Chelenko Cultural Area (Aysén, an Undiscovered Patagonia)

CHELENKO CULTURAL AREA

$9,852 USD

Ladies and gentlemen, I am about to share a MON-U-MEN-TAL event with you! Three generations and four families came together to explore the Region of Aysén, in the heart of Chilean Patagonia in an epic journey. What exactly am I talking about? Well, it has been a decade since my first trip to Aysén - a fun adventure with my friends in the Palena – Queulat Area of the region; eight years since my incredible journey to the Fjords and Channels Area, with my dad; six years since my trip to the Aysén – Simpson Area with Andrew, when we were dating; and five years since our adventurous honeymoon to the southern zone of the region. And now (drum roll, please), we celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary during an epic family adventure in the Chelenko Area of this incredible region!

We had been putting away pennies for this trip for several years, ever since my father and I had dreamed up the idea after our travels in Area of the Fjords and Channels Next we each had to convince our respective bosses and companies to allow us to save up vacation time and accumulate comp time so that we could have sufficient weeks to relax and explore. I don’t know how, but we were all able to pull things off and miraculously, secure three and a half weeks together to share the wonders of the Aysén Region. We concentrated our time in the Chelenko Area of the Region, the only area that I had not previously explored. We traveled with our wonderful son (almost four years old, now), my parents who have just celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary, Andy’s parents, my brother-in-law, his wife, and their two sons (19 and 14). Phew! That’s a lot of people! The logistics were overwhelming at first, with a group comprised of all different ages, levels of physical fitness, and VERY different tastes. But we were able to manage things by agreeing to travel together to some areas and divide up for others; this way, everyone was able to see and enjoy the places that caught their interest. We divided all the expenses into 11 equal portions and my parents and Andy’s parents paid for

Details of our Expenses, per person: (*Note: Thanks to the grandparents for covering our son’s trip!) Transport = $2,949 per person (Air travel plus one portion of the costs of chartering a group vehicle for eleven people, with a professional driver); Accommodations and Food = $984 ($41 /day per person on average); Tours and Souvenirs = $989

24 DAYS

23 NIGHTS ELEVEN PEOPLE(3 GENERATIONS)

TOTAL PERFAMILY

Our Family’s Travels through the Chelenko Area Aysén Region, Chile

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the grandchildren. Of course, this HUGE gift from the grand-parents was the single most important aspect for making the dream trip a reality! For the 10th millionth time, thank you!

Before filling you in on all the adventures, I’ll provide a bit of foreshadowing: the trip was a huge hit, and we came home with enough memories to last a lifetime! So, keep reading and take notes. My goal is to share everything you need to plan your own adventure and family reunion in the heart of Patagonia.

Day 1: The journey to reach Puerto TranquiloThe trips from the U.S. were long (as always), but, most of us were able to get at least five or six hours of sleep on the overnight flight to Santiago and we shepherded the rest through customs and the airport to take the national flight down to Balmaceda. Probably the best decision we made during the entire journey was to employ a professional chauf-feur with a minibus capable of carrying 14 people. It gave us total freedom to go wherever we wanted without having to worry about driving the intense Patagonia roads! Here is our driver’s info: Don Dario Figueroa, (www.patagoniamar-moltour.cl). There are several good drivers offering tours and custom services in the region, but after three weeks traveling with Don Dario, we have officially adopted him as a beloved member of our raucous clan. He picked us up at the airport and we immediately began heading toward Puer-to Río Tranquilo, 183 km south along the Carretera Austral (Southern Highway). The first 60 km are asphalt and after that, pure gravel, complete with potholes, washboards, wild animal crossings and gaucho cattle drives! There are always sections being repaired and plenty of oncoming traffic to sur-prise you around every twist and turn. We enjoyed it all, happy to have hired our own chauffeur who was a pro at nav-igating these roads! The Carretera passes through the Cerro Castillo National Reserve and the small town of Villa Cerro Castillo, which is beautifully situated at the base of this truly breathtaking mountain, which is topped with pointy towers and spires that completely resemble a medieval basalt castle (Castillo = Castle)! We stopped for lunch at a restaurant called Villarrica (09) 66560173, that had great sandwiches and delicious regional beers (another giant advantage of not driving!) I recommend the Cerveza Caiquén, (check them out on Facebook) that has a picture of the mountain on the label! What better way to start off the trip!

After a nice stop in town, we continued south towards Puerto Tranquilo. Don Dario showed us several interesting landmarks along the way; things we definitely wouldn’t have noticed or understood without his guidance. For example, all along the route there are traces of the eruptions of the Hudson Volcano, the most violent of all of Patagonia’s active giants. This volcano’s location is so remote that, for thou-sands of years, no one gave it attention until 1971, when it awoke furiously, causing tremendous devastation to the eco-system and ranches in this area. A second and even more violet explosion occurred twenty years later in 1991. Twenty

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more years passed, and sure enough, Hudson started show-ing signs of eruption in 2011, but this time it only coughed a bit of smoke and ash; nothing in comparison to the damage produced during earlier explosions. In 1971, according to Don Dario, there was extensive damage, and most of the area’s ranchers lost pretty much everything. The 1991 erup-tion was so disastrous that everything was covered in ash all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. In fact, I later read that it is considered one of the world’s largest volcanic eruptions of the twentieth century. Don Dario, remembers everything vividly: houses under meters of ash, dead animals, and family and friends who lost everything. Terrible! We actually took a minute to stop along the Carretera at an area still recovering from the last devastating eruption. The valley, dead forests, and fences buried among the ashes bear witness to these past events. I took a lot of black and white photos, adding even more feeling and drama to the sorrowful landscape.

We continued our way south immersed in the wonderful landscapes. It was so cool to see Josh (my son) sitting with my mom, both of them smashing their noses against the win-dows, in a constant dialogue of “ooohhhs” and “ahhhhhs”. My little guy was enjoying every minute of the trip, and I loved that. I think he has definitely inherited the explorer gene his parents share! Upon reaching Tranquilo, we settled in at Ca-banas Valle Exploradores located on Arrayanes 205, (www.valleexploradores.cl). It’s a small complex of six cabanas, each one equipped for four people and well stocked with bedding, kitchen accessories, and the like. We rented three and used the biggest of the kitchens to cook a delicious meal which we shared over a fun and crowded conversation about the day’s events. Crazy fun! Day 1 = total success.

Day 2: Marble, marble and more marble! The Marble Caverns (Cavernas del Marmol) in Puerto Tran-quilo are one of the most famous natural sites to visit in the area. I had discovered dozens of phenomenal images of these caves in my pre-trip research. For example, “Buzzfeed”, lists them as one of the most surreal sites in the world to visit. So that was our family’s goal for Day 2, close-up views of this mysterious natural wonder.

After spending a few hours preparing breakfast, taking show-ers, and arranging the disorder (think aftermath of a torna-do), Don Dario finally succeeded in rounding up our giant flock of sheep, loading us into our chariot, and dropping us off at the boat docks where Don Lenny Soto, owner of Excur-sions Maran-Atha, ([email protected]; (09) 66479614), was patiently waiting. There are a ton of opera-tors with trips to the caves, but we chose Don Lenny because he had two boats available and was willing to visit both the caves of Puerto Tranquilo, and the other caves that surround the Panichini Islands in Puerto Sánchez. The weather was on our side, so we spent the entire day browsing the lake and admiring these wonders, with their naturally sculpted rippled textures and beautiful colors of white (pure marble), grayish blue, and pink. Don Lenny told us that this huge reservoir of

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marble is more than 300 million years ago, but that the caves and caverns were formed more recently, by the sculpting ac-tions of receding ice and waters from the General Carrera (or Chelenko) Lake. He navigated close enough to some of the caverns that we could actually jump off the boat and sit inside for a great family photo! We took turns entering the caves, thanks to the great dexterity of our boatmen, where we were surrounded by the marble and the turquoise blue waters that reflected the sun’s rays through the tiny entranc-es and small “windows” on the marble walls. What can I say? Surreal doesn’t do the experience justice, it was absolutely magical! At the end of the day, we returned to Puerto Tran-quilo and cooked another delicious meal together. Then, we headed back to our respective beds because the following day held another huge adventure in store!

