Six Weeks on the Carretera Austral

Days 27 & 28 – Wednesday and Thursday March 23 & 24: R & R in Villa Cerro Castillo; an injury!

Although there was no access to internet, there were some great possibilities on our list of R/R activities in Villa Cerro Castillo. On the first day some of us went for a short ride and hike to Los Manos National Reserve, others went horseback riding with a guide along the Rio Ibanez. Three (Ray, Steve Jahn, John) opted for the Gaucho horseback excitements, while the other five decided to see Los Manos. Meantime, just taking in the breathtaking views of Cerro Castillo with its snow covered spires was awe inspiring.

The horseback outing turned out to be terrific. We were driven about two miles to a ranch where our gaucho host, Manuel, was waiting. Each of us was given suede chaps that fastened below the knee; then we mounted our saddled horses and trotted off upriver. None of us had ridden in years and we had a hilarious time settling in. Our guide, who had been to Idaho and California, clearly enjoyed taking us on the roads and showing us the beauty of the countryside. Part way into the ride we spotted a pair of rare woodpeckers that resembled our own northwest Pileated Woodpecker – the Magellanic Woodpecker, the largest woodpecker in South America. These were huge black birds, and the male had a bright red head. For the rest of the morning the sound of hooves combined with the sight of snow peaked mountains ringing the narrow river valley to give us a real high. We ventured onto trails that climbed up to vantage points overlooking the river and down to the sandy stretches along the shore. We finished, a little saddle sore, back in Villa Cerro Castillo with a small barbeque at our guide’s little restaurant.

The other group left for the Los Manos Park to view prehistoric handprints on an overhanging cliff four or five kilometers away. They rode there and found a gatehouse and a guide, Domingo, who took them to the rock face of a towering cliff. Thousands of years ago a native tribe had used the rock overhang as shelter and they left a number of handprints, some positive (paint on the hand pressed onto the rock) and some negative (paint blown around a hand to produce an outline.  They also hunted guanacos – a kind of wild alpaca nearly extinct now –which they also drew on the wall. No one knows today what the significance of the handprints might be, but the interest in seeing the remains of a culture several thousand years old is intense.   

We returned to the b & b that afternoon to discover that our dashing guide Dario had nearly cut off part of his finger while working on the bikes and was en route to a hospital back in Coyhaique to have it treated. Bad news; everyone was upset, and we wouldn’t know what the damage was until later that evening.

At eight thirty we started off to a small local restaurant nearby for a barbeque. With exquisite timing, Dario and Tikka, who had driven, returned from Coyhaique at the same time. The end of Dario’s finger had been stitched back on and the prognosis was good, though it would be several weeks before he could ride again. With relief we proceeded to dinner, and were ushered into a building with an enormous fireplace at one end; there, fastened onto an iron spit and grill about five feet high and four feet wide was an entire flayed lamb.  We drank wine and feasted on it, returning to our cozy b & b with the leftovers for sandwiches the next day.

The following day Ray and John and Steve Jahn went to see Los Manos Park while the others went for a hike up towards Cerro Castillo. It was a fairly serious hike, gaining 3400 feet of elevation to a turquoise lake just below the snowfield of the mountain. The guide took the group along trails and cow paths and a stony climbers’ track to vistas that were simply stupendous.

That night we ate ravenously and went to bed early. Tomorrow was the trip back towards the coast, over the pass to Bahia Murta (Murta Bay).

Day 29– Friday March 25: Back in Gunerra country

In the morning we showed up early for breakfast and to bid farewell to Laura, who was going back to Puerto Natales. Some claimed she had brought a civilizing influence to the group, but not all agreed and it wasn’t clear what she thought. When we see her again in two weeks we’ll ask. Afterwards we packed up and bid farewell to our hosts at Villa Cerro Castillo, heading to Bahia Murta. About halfway there the rain began, and it was clear that we had passed back over to the western slope microclimate with its lush vegetation. The surrounding peaks were all dusted with snow, and the temperature remained cold. The scenery was beautiful, even in cold gray rain.

We arrived mid-afternoon at Residentiale Patagonia, four kilometers from Murta, and settled in. After a refreshing beverage or two we napped, dined at eight and went to bed. Steve found a feline companion. The next day would be short, taking us to Puerto Tranquillo, and we decided to check out Bahia Murta before setting out the next morning. 

Day 30– Saturday March 26: Short and Steep to Puerto Tranquillo

Morning arrived, and we enjoyed another great breakfast before setting off. We traveled the side road to Bahia Murta proper, about 5km away. It was a small community tucked alongside the closest edge of Lake General Carrera. The lake itself was outrageously turquoise, and the little town looked as though it might fill up in the high season. Right now it’s deserted, so we made our rounds and headed back to the main road. Once there we turned towards Puerto Tranquillo, just under 30km away. As we rode the sun broke through the heavy clouds until we were riding in complete sunshine – something we hadn’t done for a long time. The gravel on the road was reasonably maintained, so we made good headway. Soon we caught sight of the same Lake General Carrera and the road followed its shoreline south, rising and falling with the headwalls bordering the water. Some steep climbing, but totally beautiful. In fact, this ride was the most beautiful of all the rides we have taken so far, with frequent stops for picture taking.

