Caleta Tortel – Puerto Natales

Feb. 3-8

The end of the Carretera!

After about 3 and a half weeks we arrived at our final destination along the route, Caleta Tortel. Technically the end of the actual Carretera is a bit further south, but we booked a ferry bringing us from Tortel to Puerto Natales where we will prepare for our 9-day trek in Torres del Paine. This trek was the only thing we booked before flying out (actually booked back in July 2024) so we had to get there. Tortel is a pretty special town as there are no roads so… no cars, only an endless amount of boardwalks navigating every inch of the little settlement. Take a look below:

We were in Tortel for a few nights and stayed in two different hospedajes. We probably only scratched the surface on the amount of boardwalks we explored, but it felt like we walked through every “avenue” (each boardwalk had a street sign!) that we could. There was a really nice sendero (hike) up and over the back side of town that created a cool loop for us. We also got to attend a tour to the Isla de los Muertos (Island of the Dead), where a number of Chilean loggers were marooned and left for dead before Tortel was established. Our last day consisted of hanging out outside under a protected porch at the entrance to the Biblioteca Publica (public library) as we waited to board our ferry to Puerto Natales. Always waiting around for some sort of transportation…

The ferry was operated by a company called TABSA and the boat was named “Crux Australis.” The route lasted about 42 hours (two nights) and navigated through the narrow fjords of southern Patagonia. It was incredible! The cabin where we stayed only consisted of bus seats that were able to recline about 150 degrees for sleeping. It wasn’t the most glamorous way to sleep but it made the whole adventure fun and exciting! Meal services were held 3 times a day and each section of the cabin was called up for their turn to grab some grub on cafeteria style trays. The food was actually quite delicious! As you can imagine, being on a boat for two days called for some chill times. But, we were kept busy by mingling with other people, sitting up on deck watching the fjords go by, and even got to see a wrecked ship in the middle of one fjord.

This is the end of our Carretera Austral “mini” series. Hope we were able to give a little bit of insight into some of our adventures….

Next stop on our South American journey: Torres del Paine “O” Circuit.