Day 3: Exploring in ExploradoresI don’t know how, but we managed to get all the sheep and lambs rounded up in record time to leave early for the Ex-ploradores Valley and its Glacier. The journey began with a 52 km drive down a lovely road that became more and more beautiful and green with each kilometer we traveled on our westward route along the narrow road. Dense forests, giant nalca leaves, ferns, mountains with glaciers hanging from their peaks, waterfalls, lakes, and rivers. Wow! We stopped at a waterfall called La Nutria, with crystalline waters falling at least 30 meters. Around the 50th kilometer, we stumbled upon the Exploradores River and a couple of kilometers be-yond, the Refuge for El Puesto Expediciones, (www.elpues-to.cl), where Don Dario left us in the hands of their capable guides. Our parents decided to do a short walk (20 minutes) with our little one, up to the observation deck for the glacier. The rest of us took a guided hike on the glacier. The first few kilometers are a bit complicated as you hike over the moraine, maneuvering your way amongst tons of rocks and stones and enormous boulders the size of a house! But the hike is totally worth it because once you reach the enormous sheet of ice, and buckle on your crampons, you are immersed in a quiet world of blue, green and white. You can explore some of the ice caves and walk through the crevasses, touch-ing ice that is tens of thousands of years old. Just incredible! We met up with our parents and Josh at the refuge, several hours later, and they told us that they had no trouble staying entertained with the panoramic views of the glacier and the little birds fluttering about as Josh skipped stones with his Grandpas by the river. We headed back to Puerto Tranquilo with zero energy to cook, so we opted for one of the local diners, Restaurant Costanera, (67) 2419500, and then hit the sheets!

Day 4: More ice in Laguna San Rafael National Park! We headed back through the Exploradores Valley during the early hours of Day 4, this time following the road until you could go no further, so that we could meet our guides for the Explorer’s Route to Aysén’s most famous glacier, San Rafael.

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Don Dario left us in the hands of the two companies that have pioneered this new route, Destino Patagonia (www.destinopatagonia.cl), and Turismo Río Exploradores – EMTREX (www.exploradores-sanrafael.cl). Once we had been shuttled across the river by rowboat and driven to the Puerto Grosse docks, we were fitted for life-jackets, and di-vided into two smaller groups and boats. We started our sailing adventure traveling through the Exploradores River Delta. Suddenly, my son yelled at his grandmother, “Nana, look!” He was the first to notice a group of bottle-nose dol-phins dancing and swimming alongside the boat. So agile and fast! Definitely a good start to the trip! After the river, we traveled along the Cupquelan Estuary and later, through the Elefantes Channel, where we paused to take photos of the Gualas Glacier before continuing our journey through the Témpanos River. Imagine our faces when we got our first views of the San Quintin Glacier and the enormous San Ra-fael Glacier and Lagoon. We stopped at the Conaf dock to chat with the park rangers and then circumvented the ice floes all the way to a few meters from the imposing huge blue wall of ice. At first Josh was afraid of the glacier calving, hiding between my legs every time he heard the glacier breaking and huge chunks of ice tumbling down into the sea. But once he realized that the captains were in complete control and there was nothing to fear, he LOVED the giant splashes and waves the ice created, and began screaming with excitement every time the glacier started to creak. “More, more”, he shouted, clapping and shaking his tiny hands! An adventurous soul, am I right?

When we arrived back to the Exploradores River, Don Dario was waiting for us with hot chocolate and sandwiches in the minibus. We arrived the cabanas at about 21:00, exhausted (and rightfully so). It was an unforgettable and incredible day!

Day 5 - 8: A delicious potpourri of Patagonia: Meat-balls, Bahía Murta (both), and SuizAike. After two MARATHON days, it took a while to get all 11 travelers awake, clean, fed and ready to go, and we ended up clearing out of our cabanas around noon. Man, what it takes to mobilize this troop! I wasn’t too concerned about half the day being gone because we had only programmed to travel 30 kilometers north, to the tiny village of Bahía Murta. Along the way, Don Dario surprised us with a stop at an old cemetery. We climbed a small hill for a closer look, and were greeted with a beautiful panoramic view of General Carrera Lake and the peninsula. At first I didn’t understand why he was showing us the mouths of the Engaño, Murta and Res-balón Rivers, but thanks to four prior trips and lot of practice over the last decade, I was finally able to decipher his Span-ish. He related the story of how the people of Bahía Murta actually moved their entire town from this site to a nearby plateau after years of constant flooding of these rivers. Thank goodness they moved when they did, because shortly after there was a huge storm that wiped out the original town. Hence, there are two Bahía Murtas: what remains of Murta

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Antigua and the new town, Nueva Murta.

By now our stomachs were growling with hunger so we headed to the Residencial Patagonia, (09) 87259186, where the owner, Señora Clotilde made us one of her specialties: homemade Patagonian-style meatballs accompanied with rice and salad. Lunch was D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S! Please, if you happen to wander in this direction, stop in and try them! I promise you’ll appreciate this blogger’s humble suggestion! Señora Clotilde and her lodge are precious with beautiful gardens filling the grounds and lots of antiques and artifacts related to the settlers in the area, very well organized within a small museum. After completely filling our stomachs and exploring the museum and garden, three hours had passed, so we said our goodbyes and headed over to “New” Murta. We stopped at the beach on the southern end of town to take in the views and pose for a few family shots and then headed up above the town along the road towards Puerto Sánchez for about 4.5 km, entering the small parking area for Hospedaje Rural SuizAike (blog: loghouse-suizaike-pa-tagonia.over-blog.com). We took a good long while to organize ourselves here; we unpacked the suitcases and re-organized all of our gear so as to only carry the essentials (of which there were many), because you have to hike from the parking lot to the Hospedaje, (800 m) and we could see that on the way back we would be hiking UP! The walk down to their main house was easy and beautiful, not to mention good old family fun. Imagine eleven people of diverse ages and energy levels making their way down through the for-est and stopping every 50 meters or so to take in another incredible glimpse of General Carrera Lake. Finally, we left the forest behind, and entered a beautiful protected area of fields that were perched above the spectacular backdrop of the lake. In the center of the landscape, there was a mag-ical log house made of entire trunks of native coigües situ-ated above a perfect knoll and a bit farther, tucked into the woods, a charming log cabin. We were greeted by Werner and Ninoska, the creators of this amazing oasis, who Andy knew from his time working on the project in the Ice Fields. SuizAike is “intimate and family-oriented” and absolutely did not have accommodations for 11 people, but they welcomed us in as if we were part of their own family. My in-laws stayed in the main house, my parents with Josh in the cabin, and the rest of us in 3 tents, next to the corral. The farm is absolutely idyllic AND the cooking is amazing - everything fresh-picked and gathered; eggs from free-range chickens, whole-grain breads, organic vegetables straight from the garden, roasted salmon from the lake, and delicious risottos! Our first night they prepared a creamy, cheesy risotto with a flavorful sauce made out of morel mushrooms, gathered from the fields be-hind their corrals.

We stayed in SuizAike for three wonderful days, eating like royalty, enjoying the serene setting and their rustic sauna, and exploring the surrounding area. We fished and kayaked, hiked to the Escargot Lagoon, summited Cerro Pichón, and relaxed in the hot springs of the Engaño River. Werner and

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Ninoska invited us to visit Murta with them to attend the Festival of Arreo, which celebrates the old customs and tra-ditions of the gauchos and pioneers of the area. It was fan-tastic! We watched the gauchos herding animals and shear-ing sheep, attended the rodeos and dances, and a thousand other entertaining activities. It was truly great watching Josh and his grandparents be entertained by the same things, two different ages yet completely in sync, eating up the scene by clapping, shouting and trying every different food they were offered. It was really fun!

Before we said farewell to this small hidden paradise, we pur-chased some beef to have a big asado (Patagonian cook-out). They say that Murta has the best beef in the region, (we bought ours at the Carnicería La Bahía, (09) 84652955, lo-cated next to the Plaza de Armas), and we completely agree because the asado was delicious! Between hugs, kisses and tears, we parted ways with our dear friends of SuizAike and rejoined Don Dario to head south along the Carratera.