By mid-afternoon we were in Puerto Tranquillo, and the town was like the scenery, extremely fetching.  We found our way to our new place to stay, El Puesto, and were delighted to find that our cabins were complete, with fully equipped kitchens – including the first microwave we had encountered in Chile.  There was revelry and wandering around the little town, a great dinner. Finally we settled in to a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow was planned as another rest day, and we knew that down the lake there were marble caves to explore.

Day 31 – Sunday March 27: Puerto Tranquillo, Marble Power and San Valentin

Come morning we were awakened late by the guides putting our breakfast together. We were pleased to find an open day, a beautiful sunny day, and so we headed out of town in a minibus south to the Capillas de Marmol, marble caves accessible only by boat. The drive to the tour alone was worth the price of admission. This lake, Lago General Carrera, which is over a hundred miles long and twenty or thirty miles wide, is a rich turquoise hue pretty much unknown in nature, and we viewed it from hundreds of feet above as we negotiated the headlands along the way. Four of us had opted to use kayaks to get to the caves and the other seven of us set out in an open boat, heading north along the shore for perhaps two or three miles. There we found huge marble structures, some of which had tumbled from the cliffs above thousands, perhaps millions, of years ago. Our boat guide/driver drove us into caves and grottoes we could hardly believe, the surface of the marble mottled with countless divots as though banged out with a ball peen hammer. We took lots of pictures.

When we returned to Puerto Tranquillo the day was still gloriously sunny, and David made plans for us to ride in a van 52km up a road to a trail that led to an overlook of a hanging glacier, Glacier Exploradoes. Remember that none of these roads are paved, and they are often very rough, wide enough for only one vehicle. So we set out heading away from the lake, following a rushing river. High above, some twenty-five kilometers along, we came to the beautiful Lake Tranquillo; a few kilometers beyond was Lake Bayo, and as we skirted it high above through cuts in the rock we caught sight of the 4000m (nearly 13000 foot) peak of San Valentin, one of the highest in Chile. After 52km we pulled over and found ourselves at a kind of wilderness camp with a couple of buildings for people to stay in and do glacier travel and ice climbing. There was a trail that began here and ran a little over a mile uphill to a lookout point with a platform. From there we could see the majestic snow covered crags of San Valentin and the glacier that extended to within a few hundred yards of where we stood on an old lateral morrain. We returned to the van an hour later and headed back down towards Puerto Tranquilllo, still amazed.

Our guides fixed us dinner and we retired, ready for another day in the saddle as we rode to Rio Baker. As it turned out, we would need the rest.

A brief word about our guide service might be welcome here. They are Dittmar Adventure (www.dittmaradventures.com), and our chief guide is David Dittmar. Dittmar Adventures is based in Puerto Natales and specializes in trekking in southern Chile. Steve Jones has known David for three years when David guided Steve’s group in a program of hiking in the Mt. Fitzroy region.  This is their first cycling tour down the Carretera Austral, and they enlisted the help of Dirty Bikes from Bariloche (www.dirtybikes.com.ar), who provided the support truck and bike trailer, plus the services of Tikka Walde, one of their own guides. The coordinating figure back in Puerto Natales is Laura McAfoos, and keeping track of us by bicycle on the road is Dario Aguilar Cofre.  No-one had done this journey before and that has meant a completely fresh adventure for everybody. I think I can speak for all of us in saying that we wouldn’t have it any other way. While It has meant some uncertainties of routing and accommodation, the program of riding has changed flexibly in response to our needs and other travel contingencies like ferry service cancellations. In any case, there is a widely shared feeling of teamwork running through everything we do.

Day 32 – Monday March 28: The gigantic River Baker

We headed out mid-morning, planning to go only halfway to Cochrane, our original destination. As it turned out, the original plan would have been pretty much impossible, given the mileage and elevation gains that we would be facing just today (76km, 3600ft). Right out of town we started up a steep hill that took us southwards along the shore of Lago General Carrera. Then we followed another watershed downward to Lake Bertrand, then up again and over some serious hills to end up at the Rio Baker, Chile’s most voluminous river, ranging from wide to narrow and filled with rapids. Fine fishing here, and a lot of fishing resorts along the riverbanks. Almost all the places to stay were closing now at the end of the season. The weather was turning foul: cold rain and wind, so we were glad to get out of our riding clothes and put some wood on the fire.

The River Baker is one of the rivers where dams have been proposed to provide hydropower. At first it sounds like a fair proposition, since the river runs powerfully through canyons where a dam might be hidden and it would produce a good deal of electricity. Unfortunately, as usual, the story is more complicated. Although much of Chile needs more electrical power, the power from these dams has been promised and would be directed entirely to corporate mining and aluminum operations as part of cap and trade agreements, rather than actually going to the many people who need it. And the real cost to the environment would be the series of towers marching relentlessly across the spectacular landscape, through hill and dale from south to north. Plus, of course, whole ranges of the river would be choked off.

In any case, the Rio Baker acts as a kind of rallying point for the “Patagonia sin represas” (Patagonia without Dams!) issue, and so far the watercourse remains untamed, wildly roaring through rock walls and chasms. The game isn’t over yet though.

We stayed overnight at one of those fishing lodges next to the river, the Los Rapidos del Rio Baker, and had an excellent dinner prepared by our guides. Tomorrow we would follow the course of the river and head back over the mountainous terrain to Cochrane.