Pedro hooked me up well here. I'm writing from his family's vacation home in Quila Quina, near San Martin de Los Andes. It is a tiny town with only about twenty year round residents. Many are Mapuche with their land protected due to it being in Lanin National Park. The area is perfect for short … Continue Reading ››
While I was traveling along the Caretera Austral I met Dr. Arturo, a Cohaique based physician, who jotted down notes in my journal on things to do along the way. I found them as informative as any guide book and thought I would share them.Villa O'Higgins
Alta Vista Trek: Starts over the Mayer bridge … Continue Reading ››
Gary sums up leg 1 of the trip:
Expedition 2012: Patagonia, Land of Extremes Patagonia is the place of legends: the towering, iconic mountains, raging rivers, deep blue glaciers, wild winds, and miles of open, expansive wilderness. There’s a reason the company Patagonia took its name from this … Continue Reading ››
Navigating thousand meter high granite walled channels barely wider than the yacht; five meter swells, waves crashing over the cabin, crossing the Golfo de Penas; rounding the notorious Cabo Raper in dense fog and rain by radar; to days of gentle winds, gazing at glaciated volcanoes.
Caleta Tortel was our safe harbor, and the start of … Continue Reading ››
'Quien se apura en la Patagonia pierde el tiempo,’ locals say (‘Those who hurry in Patagonia lose time'). We'll likely be here another week, waiting for the high system to move in and shift our winds around from the South.
El Chalten is a tough place to leave. It is an easy to settle into, close knit, climber community, in a spectacular mountain scene; and it is also surrounded by ice sheet to the west and desert to the east. There is always a day bus to a flight out of Calafate, or one of … Continue Reading ››
Two carts. First time at this, but I think that should handle it for two to make the sail from Caleta Tortel to Puerto Monte. Back online in a few weeks.
The guidebook says "Coleta Tortel is one of those places that simply has to be seen to be believed". And, it certainly is surreal. The town didn't have a road to it until 2003 and is built on the slopes of a steep fjord. There are … Continue Reading ››
These three days are worthy of a full blog post (coming soon): trekking out to Glaciar O'Higgins, staying on a ranch where I was told only twenty a year pass through, in a natural landscape that was right up there with any I've seen. Inspiring … Continue Reading ››
If you are going to cross a border, you might as well make it interesting. Argentina / Chile, no phone or computer, only a paper record of who comes and goes. Carried the way too heavy pack for five hours through forest and pass from Lago Desierto to … Continue Reading ››