Carretera Austral - March 13, 2023

Since my last post written from Futaleufu, R and I have begun to get much further along Route 7, the Carretera, in all its wet and misty glory. That description may be about to change however, and we will all be glad of the change but more about that later in the post.

For now, our progress to date…We left Futaleufu on Saturday morning March 11 and drove south and west back over the oceanside range of mountains to reach the location of our just-completed two night’s stay, Puyuhuapi Lodge, an eco lodge and spa on a little island in a fjord not too distant from the Pacific. As soon as we crossed back over to the western side of the mountains our road hugged the ocean and we were once again surrounded by clouds and rain. In fairness, the clouds occasionally parted and we had a brief respite from the rain but for the most part the tops of the mountains were shrouded in mist and cloud. We arrived in mid-afternoon at the private dock where the Puyuhuapi launch picks up its passengers for the 15 minute crossing to the island where the lodge is located.

Puyhuapi Lodge at low tide

Puyhuapi it is an eco lodge and spa which means there is a great emphasis placed on physical and mental well-being. There are thermal hot springs to soak in, a sauna, a variety of massages and treatments and a vast array of pummeling and pounding from which, needless to say, we both abstained. In a further nod to moderation the food was not particularly compelling or enticing so the danger of overeating was avoided. Very thoughtful of the chef but I would have been happier with at least a minimum of flavour and creativity. The wines however were, as they have been for the entire trip, interesting and more than made up for the lacklustre menu.

Because we were large distances from any local communities and we were surrounded by mountains there was no link to the outside and no cell or internet service. There was however one desktop computer which is shared by all the guests, a satellite link I suppose, but guests were requested to limit their use of the machine.

Hanging glacier

On Sunday we took the lodge’s launch back to the mainland at noon and were met by Hans, our driver/guide, who drove us to Queulat National Park. In the park is a large lake in a cavity of the surrounding mountains fed by a hanging glacier and which is a fabulous sight if the clouds are not covering it. We hiked about 600 metres along a forest track wet, rock-strewn, slippery and muddy from the rain and over a suspension bridge above the raging waters of the river which flows from the lake. The lake itself when reached was about half a metre above its normal height and it was very clear that the recent rains had caused all the waterways in the region to be in spate.

On the other side of the mountain range

At the trailhead where it met the lake was a small dock where we rented a zodiac which crossed the lake right over to the sheer rock wall of the mountain at its edge. Above us, in a cleft at the peak of the mountain was the edge of the glacier from which vast torrents of water were cascading down the face of the mountain fed both by the recent rains and the summer melting of the ice. A staggering sight particularily as the clouds surrounding the glacier opened up as we arrived and we had a fabulous view. By the time we were halfway back across the lake on our return the cloud window had closed and the glacier was no longer visisble.

We stumbled back to our car for the return to the lodge and our last dinner before departing this morning for Coihaique about 4 hours drive over unpaved roads. While it seems that we have covered a lot of ground we still have about 900Km to go. Today’s drive will take us eastward over two mountain ranges which means that we will have two ranges between us and the ocean so the weather should improve markedly. We are also now entering the southern Andes and the peaks from here will be much higher and more of the look that we all associate with Patagonia, high snow-covered mountains and, fingers crossed, sunshine and blue skies.

More to come!