Our next campsite/adventure would be the Eco Camping and Hostel, Un Destino No Turístico (translation: Not a Tourist Destination Eco-camping and Hostel), www.desti-no-noturistico.com, in Puerto Guadal. This spot was an-other one of Andy’s ideas; he really has a knack for finding some of the best “off the beaten path” spots. Not a Tourist Destination, is a project created around the concept of ‘slow travel’, embracing the idea that travelers need to take their time and truly get to know a place and its people. Their hos-tel and camping promote environmental responsibility and awareness of the ecological footprint that we leave as tour-ists, offering a variety of compensations like the use of or-ganic agricultural methods, renewable energy, solar cooking, bio-construction, recycling, and permaculture. Andrew and I were very interested in getting to know the owners and the rest of the family were great sports, showing genuine curios-ity about all these new concepts.

Day 9 - 10: In a non-touristy destination and horse-back riding to Mallín GrandeThe plan for the next few days was for Andrew, Josh, my-self, and my parents to stay at Not a Tourist Destination Eco-camping and Hostel, while my in-laws, brother-in-law and his family took an overnight horse trek. Early in the morning, they met with their guide, Pascual Diaz, owner of Kalem Turismo of Puerto Guadal (Facebook: Turismo Kalem Patagonia), to head to his family’s farm in Mallín Grande on the southern shore of Lago General Carrera. From there they rode up into the foothills of Cerro Tronador to a sector known as Las Horquetas. Meanwhile, we participated in a private workshop, learning about the practices used on the farm and in the hostel. They have an amazing organic gar-den with an excellent composting system using earthworms that enrich the soil. Everything was really interesting, and we even had a cooking class using their solar cookers to make an incredible soup and homemade bread. Everything is much

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slower and takes more time and work, but it was fascinating and we learned so much! I know that this style of living is not feasible for us at this point in our lives, but both Andy and I agreed that we needed to incorporate some of these prin-ciples back home. I jotted down tons of notes so that when I got back, I could write an article on slow travel, because I found it so rewarding and relaxing. Actually, I’ve always en-joyed traveling in a way that permitted me to really dig in and learn about a place, but I never knew it had a name!

The next day, we reunited with the rest of our group in Mallín Grande at Don Pascual’s family farm. The others had a blast, as well. Sounds like they are becoming real gauchos! That af-ternoon, Don Dario drove us around the southern border of the lake to Chile Chico. The road was fairly intense, narrow and steep, especially in the area known as the Paso de Las Llaves, where one can really get their head in a tizzy thanks to the narrow winding road with its 90° curves and steep cliffs perched HIGH, HIGH, HIGH above the lake. Yet another reason Don Dario is our hero! He proved to be first class as a chauffeur, giving us the chance to snap tons of pictures - the scenery was incredible!

We arrived in Chile Chico and went directly to the Hostería y Camping de la Patagonia (www.hosteriadelapatagonia.cl) for hot showers and a nice night in beds. The majority of the group stayed in the main part of the hostel, but An-drew, Joshua and I stayed in a cabana that is pretty unique. It was a converted, old steam boat called “El Chile”, which had served the city during its most prosperous years, the 1940s and ‘50s, transporting minerals, mining equipment, employ-ees and passengers between different ports along the lake. Inside the antique iron relic, things has been completely re-furbished, with comfortable (and top quality) bedding, a cozy wood-burning stove, an excellent bathroom and a kitchen. You could accommodate up to six people aboard so with the three of us, there was plenty of room to move around and play. That’s exactly what Josh did – jumping from bunk to bunk and pretending all sorts of games. It was pretty cool sleeping in an old steamer, especially for Josh! He just loved it!

Day 11: A day of relaxation in the “city of sun”Chile Chico is one of the oldest towns in the Aysén region. The original settlers made their living raising livestock, but their strategic location on the shores of the lake near the border with Argentina led to them becoming a center of commerce and transportation for the wool produced in the entire sector of General Carrera. Then they became one of the most productive cities in Chile for a few decades when they were the hub for exportation of the zinc, lead and copper being mined around the basin of the lake during the decades of the 1940s and ‘50s. During those years, hotels, clubs, and theaters were built – they say that Chile Chico had everything in those years. Today’s Chile Chico is much different; a calm relaxed town nestled into the lake shore. It is focused on taking full advantage of its glorious micro climate and producing some of the most delicious cherries in all of

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Chile. Be sure to try some as I can honestly say that they are the richest cherries I have ever eaten, and they are giant!

We took advantage of the beautiful weather and spent a re-laxing day walking around town to check out some of the history for ourselves. We went to the lookout point, veiled in hundreds of flags from countries all over the world and walked along the waterfront, where we passed by historic buildings and went to the flea market, next to the docks, which is held every Saturday morning. There, we met the Agrupación de Mujeres del Valle de Bahía Jara, a group of women from the nearby Bahía Jara sector (17 km west of town), who have formed an agricultural club and begun sev-eral projects for their greenhouses and fruit groves, in order to improve their production and have more great products to sell at the fairs. We bought a ton of homegrown fruits, jams, preserves, cheeses, crafts, herbs, and crafts to enjoy during the remainder of our trip. The picnic for the following day would be great! We ended the day at the Restaurante La Mercè (67) 2411582, located in one of the historic houses of the Belgian colonization of the year 1948, a reminder that this region’s history is so recent that one can visit pioneer sites that are no more than 50 or 60 years old!

Day 12 - 13: Trip to the Jeinimeni National Reserve’s distinctive landscapes and archaeologyJeinimeni National Reserve is located just 60 km from Chile Chico, but poor Don Dario took almost three hours to get us there, thanks to our little game of making him stop ev-ery 30 seconds with our shouts of, “last photo Don Dario, we promise! “. We stayed almost an hour in the sector of the Flamencos Lagoon (40 km from Chile Chico), where you can see thousands of native and migratory birds. It was so spectacular that I got out my tripod and set up shop for a while to capture some awesome close ups of the birds. The landscapes throughout this incredible reserve were much different than any I’ve ever seen in Aysén, full of new con-trasts, colors, and sensations. I loved them and the way they changed every few minutes based on the light that filtered through the moving clouds! We camped next to Jeinimeni Lake, where there is a great campground with toilets, show-ers and large quinchos for entire families. It was an evening full of laughter, stories, a little fishing on the part of the men, and a nice cookout, or asado as they say here.

The next day, Don Dario led the more athletic members of our group to the beginning of the trail to the Cave of the Hands, the Rock Tower, and the Valley of the Moon. It’s a 9.5 km loop, passing through areas where one is completely immersed in a world of 10,000 years ago. If I had been an indigenous Tehuelche nomad, this area would have been one of my favorite places to wander and it made me a little mel-ancholy when I saw the rock art that had been so carefully placed some 8,000 – 10,000 years ago, only to be vandalized during the last fifty. There were mysterious geological forma-tions and rocks full of a thousand rich colors, but my favorite

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place was the summit, which we reached after a long grad-ual climb. Here, the Patagonian winds rip and roar and you have fantastic views all the way to General Carrera Lake (it was originally named: Chelenko, meaning “troubled waters” in the Tehuelche language, definitely more fitting). The wa-ters appear all the more blue and troubled when seen rolling against their shores amongst a vast space of arid pampa. If there was one thing I might do differently with this hike, it would be to have hired a guide. We made out okay, but we wandered around quite a while trying to re-encounter the trail a few times. I was told later that there is a guide service called Patagoniaxpress (www.patagoniaxpress.cl) that of-fers daily hikes during the high season. I highly recommend finding a local guide to help you along this trail!

