Category Archives: Chile

Heading North up Ruta 3, Argentina

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February 21, 2019 – March 2, 2019

To get off the island of Tierra del Fuego and continue north in Argentina one must first re-enter Chile, then take a ferry to the mainland, and then re-enter Argentina. We drove to a small municipal camp on the Chilean side of Tierra del Fuego on the first day, then took the ferry to the mainland before re-entering Argentina the next day. We were tired of the frequent rain, wind and cold, and hoped to make some longer driving days north in search of warmer temperatures.

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Tierra del Fuego and King Penguins

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February 14, 2019 – February 16, 2019

We drove along the Strait of Magellan to where we would load Seymour onto yet another ferry, to make our way to Tierra del Fuego. Strait of Magellan, Tierra del Fuego…..names that I had read about in history class so many years ago, but that my teenage self never, ever would have imagined having the opportunity to visit. It was a bit surreal.

The Strait of Magellan
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Puerto Natales & Punta Arenas

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February 11, 2019 – February 14, 2019

What I left out of our last post was how, on the way to El Calafate, we had stopped at a mirador, and when we got back into the truck and tried to start it, it would not start. Dutch tourists that we had been chatting with, and who were also about to pull out of the mirador, knocked on our window to see if we needed help. “No, I think we are okay,” said Derek, and so they pulled out. We sat. We cursed and we both pondered a bit. Finally, Derek “bumped” the ignition to cycle the new lift pump a few times, and then was able to start the engine. We continued on our way to El Calafate, neither of us stating the obvious….the truck was clearly STILL not fixed.

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Back in Coyhaique…But for How Long?

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January 14, 2019 – January 29, 2019….yes, 2 weeks and counting….

We got an appointment with the mechanic for a few days out, and then found a nice campground right on the edge of the town of Coyhaique. Coyhaique is the largest town in Chilean Patagonia, with about 50,000 people, and is a tourist hub. We were amazed at the number of people staying in the campground…sometimes there would be 30 tents set up and 4 or 5 rigs in the parking lot. It was a bit overwhelming with our after having wild camped for so many nights in isolation.

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Carretera Austral – Part II

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January 7, 2019 – January 14, 2019

(Grab a coffee, tea or beer…..it’s a bit of a long post……)

We camped for a night in a small town called Puyuhuapi, situated at the end of a long fjord, in a small area behind a woman’s house. We were there with several other tourists, all of which were either travelling by bike or by hitchhiking. It had been very rainy, and I was thankful for our warm camper but felt guilty about our luxury when I walked by the chilled tenters on my way to the bathroom. But they were young, and they had a wood stove to gather around, and a little discomfort can increase the sense of adventure….ha ha, easy for me to say as I sipped my warm coffee from the comfort of our toasty camper.

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Carretera Austral – Part I

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January 1, 2019 – January 7, 2019

The Carretera Austral is a 1,240 kilometre road that runs from Puerto Montt to Villa O’Higgins, through mountains and forests, around fjords, lakes and glaciers, and relies on a couple of longer ferry crossings where the terrain is just too challenging for road construction. Work on the highway began in 1976. It was opened to traffic in 1988 and the last 100 kilometres to Villa O’Higgins were only completed in the year 2000. The road winds through remote areas of what is know as Chile’s Northern Patagonia region and we were very excited to be finally making our way into this region that is so famous for its beauty.

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The Island of Chiloe

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December 28, 2018 – January 1, 2019

At about 180 km long and 50 km wide, Isla Grande de Chiloe is the second largest island in South America. Our guidebook described the island as a home to fiercely independent sea-faring people, cut off from the mainland until about 50 years ago. It made the island sound mystical, with its shroud of early morning fog, its mix of Unesco World Heritage wooden churches and its local lore full of stories about witches and trolls.

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Another Trip to the Mechanic, Christmas in Osorno

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December 19, 2018 – December 28, 2018

We had an appointment for the truck in the town of Osorno for the 21st of December, so we camped for a few nights close by, then headed into town to the mechanic shop. After a few hours we were told that we had contaminated fuel, and that the system would need to be completely cleaned. The problem was that it was the Friday before Christmas, so they would not be able to work on the truck until the following Wednesday. We got the truck started, resupplied, and headed to a beautiful wild camp on Lago Ranco to await our appointment.

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Paso los Liberadores

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November 23, 2018 – November 24, 2018

The highway to the border of Argentina was in great shape. We sped along through small towns and fields of grape vines, slowly gaining elevation. Then the switchbacks began. Traffic slowed as we followed semi trailers up the numbered switchbacks, about 29 of them in total.

The first set of switchbacks on the main highway.
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Santiago de Chile

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November 19, 2018 – November 23, 2018

When I had dreamed about this trip, I had romantic visions of us visiting cities like Santiago. I pictured us getting a bit dressed up, visiting museums, churches and parks, then heading out for a late night dinner, maybe on a patio with a full moon and soft music playing in the background. But after visiting many colonial cities on this trip, to tell the truth, they are starting to all look alike.  In addition, it is hard to “clean up” nicely when you live in a small camper with no bathroom and most of your cloths are dirty and/or slowly deteriorating from harsh laundry service.  Also big cities can be quite a challenge with our truck and the dog….we want safe and secure parking that we can fit into and Piper is not always welcome at all establishments (What!  I know!  They just don’t know her like we do).  That being said, it seemed a shame to be so close to city such as Santiago and not visit…in we went.

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