The Carreterra Australus

Visas are always an issue when cruising. Both Chile and Argentina issue 90 days visas upon entry, so with a quick trip across the border one can re-enter and get another 90 days. When we were in the south it was easy to cross the Beagle Channel between Ushuaia, Argentina and Puerto Williams, Chile and renew visas. Three months out of Puerto Williams, after cruising north through the channels, it was time to make a trip into Argentina to renew. From Puerto Montt the easiest route is a 5-6 hour bus to winter resort at Bariloche, Argentina. We have twice been to Bariloche and wanted to see something different, so we decided to travel some more in Chilean Patagonia. Our original plan was to leave Tamara on Chiloe Island and take a ferry across to Chaiten, but the volcano, Mt. Chaiten, has been erupting since the first week of May. The area has been evacuated. An alternative was to take a 24 hour, overnight ferry from Puerto Montt south to Chacabuco and then start taking busses inland.

Chile's remote southern road, the Carretera Austral, stretches over 1,000 km through the wettest, greenest, wildest and narrowest part of Chile. The military dictator, General Pinochet, initiated construction of the highway in 1976 as a means of maintaining control over the area from the encroaching influence of it's bigger and more powerful neighbor, Argentina. It was a hugh project that cost hundreds of billions of pesos and took over 20 years to construct. The final section being completed in 2000. It truly is one of Chile's last frontiers though soon to change dramatically if the state hydroelectric project to dam the Rio Baker becomes reality.

Our route took us east from the rain forest of Chacabuco to the grasslands of Coyhaique, the regional capital, located on the edge of the Patagonia steppe. Continuing on by minibus we passed through the Cerro Castillo Reserve, with it's needle-point spires, to Puerto Ibanez and the 2.5 hour ferry across Lago General Carrera to the agricultural frontier town of Chile Chico. It is a 15 minute minibus ride from Chile Chico across the border to Los Antiguos, Argentina. We had visited Los Antiguos two years ago on our Argentine Patagonia trip and found that prices for accomodations have gone up 30% since our last visit. After one night we returned to Chile Chico, a more vibrant town and a new one to explore.

To continue on the Carretera Austral one has two choices: return across the lake by ferry and rejoin the highway or catch a once a week, Saturdays, minibus along the south shore of the lake to Cochrane. Luckily for us the Saturday departure fit our timeline and we were able to experience the incredible views, straight down, of the lake, and snowed capped mountains jutting straight up. The following day was an all day minibus back to Coyhaique through densely forested river valleys towered over by snow-capped peaks and the infrequent ranch house. It snowed the next day in Coyhaique, a reminder that winter is here.