Backpacking South America

We took a gamble and decided to try our hand at the Carretera Austral in southern Chile. The highway was Pinochet’s attempt to connect all of Chile by a highway. However, most of the road is gravel still, and in some places in fairly poor condition and we found bus service to be infrequent, leaving us stranded for a few extra days in some locations.

Our first stop was Futaleufu, a river rafting mecca – located just across the border from Esquel in Argentina. Prior to leaving Esquel, we couldn’t find the bus schedule from Futaleufu to other destinations south, so we decided to cross the border and determine our options once we arrived. Unfortunately, the next bus wasn’t for two days… So we were stuck. It was cold, windy and rainy the whole time, which presented its own aura of beauty – but it would have been great to see the mountains that this little town is surrounded by.

When we finally got out, it was on to Puyuhuapi to visit the hanging glacier at Parque Nacional Queulat. We found some other travelers and shared a car to the park. It was raining when we started, but we could see the glacier in the distance. So we continued on the longer path to the best mirador. A little over an hour later, we arrived at the top – soaked.

They have received so much rain this year (the locals say it’s the wettest summer in over 20 years), that the trail was never free of mud, water and often turned into a creek. The rain never let up, in fact, it only got heavier on the walk down. When we crossed the bridge back to the parking lot, it wasn’t even possible to see the glacier anymore.

We arrived back at our quaint accommodations (Refugio Augusto Grosse) craving warm comfort food. Carra prepped an apple crisp and we prepared a delicious dinner of fresh fish, rice mixed with mushrooms and red wine, and a tasty bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon… hardly roughing it.

Some photos from Puyuhuapi: