Coyhaique – Chile Chico – Puerto Río Tranquilo

Jan. 24-30

We made it back to Coyhaique and said adios to our trekking amigos. My first thought was burgers and beer! We found a cool tap room and had some delicious burgers and some local craft beer. We ended up staying at the same hostel since they held on to our other belongings while we were gone. The next day we ran a bunch of errands to try and stock up on some items we needed. Coyhaique is the largest town in this area of Chile so it was not too hard to find shampoo, granola, and peanut butter. It is situated at almost the exact same latitude south as Bozeman is north, and the population is the same as well. I think Coyhaique was a perfect location for people to launch into all the adventures this area of Patagonia has to offer (picture below from web).

The next morning, we walked to the bus station and boarded a bus bound for Puerto Ibáñez. Here we got on a ferry to cross the second largest lake in South America behind Lake Titicaca, Lago General Carrera/Buenos Aires. The ferry landed in the lake port town of Chile Chico. We ended up staying here two nights and did not really have a reason to come here other than Rachael’s friend Aracelli had lived and worked here with a host family, and we were able to connect with them. The first night we stayed at a beautiful camping place just outside of town on a small farm. It was another formal campsite with a full shelter to cook food, clean dishes, and shower. We wandered around Chile Chico for a bit and found a cool lake side scramble and the towns massive yellow staircase leading to a windy summit. We stayed with Rachael’s friend the next night in her cozy cabana fully equipped with a kitchen. We made a pretty weak dinner but a family reunion was having a parrilla outside in the courtyard and they invited us to try all the different kind of meats they were cooking. It turned out they were all teachers and were enjoying their summer vacation with a little family reunion.

After Chile Chico we caught another bus to Puerto Río Tranquilo on the opposite side of the lake. It was a bumpy, winding 5-hour bus ride and we were happy to get into the small little lake town. We found another cool camping in town and pitched our tent here for the next two nights. The shelter was fully enclosed here which was nice since the wind and rain were still hammering us. Our first day in Puerto Río Tranquillo we went on little wander around the town and a short hike up to the cliffs above. The next day we hopped on a boat tour to the famous marble caves nearby. The boat motored us to this cliff outcropping made entirely of marble that had been slowly eroding away from the lake’s waves and wind. The boat skipper had no problem pulling us into the tight marble caves that were carved over time. The contrast between the baby blue water and the white and grey marble was stunning. On the way back from the caves we were heading into the wind so the ride back was insanely bumpy. It was thrilling! Funnily enough, our French friend (we never learned her name) was staying at the same camp area in Rio Tranquilo. We caught up over dinner, but then said au revoir the next day to her and Rio Tranquilo.

Next stop: Chochrane