we made the right choice. In day time there is not so much steam but the geyser by itself is the same and it is so much nicer to enjoy the place and be all alone. The bubbles are gurgling up from the earth’s depths and the atmosphere is a bit magical. After a long visit Gaston has his most exclusive swim: at 4600m have a dip into hot water, 10 C° outside but the water warm enough to boil some eggs, like some locals do….get quickly dressed and drive back.

We get into the “Valle de la luna” , the moonvalley with landscapes that look like being on the moon indeed. We stop first at a little “canyon” (Cânion das Cuevas de Sal) and have a little stroll there. The soil is hard and white, like snowdipped, but it is salt that gives the white colour. 

We go on and climb the “Duna Mayor” and see the splendid valley, covered by crystallised layers  of salt, bizarre rocks, weirdly shaped and a landscape like the one you find in science fiction movies… We stay for a while in the valley, walk on different little paths and enjoy the different views and sights.

Back to the hotel, rest and dinner at “Carmen’s”.

27^th of January

Get up and leave towards Toconoa, Solaire. We drive for about 115km to the altiplano to find the volcanoes Miňique and Miscanti. At 4200m we are at the foot of the Lagunas, an area that is protected and lonesome. Only possible activity is a promenade close to the lagunas and enjoying the view. It is cold but sunny. 




After some time we drive back and head for the “Valle de la Muerte” and the “Cordillera de la sal”. Here the temperature rises to almost 30C°. It is very dry, dusty and sandy. We wander around in the narrow gorges and discover that the soil is tough but not possible to scramble up, it crumbles at the step and gives no hold. The dry baked salt gives way to the foot and we slip backwards after a couple of steps. We drive into the valle de la muerte and walk around a bit, seeing the bizarre rock and sand formations.

After that back to the hotel, rest, pool and dinner.

Unfortunately some respectless tourist party right in front of our room and we find sleep quite late…

28^th of January

Get up at 4:30 a m and drive towards Calama. Driving in the pitch dark is not so easy and luckily Gaston checked the way very well. In Calama we find an open petrol station after some time, fill up and drive to the airport. Europcar is still closed, we put the carkeys into a box and check in for the flight to Santiago, and Puerto Montt. In Puerto Montt we get a new car and drive to Puerto Varas to check in at “Casa Kalfu” hotel. We get into Puerto Varas to have a look at the town, the market and discover with pleasure that it is all green and different here. We get some pizza and a dead man’s sleep after the long trip.

29^th of January

In the morning the skies are grey and covered so we change our plans: the national park might be less nice since the views will be less spectacular, so we drive towards “Chiloé” island to see the penguins.

To our surprise the land is green and slightly hilly. Pastures and cows! We arrive at Pargua , beautiful Pacific shore, and we are lucky: the ferry will leave in 10 minutes. The crossing is easy and lovely since we can watch as an “extra” seals and sea-lions. Arriving at Chacao we take the road to busy Ancud, pick up a hitchhiking girl on her way to “Puňihuil” penguin colony. The place is busy with people, we quickly buy tickets for a boatride to the little islands where the penguins live. The animals are well protected and it is only possible to approach them by boat. There are 2 different sorts of penguins: Magellan (black and white) and Humboldt penguins (brownish colour, pink at the peak) share the same coast. They are funny to watch, stumbling clumsily on the rocks and being busy feeding the “fluffy” youngsters. We are lucky and see sea-otter, sea-lions and many kind of birds, too.

At the shore again we stroll around, bothered by the annoying “colihuachos”, horse-fly related insects, very nasty indeed.

Back in Puerto Varas we walk along the shore (crammed with people) and get a lovely dinner at “Bravo Cabreras”. Walking back we have a quick look at the funny museum “Pablo Fierra”, a place that holds a collection of sheer everything. Rest and sleep…

30^th of January

Drive up towards “Ensenada” and enter national park “Vincent Perez Rosales”. We decide to get close to the “Osorno” volcano for a little walk. The road is winding up, perfect blue sky and beautiful snow-covered Osorno towering above it all. Walking up to the glacier is not allowed without a guide, so we start on our own on a little path. The walk is not so easy on the black lava sand and many colihuachos are buzzing in the air. We see Cerro Tronador on the horizon and turn back after a 2 hours’ walk. On the road back we find a sign “Laguna verde”, stop here and enter the forest for another walk. The forest’s soil is pitch black lava sand and the little laguna of an emerald green colour.

We continue our park visit with the “Petrohué Falls”, a popular excursion for tourists. The place is crowded and every approach to the waterfalls is prohibited and secured by railings and barricades. Everywhere signs of “no pasar”, so we quickly lose interest and leave after shooting some pictures. (the water having a beautiful colour and the volcano at the background rounding off the picture…).

Back in Varas we try to find an animal farm (helping wild injured animals), but nobody can indicate us the “Romahué” place. Turn back and dinner at “Da Alessandro’s”.