For our last night, we decided to stay in the cabanas of some more friends Andy had made during his work on the Ice Fields project, Don Juan Mercegue and Doña Fidelina Rocco. They are the owners of Turismo Kon-Aiken, located on Pe-ter Burgos 3, Chile Chico (konaiken.blogspot.com). They have a giant kitchen in their hostel and almost all of us were able to cram in and help out with cooking a delicious din-ner! We were chatting and celebrating with them until about 03:00 am and we needed to be on the ferry that runs from Chile Chico to Puerto Ibáñez at 07:15 the next morning! Ha ha - I can’t believe that we are “partying” every night with our parents. So much fun!

Day 14: Crossing the Chelenko to Puerto IbáñezWe didn’t have time for breakfast, but no one minded be-cause Fide had sent us on our way with a basket full of de-licious foods from the Chile Chico area; jerky, cheeses, let-tuce, bread and, of course, cherries! Moreover, she nestled in one of her own marmalades, a homemade delicacy. Yum! We bought coffee on the ferry (Sotramin - Ferry Tehuelche, www.sotramin.cl), and enjoyed our excellent breakfast pic-nic, while taking in views of the assorted colors of Chelen-ko Lake (I’ve decided to call it that for the rest of the trip), and the changing landscapes of the Peninsula Levicán. We arrived in Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez in just a few hours and Don Dario took us to the Cabanas Bordelago (www.pata-goniabordelago.cl), where our entourage had reserved the entire complex. Several of the group opted for a few hours of additional sleep, while the rest went to explore the sector around the Salto Ibáñez, a HUGE cascading waterfall where you can feel the breeze created by the moving waters blow-ing the spray on your face. Afterwards, the women of our group went to peruse the many greenhouses and gardens in town, thanks to a tip Fide had provided. We went to Las Paramelas, (09) 99813498, near the airfield and to the Gran-ja Municipal de la Agrupación de Horticultores, a municipal farm on Carlos Soto S/N; (67) 2423365, where we bought culinary treasures to offer the guys. In return, they took on the cooking this night and treated us to a delicious dinner!

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Day 15: Our attempt to become artisans!When traveling with my father through the islands of Aysén’s f jords, some eight years ago, we discovered some wonderful, handcrafted clay casserole dishes. My dad was inspired by these pieces of art and as a result, I discovering his hidden chef talents and the delicious baked fish he prepared. These very same earthenware casserole dishes - and a whole lot of other beautiful things – are made here in Puerto Ibáñez.

Do you remember my mentions in past blogs about Father Antonio Ronchi? He was an Italian priest who was much loved throughout the region because of his tireless work to improve the quality of life for people living in and around the isolated rural communities. The town of Puerto Ibáñez was no exception. Father Ronchi worked with the women of town to develop a way for them to contribute to their fam-ily’s welfare through their creativity and local resources. He managed to bring a master craftsman to the area, who taught this group of around forty women to gather, and work with, a local clay, and helped them create their own unique designs and styles, based on the Tehuelche cave drawings that fill the Ibáñez Valley. Now, some 40 years later, these cacharritos (jars of clay) are the region’s most well known handicraft. Amazing legacy, in my opinion! Some of the pieces, like the original miniature cacharritos, are merely ornamental and others are utilitarian, like the cookware my dad coveted so many years ago when we first traveled within the region.

So, we were in Ibáñez, and for that matter, in Chelenko, to find our very own hand-made casserole dish, from the ar-tisans of this tiny Patagonian village. After waiting so many years, we couldn’t just buy the first pot we found, could we? So we decided to visit each of the workshops in town and learn about the artisans and the history of their work. The rest of the group was excited to accompany us on this adven-ture after hearing the stories so many times. Our idea was to find a few of the artisans that would be willing to let us help with the creation of our own works of art. So we asked, and found two workshops where we were welcome to join in and “play a bit in the mud”. The workshops we discov-ered were Artesenia Gladys on Diego Portales 453 (Face-book: Artesenia Gladys), owned by Señora Gladys Alarcón, and Taller Las Manos, located on Luis Bolados 485, (09) 83668888, owned by Señora Marfa del Aguila and Don Joel Vargas. We loved both workshops and the opportunity to build a friendship with their owners. Most of all, my dad and I loved the opportunity to make our own “priceless” earthen-ware treasures, but it requires several days to complete the job, so we decided to compromise and share the responsibil-ity with the masters themselves. That day we focused on ac-companying the artists to collect the clay which they extract from the Levicán Peninsula, in the sector of the Salto del Río Ibáñez. We returned to the workshops and mixed the clay and later, filled the molds. Then we let the masters do their work – they fired our earthenware in their kilns and laid them out for drying and cooling, with the promise that we could

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return in two days more, to help with glazing and decoration.

Day 16: Rock- climbing in the MaitenalDon Dario was waiting for us at 10 :00 to go to the El Maitenal del Río Ibáñez, owned by Gerald Dallman (09) 83892832 and his wife, Lilian Henriquez (09) 85327680, a Chilean-German couple who came to this area with the idea of making a new life based on sustainable farming and tour-ism. Interestingly enough, neither were avid climbers when they arrived, but, as things unfolded, they found themselves equipping a huge rock wall on their property with several routes for sport climbing that has turned their farm into a fantastic climbing zone; one of the best in this sector of Pata-gonia. As you’re leaving town toward Cerro Castillo, you turn toward the Salto and later, the Peninsula Levicán, continuing along this dirt road for 3 km to the entrance for El Maitenal. It was a great day! Not only was the climbing fantastic, but also because the asado al palo, prepared by Gerald and served with his handcrafted Dallman Beer, brewed according to a recipe brought from Germany, truly made the day complete. After so many beers, it’s a good thing that we had Don Dario to take us back to the cabanas!

Day 17: Pottery in Ibáñez 2.0Thanks to a full day of activity and thirst-quenching Dallman Beers, the climbers (and everyone else), slept in late. After finally getting up and organized, we walked to the water-front where there is a small park and Restaurant El Lago (09) 82284422, where we had a huge breakfast with pan-oramic views of the lake (Short side note: they don’t usually offer breakfast, but the granddads had talked them into it the day before). Afterwards, we headed back to the workshops to finish and decorate our works of art. They were coming along great! Andy, Josh and I each added our own personal touch to ours, and we left them in the capable hands of our new friends for the finishing steps. Mission accomplished! I thoroughly recommend this activity as it is a great way to get the whole family involved; children, adolescents, adults all had a blast and each one has a unique and special souvenir. A personal note to my father: I’m counting on the fact that you’re going to invite me to try another recipe prepared in your new casserole, no?

Day 18: Following the beautiful Las Ardillas RouteOur dear friend Don Dario came to collect us in the morning to explore the sector known as Las Ardillas. It is a spectacular journey that runs between Puerto Ibáñez and Villa Cerro Castillo, a stretch of the national Trail of Chile, but still glori-ously undiscovered by the masses. If you decide to take this route, definitely bring your camera and fishing pole, because the landscapes leave you speechless, and the road is accom-panied by lagoons, lakes and streams for almost its entire expanse. Several people in the group wanted to try their luck fishing in these waters, so we had arranged to stay in the Ca-banas Lago Tamango (www.lagotamango.com), located 19

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km before Villa Cerro Castillo, on the shores of this beautiful lake. There are two cabins that can accommodate up to 11 people, a camping area and a quincho for barbecuing.

Day 19: Like nomads, making our way toward the campsite ÑiresToday, after a beautiful and relaxing sunrise over the lake, we meandered our way toward Villa Cerro Castillo, beckoned by amazing views of the Cerro Castillo mountain range, get-ting bigger and more panoramic with every kilometer. Wow, we had really lucked out with the weather on this trip! Pure sunshine! Joining back up with the Carretera Austral, we took a short detour to the first school of the village, which has been completely restored and converted into a museum and historical center for archaeological research in the area. The Ibáñez River Valley has more than 80 archaeological sites from the Tehuelche and pre-Telhueche hunter-gatherer cul-tures. The Paredón de las Manos, located just 200 meters from the Old School and Museum, provides an excellent opportunity to get a closer look at this ancient culture of Patagonia. A short walk leads you to a wall with tons of hands painted around 5,000 years ago, by nomadic groups of adults and children. It was incredible to imagine groups of ancient peoples painting their art on these rocks and having us look in wonder, more than 5,000 years later. I wish they had left us more clues so that we could understand their strange art. We took many photos of this site to remember it well (of course without flash, in order not to damage them). We end-ed the day sleeping under the stars just like the first nomads who moved through this area (Okay, we had 3-season tents, but hey, that’s progress!). We stayed in the beautiful area of Camping Los Ñires (09) 92165009, right along the Carretera Austral, 10 km south of Villa Cerro Castillo. It is a tranquil site, set amongst the fields of a local family farm surrounded by native forest, with a Fogón, which, similar to a Quincho, allows for indoor cooking around an open fire pit, and we enjoyed wonderful bathrooms with hot showers.

