The last days of the trip were dedicated to explore the southern part of the Carretera Austral in Chile, back in the XI Region, where we started the trip. As mentioned before, to go from Puerto Natales to this region we have to go through Argentina. We basically drove from Puerto Natales to El Calafate and then took the same Ruta 40 that we had taken when coming down. After 14 hours driving, we reached Perito Moreno, close to the Chilean border we wanted to cross. Reaching there we realized that the first flat tire we had was deflating again! We brought it to repair and it actually had a visible hole now, probably aggravated by the long journey of the day. Luckily this one was repairable and we didn't spend much money to recover it. We finally entered Chile, through Chile Chico, on the southern shore of the General Carrera Lake (we had entered Argentina for the first time through the north shore). From here, the idea was to drive along the southern shore of the lake, until reaching the Carretera Austral and then head south. Driving along this dirt road was definitely the best driving experience of the entire trip. The road was narrow and full of turns and bumps. On one side we had big mountains and on the other deep slopes ending on the lake. The landscape was simply gorgeous! We drove the whole afternoon and arrived at Cochrane in the evening, to spend the night. Very friendly people hosted us, showing us again the sympathy and warmth that characterizes people around here.
On the next day, we departed to visit a very picturesque village called Caleta Tortel, south from Cochrane and the southest point we got to on the Carretera Austral. This coastal village has houses built on the rocky slopes that border the Baker river and access to them is made by wooden pathways that connect the entire village. Walking around here can take you hours, exploring all the different paths, but we had limited time. We had lunch at one of the very few restaurants here and we were told that there were energy problems in the village. The only power source was a dam built further up the river and since they hadn't have rain for more than one week (something rare in this area of Patagonia), power distribution was being rationalized and people only had light for certain periods of the day. We left the village after lunch and went back up north to reach Puerto Tranquilo, another small village on the west shore of General Carrera Lake.
Here we stayed the last two nights of the journey. We rented a small house and relaxed! The only thing we actually did was a boat tour to some amazing marble caves on the lake. The colours and the shapes were really astonishing, specially if we take into account that this region is predominantly basaltic. On the way back there was some wind and we were against the waves, which made the trip quite exciting and wet! We considered visiting a glacier on the afternoon but it was cloudy and we were tired, so we just spent the afternoon playing cards and doing nothing. Here we had some more episodes with Israelis, one of them wasn't very nice actually. I really don't understand why, but they can be very rude and arrogant and this was a shared opinion with some local people. Most of them travelling in Patagonia are still kids that just get out of the mandatory military service in Israel and are probably still under the effect of military discipline. On the last day we went to the airport and delivered the car there. Our brave 4WD cost us more than 50% more than we expected, accounting for the crash and the tires...
Epilogue:This was definitely the trip of this second year of Chile. I would dare to say that, more than the natural beauty of the region, it was the experience and the unexpected episodes that we will remind the longest. We drove more than 5000 kms, crashed the car in the middle of nowhere, blew two tires, drove on gravel through all kinds of roads, crossed different landscapes, met all kinds of people. However, more than that, we met ourselves. Travelling together for 17 days and going through all kinds of emotion, while dealing with different personalities, is not easy at all. These big trips are the ones that make you discover yourself along the way, that sometimes push you to the limit and tell you what your limit is. In the end, and despite the friction on certain moments, the four of us have something in common and a lot of stories to tell.
One of the most strange feelings of spending the last days of the year on the southern hemisphere is the fact that it is summertime. Christmas, for instance, is not surrounded by rain and snow, nor those cold dark days, but instead you wear t-shirt and think about going to the beach. Whilst on Christmas this goes completely against my past family traditions around a fireplace, almost making me forget the season, on New Year's I have to confess it is awesome! Celebrating the last night of the year on the streets without rain or cold perfectly matches the concept and definitely fits my ideals. This year I spent New Year's at Valparaiso again (see Valparaiso post last year) with different people and in a different place, but with the same concept: party on the streets until dawn and beyond. It was excellent like last year, but I decided to do something else for the New Year: beach! I longed for it for such a long time that on the first day I left Valparaiso to Santiago and directly to spend three days under the sun!
Tongoy is a fishing town in a rocky peninsula near La Serena, five hours north from Santiago, known by its excellent beaches and marvellous seafood. I rented a bungalow in the town, managed by an extremely friendly and slightly crazy Catalan/Brazilian couple. I enjoyed two days of beach, doing nothing, just feeling the sound and smell of the Pacific, going through childhood summer memories and of course eating all the seafood I could. It was so cheap and tasty and the variety so wide that I never repeated the same dish twice. From shellfish to oysters, crab to locos and the typical empanadas, I ate it all and prepared in different ways. It was a delight! It was a great time! I should had done more beach around here...
