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09.12.2007
Gilles - Discovering Chiloe
Another crazy trip! The first bus ride took me from El Bolsón to San Carlos de Bariloche, in the Argentinean Lake District, 2 hours. One hour later, I took another bus from Bariloche to Puerto Montt in Chile, a 7 hour ride and almost immediately after I took the last bus to Castro, the main city of on the island of Chiloe, arriving there at 11:00 pm, after 13 hours on a bus and 15 hours traveling, exhausted and near starvation, since I had nothing all day to eat but two energy bars. There, it was foggy, rainy and bitterly cold, a...[more] Category: Chile
10.12.2007
Waiting in Puerto Varas
Heidi had stayed a few days longer in Argentina while Gilles moved on to rainy Chile. We met again in Puerto Varas to catch the Navimag ferry to Puerto Natales in southern Patagonia. This voyage will take us 1.460km through the fjords of southern Chile, a three day / three night trip. This boat leaves every Monday from Puerto Montt. But instead of spending the two days we had to wait in the rather unattractive Puerto Montt, we chose to stay at charming Puerto Varas, a mere 20 kilometers north. We ended up spending three days there...[more] Category: Chile
12.12.2007
Cruise to Puerto Natales - Our boat, the Evangelista
On Tuesday, December 11th, with almost 24 hours delay, we boarded the Evangelista, the 120 meter long Navimag ferry travelling between Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales, winding its way through a maze of fjords along the Chilean Pacific coast. It is best described as an inside passage between the mainland and the many small island off the coast. In the main season this boat is basically a cruise ship, but it also transports quite a lot of cargo. So we are very far from the pioneer experiences in 1980s, when travellers travelled on...[more] Category: Chile
13.12.2007
Cruise to Puerto Natales - The cruise (Part 1)
The success of this cruise is very much dependent on the weather. We started from Puerto Montt around 04:00 pm in bright sunshine and no wind. We could hardly believe our luck, since fog, strong winds, rain or even snow and icy temperatures are the more likely weather conditions in the area. The surface of the ocean was completely smooth, more like a lake. We were travelling along Chiloe Island off the coast, but since its shores were far away, there was not much to see, so we wandered around the boat and met lots of people. When we...[more] Category: Chile
14.12.2007
Cruise to Puerto Natales - The cruise (Part 2)
The third day was the best! The main attraction was a side trip to a glacier, called “Iceberg”, which created some confusion among the passengers, because of the way it was announced. We were all staring at the dark water and when we saw a big chunk of ice swimming on the surface, we held our breath. Everybody knows that the real danger of an iceberg lies underneath the surface! Most of us did not realize we were approaching a glacier until we were right in front of it. There the temperature dropped even more, to 6 degrees Celsius....[more] Category: Chile
18.12.2007
Parque Nacional Torres del Paine
Torres del Paine is South America’s most visited National Park, with more than 200.000 visitors per year. It covers an area of 181.000 hectares and is on every tourist’s itinerary who is visiting Chile or southern Argentina. Why? The geological make-up of this place is very special: bizarre rock formations, uniquely coloured rocks, a string of lakes each featuring a different colour of green, waterfalls, streams of all sizes fed by icy glacier water, snow capped mountains and glaciers looming behind every turn. It could not be more...[more] Category: Chile
19.12.2007
Trekking the “W”
First thing we did upon arriving in Puerto Natales was to head for Path@gone to book the three nights in the “Refugios”. These are hostals which offer dorms with six beds for a hefty 35 USD a bed, with shared bathrooms! Although to stay and eat in these refugios is pricey (add another 30 USD for three meals), it allows you the luxury to hike just carrying a small day-bag. Talking about costs: we dished out another 9 USD for renting a sleeping bag per night, 24 USD for the transfer between Puerto Natales and the National Park and 34...[more] Category: Chile
20.12.2007
Punta Arenas - The southernmost city on America’s mainland
We decided to break up the trip to Ushuaia and stopped in Punta Arenas for two days, discovering the southernmost city on America’s mainland. What we found was a rather rough place. The town is a wild mix of houses of all shapes and colours. In the very centre there are a few old mansions dating back to turn of the century when Punta Arena was the home of a number of “wool barons”. The more common sight here are houses made of wood with thin sheets of metals nailed onto them, then the building is painted in the wildest colour. There...[more] Category: Chile
21.12.2007
Chile - Budget
Chile is definitely the most expensive country we have been in South America, by far! Of course, prices are lower than in Europe or in North America, but are much higher than Brazil or Argentina, not to talk about Venezuela, Peru and of course Bolivia. We have spent on average 57.4 Euros or approx. 82 USD per person per day! The only good point is, we stayed there only 16 days… We spent on average 27 Euros or 39 USD per night for accommodation, even though we were not in the bigger cities and we often downgraded our standards and...[more] Category: Chile, Budget
21.12.2007
Chile - Summary
Since we “only” spent 16 days in southern Chile, we do not want to do this country any injustice, but except the spectacular scenery in Torres del Paine and the fjords on the way to Puerto Natales, we have not many unforgettable memories. There are many things that surprised us and at times even disturbed us. Firstly, the country is really expensive, especially accommodation and shopping for food. Secondly, the weather is rather unpleasant: it rains a lot and it is windy, even when the sun is out. Moreover, it tends to be chilly,...[more] Category: Chile, Summaries
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