Day 20 - 23: Adventures for all in the Cerro Castillo ReserveToday’s breakfast was one of the best of the entire trip! If guests want, they can ask Señora Rosa Chacano, the own-er of this charming camping area, to prepare a feast for the morning. Nothing beats a savory farm fresh breakfast with scrambled eggs, homemade bread and preserves of a local plant called nalca. Go there and eat up! You can thank me later ;). We spent the early morning relaxing on the farm and playing with their animals and around 11:00, Rosa’s husband, Don Eleuterio Calfullanca, grilled out for us in the Fogón. (Don’t worry, we had plans for burning off all these calories we were eating!) The great food was followed by a small “fashion show” where Señora Rosa showed off her wool craftsmanship. As always, we were good and faithful custom-ers, buying several items to take home and wear, helping us to fondly recall each of the amazing people we’ve met on this

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trip. Then it was time to start our last big adventures and burn off all the calories we had been consuming. Again, we were dividing in two groups; one group, formed by Andy, me, and my brother-in-law’s family, would hike for four days in the mountains of the Cerro Castillo National Reserve, from the sector of Las Horquetas back to Villa Cerro Castillo. My in-laws and parents had agreed to take care of their grand-son and had planned their own adventures. Don Dario took us to the trail head where we met our guides for the next four days, from Expediciones GeoSur, (www.geosurexpe-diciones.com), and after saying our goodbyes and wishing us luck with giant hugs, we separated from the others and headed deep into the forest.

OUR ADVENTURES ON THE TRAIL

It’s one thing to see this giant castle of rock and ice from afar, but something very different to see it up close, with all its de-tails, its glacier and its impressive lagoon. Wow! I was enam-ored the whole way, but let’s take this one day at a time. The first day we walked from the area of Las Horquetas to the campsite of Río Turbio (16km!). We got a bit of a late start so it was a good thing we were traveling in the Chilean summer, when the days last almost 17 hours. The trail was mostly gen-tle slopes, passing old mountain farms used only in the sum-mer months, but we did have to wade through streams on three different occasions. I have a history of blisters so I reli-giously took off my boots, slipped on hiking sandals, crossed the stream, dried my feet, and replaced my hiking boots. What a chore to do 3 times! But no, no, no, no, ladies and gentlemen, THIS time blisters will NOT take the fun out of my trek! After we put our boots on for the last time, we went to the Conaf shelter to register and pay the entrance fee, and then, a few kilometers later, we arrived at the campsite along the shores of the Turbio River. We pitched our tents and spent the twilight hours chatting with the guides while they prepared the best lentils that I have ever eaten in my life, (or maybe I was just really hungry?). The second day was shorter (8 km), but a lot harder. We hiked from the Turbio River Campsite up, up and more up until crossing El Penon Pass (1,460 m) that graced us with amazing views of hanging glaciers. Then, we slid down the snowdrift of El Penon and descended the pass, before ascending once more, through the woods, to reach our mid-mountain Bosque Campsite. The third day was 9 km, and the most intense of all, because of the huge rocks and stones we had to hike over, but mostly because of the fierce Patagonian wind! I think it was also my favorite day because we arrived at the sparling turquoise la-goon at the foot of Cerro Castillo’s spires with its impressive hanging glacier. A little beyond the lagoon, there was view-point overlooking the entire Ibáñez Valley, all the way to our dear friend, the Chelenko Lake, and Chile’s neighbor on the other side, Argentina. We ended the day with terrible wind gusts, forcing us to our knees to reduce our profile (advice from our expert guides), and I was happy when we arrived at the tree line where we were sheltered from the wind. We all arrived at the last campsite, Porteadores, completely spent!

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The last day was easier, hiking down the mountain under the cover of beautiful lenga forests until we reached a small gravel road that leads up to Villa Cerro Castillo (10km). We were an awesome group; everyone tried their best and got along great! We were also VERY happy to have contracted local guides who knew the area and the route, because it is not an easy hike at all!

THE ADVENTURES OF OUR PARENTS

There is no need to be a backpacking expert to explore Cer-ro Castillo’s magnificence, and our parents proved that! On the first day they hired a horseback guide, Senderos Patago-nia (they’re on Facebook or www.aysensenderospatago-nia.com). They met the owners, Señora Mary Brys and her gaucho husband, Don Cristian Vidal, in their lovely camping area and after a short demonstration on how to ride, they all took off on horseback towards the mountain of Cerro Cas-tillo. Josh and my mom stayed behind, but were thoroughly entertained by the couple’s son, Benja, who happily shared all of his dogs, cats, chickens, and the like! They told us that it was an excellent day, riding slowly through the foothills of the mountains until reaching the National Reserve (protected by Conaf). Here, they left the horses and began to walk in a zig-zag pattern up the steep rock scree. It was a bit of a challenge for my mother-in-law, but afterwards, she was SO PROUD. Forty-five minutes later they had successfully climbed to the saddle of two mountains directly in front of the spires of Cer-ro Castillo. Each of them said the hike was absolutely worth it, and they arrived at the same overlook of the Ibáñez Valley that we had on day three of our trekking, and hiked a tiny bit further to an overlook of the same turquoise lagoon. How awesome that they were also able to see this beautiful place! They liked the experience so much, that they decided to stay the night in the Senderos Patagonia Refuge, and do another ride the next day, riding back to the cabanas that we all loved so much at Lago Tamango. This time my mom rode with the group and my mother-in-law went with Josh and Don Dario, following the group in the bus and joining up with the others in Tamango, to see their photos and share stories of their adventures along the route. The third day, the men went fish-ing and Don Dario (I swear, he knows everyone!) surprised the women and my little guy with an invitation to visit the El Franco Farm, and Señora Oclidia Sandoval, known fondly as the Señora “Tati”. Apparently she is a personal friend of Don Dario’s family, and although she doesn’t work in tourism, she is well-known for her charming gaucho-style hospitality and her excellent home cooked meals. She taught the group how to prepare a delicious chicken Cazuela, or stew, made with polenta and veggies from her garden.

The next day, our parents left the cabanas and we reunited in Villa Cerro Castillo for a final night of camping and cele-bration of this mega family adventure. We checked out an-other local camping area, Baqueanos de la Patagonia (www.baqueanosdelapatagonia.cl), located in the Villa, on the gravel road of Bernardo O’Higgins S/N, in the sector of the Bosque Stream. Of course, we celebrated our monumental

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trip with a giant asado al palo in COMPLETE gaucho style. Señora Loreto and Don Claudio Sandoval were excellent hosts, sharing stories of their own adventures, and we really enjoyed their quaint farm and quincho. It was the perfect way to start to say goodbye to our beloved Patagonia.

Day 24: There is always a little nostalgia and a long-ing to returnIn the morning, Señora Loreto prepared a delicious breakfast to send us on our way. After millions of hugs, group photos, and commitments to maintain contact and return, we loaded the flock into Don Dario’s minibus for the return trip through the Cerro Castillo National Reserve to the airport in Bal-maceda, and our first leg of the long flight home. Everyone was pretty quiet along the way, in fact, the minibus was a bit tense with the pressure of all of our quiet contemplation. Now, back in our own homes and apartments, the memo-ries and great times we had flood through my mind a million times a day. I know it will be a trip that none of us (especially Josh!) will ever forget. The farewell with Don Dario in the airport was super sad, because he was a true companion, and became an integral member of this great family of travelers. Dearest Don Dario, please keep in touch, OK?

