Traversing the Andes from Mendoza was spectacular, with clear days, good roads, and tons of happy roadside picnics. As much as we would have liked to have stayed in Argentina for much longer, the van’s 90-day visa was up.
The border crossing into Chile through Paso Los Libertadores took three hours, which would have been highly unpleasant had we not been able to patiently sit in our car the entire time, listening to music and drinking mate. We wound through a series of crazy switchbacks to deposit us into lower elevations, before finding our way into the town of Los Andes, where we passed the second-loudest night of the trip, parked in a camping/disco.
Over the next few nights, we experienced some frustration trying to find decent places to sleep for reasonable prices, as Chile is extremely expensive, and many campings cost around $20 a night. After doing so much campground-camping in Argentina, we had to readjust to true road life. Juan was happy to discover that most of the Copec gas stations along the highways have very good showers, as well as WiFi, and these have truly been our oases as we make our way south, trying to beat the cold weather to Ushuaia. Eager to see the lake district, we breezed through Viña del Mar and Valparaíso, stopping only to celebrate our return to the Pacific Coast, last having seen it in northern Peru. We covered a lot of ground while listening to “Master of the World” by Jules Verne and “The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket” by Edgar Allan Poe, good travel adventures.
When we reached Puerto Montt, we camped a single night on the bay, attending to the regular rhythm of whatever problems crop up–leaks, the stereo that we broke (and that Juan subsequently fixed in a rather ingenious manner), the lack of a single decent photo of us together. This campsite was actually our second choice, after having been warned away that a disco was about to open its doors just 50 meters away from our first choice. Boo–but thanks, friends!
The following day we boarded the ferry for Chiloe Island, a 250-km long, 50-km wide island that Juan had recalled tracing as a child on maps of South America. The ferry was insanely easy. We drove on, paid our US$24 on board, and enjoyed WiFi and a beautiful view for the short ride over.
I don’t count myself as easily impressed, but Chiloe is a majestic place, with a lovely market and a magnificent coastline that reminds us a lot of the Pacific Northwest. Perhaps the volatility of the weather here makes it even more gorgeous. We spent our first day in wonderful sun, taking a short boat trip to see the penguin colonies on nearby islets from the northwest shore, and enjoying a picnic lunch of fresh salmon and raspberries. In the night, however, a horrible squall blew in, making it feel as though we were trying to sleep in a tornado. We actually had to bail out of the roof tent in the middle of the night, as we thought the force of the winds could actually damage the tent. When we woke up, however, the rain had stopped, the winds had died, and the sun was shining.
It’s the second year that I’m not celebrating my mom’s birthday with her. (Boo!) But Happy Birthday all the same to my wonderful mother. We’ll hopefully see you soon in Bolivia and/or northern Chile!
More photos at limpire.
jbuhler