31^st of January

Car return at the airport of Puerto Montt and off to “Punta Arenas”. Unfortunately the flight is delayed and we loose a lot of time. Get the new car and drive to “La Yegua Loca” hotel. It is an antique ranch-like house and the place is all about horses. We start to explore the little town, beginning at the plaza de armas, the cathedral, many old colonial neo-classical houses and a square which is surrounded by beautiful old trees. We finish with a visit of the cemetery, UNESCO-protected, enjoying the special atmosphere…It is Sunday and everything is closed (all over Chile Sunday is closing day…) , so we are glad to find a little pizzeria to get some dinner. Punta Arenas is the southernmost continental city in the world. We enjoy the special place and take a walk along the shore to see the “Magallanes”, well aware that this is very historical and important in the seaworld…

01^st of February

We are heading towards the “Torres del Paine” nationalpark, stop on our way in “Puerto Natales” to stock up on water and snacks before entering the reserve. We drive to “Rio Serrano Hotel” where check in is not possible yet (in Chile check in only at 3:00 pm ).   We leave the luggage there and continue to the park entrance. Our purchased tickets are valuable for 3 days. We drive to the “Lago Grey” and take a walk here, on to the mirador where we can see the “Glaciar Grey”. The weather is just too good to be true: no rain and 23C°. Walking after the long drive is a pure pleasure and the view spectacular. Coming back we check in at the hotel and get a room with a splendid view. We enjoy our little picnic and the delicious Chilean wine and finally rest. 

02^nd of February

We leave the southern part of the reserve and drive on to the north. On the way we stop at the “Saltos grandes”, a big waterfall. The track is so nice that we decide to continue for some time. We get close to the “ Cerro Paine Grande “ with snow-covered  “Macizo Paine”. We just can’t take enough pictures. The place is so beautiful, it almost feels like sacred….It is a pure joy to walk and stare at these mountains. And in plus we are so lucky with the weather: the sun is out and the sky is blue. Only on our way back we meet other tourists. We have been all on our own so far, spared by the big tourist buses…Lucky indeed. We drive on to the “Portería laguna amarga” the northern entrance to the reserve. Leaving our luggage  at Hotel “Las Torres” we follow the track to “Chileno” for a “mini-trekking”. The ascent is quite strenuous and the view less stunning than in the morning. This track is quite popular and we meet many walkers and trekkers…in the valley we see a huge herd of horses being driven by the gauchos, a wild gallop and nice to watch.  We decide to make it a 4 hour’s walk and then check in at the hotel. Light dinner at the bar and rest.

03^rd of February

Today we leave “Torres del Paine” and discover that the weather has changed: clouds, drizzling rain and cold. Again we realise how lucky we were the days before. At the Chilean border a woman stamps our car papers and opens the barrier. We drive on to the Argentinian border, wait in an endless queue for more than 2 hours to drive back to Chile and get the missing “check out” stamps in our passports. Finally check in and drive to “El Clafate”, Argentina. The road is extremely boring, we both fight sleep. On the way we get some fuel at a ridiculous high prize and arrive in Calafate. Check in at hotel “Sierra Nevada” and visit the town. The place has a well developed tourism infrastructure with many shops, tour operators and restaurants. We learn what “Mate” is, a typical herbal tea drunk through a “bombilla”, a metallic straw serving as a filter. Dinner at a nice pizzeria and some money withdrawal…walk back and rest.

04^th of February

Get up fairly early to get to the “Perito Moreno” glacier, passing Lago Argentina. The way up is already a scenic route, we thoroughly enjoy the drive. We can spot the glacier from far away, already beautiful and special. Then we arrive at the glacier’s foot and walk around the balconies for a long while: the colour is silvery blue, huge chunks of ice drop into the sea, the noise is horrendous and the water splashes up meter high…It is a stunning show and we can’t take our eyes off it….

We drive back towards Calafate with the intention to walk along the lake’s shore. But on the way I discover a horse farm and inscribe for  a short ride, a “cabalgata” (2 hours).  I am very lucky to get a young gaucho who takes me all alone out into the wilderness. We gallop away, crossing main streets(!), riding along at the lake, eating calafate berries (which by legend guarantee the return to Patagonia) and ride towards the snowy mountains at the horizon. Total bliss for me! After my first Mate, I return to the hotel and we get some dinner and souvenirs to round up a most wonderful day.

05^th of February

To our despair we discover in the morning that there is no fuel available, the lorries have been on strike, the town is “dry”. We decide to take a short cut, saving petrol but putting up with a bad road, only dirt track for many km. Arriving in Cerrro Castillo we are facing a big queue again at the border. We turn around and drive to Rio Turbio, Dorotea border crossing. Here we still find a waiting line, but it moves on sensibly. After 15 min we are through and out of Argentina. At the Chilean border, crossing eats up time and nerves again but after a few hours we end up in “Puerto Natales” at hotel “Temauken”.  We get some fuel and take a long walk along the sea shore. Simple dinner and “Kuchen” (German immigrants left the “Kuchenes” as a legacy….)

  

06^th of February

Drive back to Punta Arenas. Car return at the airport. Flight to Santiago de Chile. During our flight we had marvellous weather conditions. This gave us a perfect view of the Torres del Paine from above. We even were able to recognize most of the sites we visited the days before. Arrive late and local dinner at a snack bar. Hotel “Galerias” for a second time.

07^th of February

Last stroll through Santiago, buying some souvenirs on a local market. Get up to “Cerro Hidalgo” but disappointed by the view…

Airport and ready for the long trip home.