Now, after five trips through Aysén in ten years, I feel like my life has been truly blessed with the immense privilege of entering the doors to so many homes, and quinchos, and nat-ural wonders, in each area of this unique and amazing region. I think I have experienced the essence and differences with-in each of them, and learned much about their authenticity and unique value. Of course, I am sure that this tremendous corner of Patagonia has infinite secrets and beauties still to be discovered. I look forward to the opportunity when once again, my feet touch this rich soil and I can continue to ex-plore this amazing region called Aysén!

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After paying a visit to Cerro Castillo you’ll undoubtedly agree: from afar, this mountain is impressive, but experiencing it up close and personal, touching its glaciers, hiking beneath the needles of rock and swimming in its aquamarine lagoon, leaves you speech-less! This Patagonian icon is located within the Cerro Castillo National Reserve, where the hiking trails provide the route for inti-mate encounters with the mountain and its landscapes, dominated by forests, rivers, hanging glaciers, crystal waterfalls, and native flora and fauna. For now, it’s still fairly un-common to encounter a lot of other hikers along the way, but this circuit is well on the way to becoming one of the most famous in Patagonia, ranking amongst epic hikes like those in Torres del Paine, El Chaltén and the Dientes del Navarino.

But before hitting the trail, PLEASE consider these useful tips. At this stage of your trip you’ve probably come to realize that the weather in Patago-nia is extremely variable. In the mountains it is even more extreme and should be treated with preparation and respect. In Patagonia, the mountains are the boss, not you, and one can never tell when a snow squall could change your plans. You have to be willing to make unexpected changes in your itinerary, by shortening your route or even having to cancel the hike altogether. No matter the season and time of year, it is very likely that you will experience sun, rain, snow and wind. Sometimes all at the same time! Secondly,

BACKPACK YOUR WAY

TOWARD CERRO CASTILLO’S

TOWERS AND ICE

Cerro Castillo has become one of the most famous mountains in the Aysén Region, thanks to its tremendous beauty and awesome spires, which resemble a medieval stone castle. There is a fantastic four-day backpacking route that weaves through the passes to the base of the towers before dropping down into the tiny village below. Over the past several years, it has become one of the most popular and highlighted treks in Patagonia; one you probably don’t want to miss!

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please note that this is not a trek for begin-ners. Walking through this reserve involves river and stream crossings (many), thick for-ests, and high alpine valleys (including a steep mountain pass) where you’ll be exposed to all the risks and furies of the Patagonian climate. Some of the trails are established and well marked and in other sectors, you won’t see a single trace. If you have trekking experience, good navigational skills, and all the appropriate equipment, you won’t have a problem hiking this circuit on your own. Make sure you have a good map, (some of the outfitters in Coyhaique sell topographi-cal maps or you can obtain an official CON-AF map of the area), and a few surplus days in case you encounter unexpected weather or need to go slower than you thought.

Don’t worry if you’re new to trekking or wish you were in a bit better physical con-dition, or lack the proper equipment, (good tents and a camp stove are musts). Simply give one of the local professional guides who work in the area a call.

They are awesome! In fact, no matter who you are, we recommend hitting the trails of this reserve with a guide; you’ll have a more relaxed trip without the need to worry about logistics or carry all the gear, and working with a local guide allows you the chance to discover all the secret details of these land-scapes. Each of the guides has their own ver-sion of this hike, with special places to show you and preferences on where to stop and where to camp along the way. A lot will de-pend on your experience and the condition of the terrain. The following four-day, three-night itinerary is based on the route that we hiked with Cristian Solis, owner of GeoSur Expediciones, (www.geosurexpediciones.com), a regional company with more than 10 years of experience offering guided trekking expeditions in the area.

Day 1 - Las Horquetas – Turbio River Camp (16 km). The trail starts in the sector known as Las Horquetas, along the Carret-era Austral (68 km from Coyhaique). The initial trail follows an old logging road still used by local gauchos to herd their animals to the valleys during the summer months, thus make sure you close any gates as you pass through their farms! You’ll alternate between forested areas that were burnt in wildfires that swept the area decades ago, and vibrant lenga forest, all the while bor-dering a crystal-clear stream that you’ll wade across on three occasions. The crossings are shallow but you should wear sandals so that your hiking boots don’t get soaked. After walking approximately 14 km, you’ll arrive at the Conaf shelter and post, where you will register and pay the National Reserve’s entrance fee. Two kilometers further you’ll find the Turbio River Camp, where you can assemble your tent, cook dinner and appre-ciate a well-deserved rest.

Day 2 – Turbio River Camp - Bosque Camp (8 km). The second day of this hike starts along the river that flows down from the Turbio Glacier. Little by little you’ll climb, first through forests, and then along a steep section of rock scree to cross the saddle of El Peñón (1,460 m). Depending on the time of year, you may be crossing this section on

TRAVELERS’ TIPSAlthough it is tedious to take your boots off every time you have to cross a river, we assure you that if you don’t, you’ll end up regretting it! Hiking with wet shoes is almost a guarantee for having blisters later on!

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snow, but one thing is certain, your legs will be ready for a break upon reaching the next campsite! Luckily, the views are incredible, offering a great excuse to stop and catch your breath while photographing the mag-nificent glaciers of the Cerro Castillo range, which seem just an arm’s reach away. This is also a great spot to view condors drifting and gliding through the peaks. Once you’ve descended from El Peñón, the trail borders the Peñón Glacier Stream for a while, during which you’ll get your first amazing views of the “castle” before climbing a bit more through the woods to your camp.

Day 3 – Bosque Camp - Porteadores Camp (9 km). You’ll start day three with a strong initial climb along the banks of the riv-er that pours down from the Cerro Castillo Glacial Lagoon, until you reach a small pla-teau at the base of the “Castle” itself. Once you’ve had a break (and filled your camera’s memory card), you’ll begin to climb the mo-raine surrounding the lagoon to an overlook

TRAVELERS’ TIPSIn this sector, as in all high-mountain ar-eas, you need to be aware of the weath-er and be prepared for rapid changes. If you encounter a day with extreme wind or heavy storms, consider remaining on the lagoon side of the mountain with your tent pitched until the conditions improve. If you are already descending and are hit with strong gusts, (as often happens when crossing mountain pass-es), squat down to make your profile as small as possible and cover your head and ears. Take advantage of the time between gusts to progress slowly and carefully, until you reach the tree line and are out of the open.

so spectacular, we swear you won’t want to leave. The mountain seems so close you can almost touch it and provides a perfect con-trast for the turquoise lagoon as you listen to the sound of ice sliding down the mountain and shattering into the water. The trail con-tinues along the rocky terrain to a vantage point that (on a cloudless day), shows the entire Ibañéz Valley, all the way to General Carrera Lake and Argentina. You’ve really got to see it to believe it. Next, you’ll cross the saddle of Cerro Castillo (1,600 m), and begin a slow descent back to the forest and the Porteadores Camp, accompanied by im-pressive views of Cerro Palo.

Day 4- Porteadores Camp - Villa Cer-ro Castillo (10 km). The descent to Villa

TRAVELERS’ TIPSThe landscapes of the Cerro Castillo Reserve are completely different un-der winter’s deep blanket of snow and the adventure moves to the ice and snow. Trekking boots and poles are ex-changed for ice axes, crampons, snow-shoes or backcountry skis, as adventure lovers take advantage of the abundant amount of snow and ice in the reserve, especially in the Ibañéz Pass. The an-nual Ice Fest is held in this area, with events including “tele” or backcountry skiing, snowboarding, and ice climbing. Amateur and expert climbers from Chile and abroad, gather in the pass to scale the frozen Bombacha Waterfall, which is approximately 50 meters high and five meters across. Average winter temperatures are -13 °C in the day and -30 °C at night, so it’s just a matter of hours before the waterfall freezes and a demanding wall of ice forms.

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OVERVIEW » Activity Type: Backpacking. » Start: Cerro Castillo National Re-serve, Las Horquetas Sector. » Finish: Villa Cerro Castillo. » Distance: 43 Km. » Duration: Four Days – three nights, according to this itinerary. The trek can range from three to six days. » Seasonality: December to March » Special Considerations: The trail has several technical areas, including two mountain passes. There are stream crossings and areas where you’ll hike over rock scree. Not all the sec-tions along the trail are well marked. Campsite infrastructure includes rus-tic latrines and fire rings. You need to carry all necessary equipment to be self-sufficient. We recommend tech-nical trekking equipment: a 4 season tent, layered technical clothing (rain gear, gaiters, etc.), trekking poles, a personal first aid kit, a gas stove for cooking and enough food for extra days, in case of a change of plans. Don’t forget gloves, brimmed and wool hats, sunglasses and sunscreen.

» Reservations: There are several re-gional companies that offer this trek. It is important to choose a guide with significant experience working in the reserve, good equipment, practice hiking in adverse weather conditions, and training in first aid and search and rescue. Some options include:• Cristian Solis, Expediciones Geo-

Sur – Coyhaique: Simón Bolí-var 521; (067) 2221990 - (09) 92648671; www.geosurexpedi-ciones.com; [email protected]

• Cristian Vidal and Mary Brys, Senderos Patagonia - Villa Cerro Castillo: Carretera Austral s/n; Km 100; (09) 62057166 - (09) 62244725; [email protected]

• Hugo Castañeda, Alma Patagóni-ca Expediciones – Coyhaique: Ig-nacio Serrano 621; (09) 76183588; contacto@almapatagonica .c l ; www.almapatagonica.cl

• Manuel Medina, Aventura Te-huelche – Coyhaique: Pimpinela 723; (09) 84118736; [email protected]; www.aven-turatehuelche.cl

Cerro Castillo begins by bordering the edge of the Parada River Canyon, where you’ll have excellent panoramic views of the Ibañéz River and Valley. You’ll exit the reserve walking through a typical Patagonian ranch, amongst grazing sheep and cows, and then hike back to town along a rural road.

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Cerro Castillo National Reserve is one of Aysen’s icons; renowned for great hiking, stunning scenery, amazing forests, turquoise waters, hanging glaciers and above all, tre-mendous towers that call out to the best mountaineers worldwide.

You don’t have to mountain climb or hike a lot to explore Cerro Castillo’s marvels. There are horse trips to some of the most beautiful areas in this “don’t miss” National Reserve and you don’t need to be a profi-cient rider or even have prior experience on horseback. You just need to have an adven-turous spirit, average levels of physical fitness and a good pair of hiking shoes for the short, but relatively steep hike at the end of the ride. You’ll saddle up in the gaucho town of Villa Cerro Castillo, situated 110 km south of Coyhaique, at the base of the Reserve. We recommend that you stop in town to have a bite at one of the local restaurants or ex-plore the shops; it’s an interesting place to chat with locals and hear their stories about the mountain and its many adventures.

The Villa is filled with gaucho heritage and their horse treks are based on these same traditions.The classic route is offered daily by most op-erators and includes a six-hour combination of horseback riding and hiking to the Cerro Castillo Glacier Lagoon at the base of the spi-rals and towers. The adventure leaves from the Villa along an old tropero (cattle-herder) route and gradually climbs the mountain’s slopes winding through a private farm. The trails are narrow, so you should always be alert to the terrain, your horse, and your

REACH THE TOWERS

OF CERRO CASTILLO IN

GAUCHO STYLE

The jagged ice covered peaks of Cerro Castillo are one of the most awe-inspiring sites in the Region of Aysén. This great horseback ride gets you up close to the base of the towers where the panoramic views of the Ibáñez River Valley are unsurpassed; from here you’ll walk toward its hanging glaciers and amazing turquoise lagoon.

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Reserve to a height of 1,500 meters. At the top, you’ll be rewarded with unforgettable views in all directions; at your back you can see the entire Ibáñez River valley, all the way to Lago General Carrera and on a clear day, to Argentina. In front, you can see every de-tail of the mountain, its basalt spires touching the sky and its glacier toppling down from the peaks. From here, the trail flattens out for the final stretch, ending at an overlook of the vividly turquoise Cerro Castillo Glacier Lagoon, formed by glacial melt and colored by sediments carried down from the tips of the spires.

Here, you’ll stop for photos, a rest, and a light snack, before finishing walking back down to your waiting horses and completing the circuit back to Villa Cerro Castillo. We suggest working with guides who offer a tra-ditional Patagonia-style asado al palo at the end of the ride. Many have beautiful camping areas or quinchos where you can relax and chow down while sharing stories, photos, and experiences with your guides and the

guide’s instructions. The higher you ride, the more panoramic (and incredible) your view of the Ibáñez River Valley. After about an hour of riding you’ll encounter the El Bosque Stream, which you will follow until you reach the National Reserve’s boundary. Here you’ll will leave your horses and continue on foot.

It’s a one-hour trek that follows a series of switchbacks climbing up the rock scree of the

How to choose the correct horse guide:

Before choosing your operator, we recommend checking out their farms and facilities, first hand. Here are four important criteria to choosing a good horse guide in Cerro Castillo and other sectors throughout Patagonia:

» Registration: Focus on the horse-back riding providers who are registered as Adventure Tour-ism Operators with Sernatur; www.sernatur.cl. » Condition and health of the hors-es: How can you tell the difference? Observe the horses at the oper-ator’s facility. Generally, the space between the ribs should not be very noticeable, the hooves should be shod and the hair should be bright and smooth. Ask your provider how many trips each horse does in one day. If they answer more than one, check them out a little more care-fully. » Quality of the guides: A good op-erator should have horse guides who are adults, with the ability to provide first aid and a minimum of 5 years working with horses and with clients who have a variety of differ-ent experience levels. Furthermore, it’s important that guides should be able to clearly communicate with their clients in their native language. » Adequate Equipment: It’s import-ant that your provider has suitable equipment that is in good condition, such as the saddles, reins, half-chaps, blankets, radios and first-aid kit.

NOTE

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rest of the group.

Looking for a horse trip that’s a little less usual? If you want a horse trip that’s a little less routine, there are many other routes that explore the Cerro Castillo Sector.

For example, Senderos Patagonia, located at the end of the pavement along the Carretera Austral, offers these options:

u Ibáñez River Route: This three hour horse trip follows the Ibáñez River and Valley along the base of Cerro Castillo. Excellent photo opportunities!

u Rivers to Mountains Expedition, Tor-res de Avellano sector: This is a three day, two night trip, passing through lo-cal farms and gaucho outposts in the remote valleys between Cerro Castillo and Lago General Carrera. You’ll share traditional rural customs like drinking yerba mate and cooking beside the fire,

OVERVIEW » Activity Type: Horseback riding and hiking in Cerro Castillo » Start: Villa Cerro Castillo. » End: Villa Cerro Castillo. » Distance: Approximately 10 Km. » Duration: Six hours, round trip. » Seasonality: December – March » Special Considerations: For half day horseback rides, personal equipment should be carried in a small backpack, including base, insulating and water-proof layers, a fleece hat, sunglasses and sunblock, camera, personal med-icines, and a bottle of water. We also suggest taking a snack for the hiking portion, though some operators will provide one if you ask in advance. Riding equipment like half-chaps and helmets are provided by most tour operators. » Reservations: In town there are var-ious operators, each with distinctive circuits and standards:

• Al Galope la Araucaria (Felidor San-doval) - Villa Cerro Castillo: Los pioneros 962; (09) 76611709; [email protected]; [email protected].

• Baqueanos de la Patagonia (Lore-to y Claudio Sandoval) - Villa Cerro Castillo: Camino sector Arroyo el Bosque; (09) 65136226 - 78988550; [email protected].

• Cabalgata Aventura (Albanio San-doval) – Sector Alto Puerto Ibáñez: Km 100, Camino Puerto Ibáñez; (09) 87459266 - 98787565; [email protected].

• Cabalgata El Gauchito (Juan Villagran) - Villa Cerro Castillo: Fundo la Porfía; [email protected].

• Senderos Patagonia (guía regional Cristian Vidal y Mary Brys) – Cerro Castillo: Carretera Austral s/n; (09) 62244725 - 82386972; [email protected]

while riding through remote backcoun-try wilderness, untouched by the mod-ern world. You’ll also have the oppor-tunity to stretch your legs, hiking up to a hanging glacier so remote, they hav-en’t even given it a name.

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Villa Cerro Castillo is located at the base of one of the most majestic mountains of Patagonia. Each morning, villagers have the privilege of opening their doors and greeting their very own mountain with its rich green forests and enormous, snow-capped tow-ers. Local legend says that if you stare long enough you will even be able to see the wise ancient face who watches over the town from the snow and rock.

Many of the Villa’s inhabitants are descen-dants of pioneers who came to the area around a century ago, working with live-stock companies that were established in Aysén or looking for new opportunities. These settlers and their families had to be self-reliant, because in these years there were no roads, no stores, and definitely no cell phone coverage! The harsh Patagonian climate and rugged landscapes rule above all, and they had to be strong to survive. They worked extremely hard to build viable sheep and cattle ranches and to breed renowned mountain horses that were capable of sup-porting their work. Years later, they began to experiment and diversify their operations with the addition of goats. And through it all, they worked diligently to build a community, to obtain basic services, and to build a better life for their families.

Modern life in Villa Cerro Castillo is much more comfortable. Electricity, drinking water, the Carretera Austral, internet, telephones, and new op-portunities to work in a tourism industry that is growing by leaps and bounds... These

A TREMENDOUS LEGACY

AWAITS YOU IN VILLA CERRO

CASTILLO

The tiny village of Cerro Castillo has a tremendous legacy to share, beginning more than 5,000 years ago with the indigenous Tehuelches who left their prints embedded in the rocks near town. Thousands of years later, settlers arrived full of dreams for building new lives at the base of these beautiful towers. Today, their descendants honor their rich gaucho legacy pioneering new adventures and heights.

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are only a few of the modern comforts that have arrived in this gaucho community. And while these comforts are welcomed, they put traditional ways of life at risk. For exam-ple, don’t be surprised if you see a rider on horseback in full gaucho attire, herding cattle with his sheepdogs while checking out his Facebook on his smart-phone in the middle of the Carretera Austral!

The important thing is that despite the changes, the people of Cerro Castillo contin-ue to connect their lives with farming, follow-ing the cycles and rhythms of the seasons, maintaining a lifestyle connected to the land, learning and teaching the gaucho ways of life. They cherish their heritage and fight to keep their traditions alive, sharing their sto-ries with pride. You’ll find this evident in the sculptures throughout town, like the gaucho drinking yerba mate next to the playground, and the first pioneer with his sheepdog in the entrance; both faithful reflections of Cer-ro Castillo and its culture and values.

An antique school becomes a modern museumJust moments from town you’ll discover another great example of how Villa Cerro Castillo is seeking to maintain its roots as

it builds its future. Follow the Carretera Austral south and take the first turn to the left after the bridge over the Ibañéz River. Drive for approximately one km to the site of Villa Cerro Castillo’s first school, which has recently been restored and recognized as a National Monument. This impressive two-story building was built by the Villa’s set-tlers in 1955 and operated for 16 years. Its original construction used traditional materi-als and building techniques. For example, its outer walls were made of brick, the floor and rafters hand hewn with axes from enormous tree trunks, and the spectacular roof was constructed with “tejuela” wood shingles, each hand carved. After years of neglect, the school was recently restored and inaugurat-ed in January 2014 as a museum. Today, you can tour this beautiful building which has a new future educating visitors about the col-onization of the Ibañéz valley and the first in-habitants of the area, groups of hunters and gatherers who roamed and hunted in these

TRAVELERS’ TIPSWhen you visit the Old School Mu-seum, don’t forget to walk out to the overlook and admire the landscape where you’ll have a panoramic view of Cerro Castillo, the Ibañéz River and even, the Hudson Volcano. And while you there, want to know a se-cret? While you may not see them, there are archaeologists and scientists working in the lower office, just below your feet, meters away! Seriously, right below you, how cool! This overlook is built on top of the offices and labora-tories of the curators, archaeologists and scientists whose work is investigat-ing the over 80 recorded sites of the original inhabitants of the area.

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lands more than 5,000 years ago!

Follow the Tehuelches’ lasting imprints The Ibañéz River Valley is one of the most important archaeological settings in central Patagonia. Scientists have recorded approxi-mately 80 archaeological sites within the Val-ley and almost half of them contain prehis-toric art. There are vestiges of the Tehuelche culture in the entire General Carrera Lake basin, especially in this sector; however, most sites are yet unstudied and are not open to the public. So, the Paredón de las Manos site, located only 200 meters from the Old School Museum, is an excellent opportunity to get a bit closer to this ancient Patagonian culture and see the traces left by the Tehu-elches.

It’s a short walk from the Old School Mu-seum to Paredón de las Manos site, a rock wall protected under an overhang, where you will find the hand prints of adults and children, dating back approximately 5,000 years before present-day. The Tehuelches’ artistic style was constantly evolving: the oldest paintings depicted hunting scenes of guanacos, such as the painting seen in Chile Chico. Later, as in these paintings, they be-gan to depict hands, mixing positives (palms)

» Activity Type: Historic tour of Vil-la Cerro Castillo, the Old School National Historical Monument and Museum, and the Paredón de las Manos Archaeological Site. » Start: Villa Cerro Castillo. » End: Villa Cerro Castillo. » Distance: Approximately five kilo-meters. » Duration: 1 hour and 30 minutes. » Seasonality: Year round » Special Considerations: Please don’t leave the established trails in the Paredón de las Manos Archae-ological Site. Flash photography is not permitted because the light is damaging to the paintings. » Reservations: No reservations re-quired, however there is a small entrance fee for the Paredón de las Manos Archaeological Site.

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and negatives (outlines), as well as colors and sizes. In the later paintings they featured abstract figures. Often a single site featured a mixture of periods and styles. They paint-ed with a mixture of dyes, including blood, which they put into their mouth and spit through a hollowed-out guanaco bone. Be-cause of their careful choice of sites, most of their paintings are protected from the elements and have stood the test of time; in fact their biggest risk is from vandalism, which has tragically destroyed many sites and images!

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Nalca, also known as Pangue or Giant Pa-tagonia Rhubarb, is an edible plant strongly rooted in the culture of Aysén, with gastro-nomic and medicinal traditions predating the modern era; reaching back to an earlier pe-riod when local inhabitants were even more closely linked with their natural environment. Each year in early spring, the nalca begin to sprout and by late November, deep dark green will fill the borders of the Carretera Austral, especially in the more humid areas. You’ll also find them bordering the coasts in Puerto Cisnes, Puerto Aysén, Puyuhuapi, Caleta Tortel and Puerto Yungay.

The most common way to eat nalca in Aysén is in its natural form, without any prepara-tion. Just peel the skin from the young stalks and enjoy; some locals will sprinkle a bit of salt, sugar or merquen, a traditional Mapu-che condiment made from ground smoked chili peppers and corriander. Nalca is also used in a variety of recipes including salads, jams, preserves, ice creams, pastries and juic-es. There is even a version of Chile’s famous cocktail, the pisco sour, which is made with nalca rather than the typical lemon juice.

The fibrous stalks of the nalca plant are used in most preparations, but the leaves are also used in various ways. In Melinka and Repollal Alto, the leaves are used in the preparation of smoked mussels and in curanto, a popu-lar dish that was brought to the sector from Chiloe and enjoyed through the Guaitecas and in many other areas of the Region. In both of these preparations, the enormous leaves of the nalca are used to cover the ingredients, which are steamed or smoked underneath. Their giant mass helps keep the vapors and smoke from escaping, locking all of the delicious flavors inside. The nalca plant has many other interesting properties and uses; the leaves are boiled into a strong

CELEBRATE SPRINGTIME

IN PATAGONIA WITH A STALK

OR TWO OF NALCA

Have you noticed a giant plant growing in the humid areas of the Region with long stems, or stalks, H-U-G-E umbrella-shaped leaves and crazy, red flowers that look like something straight out of the movie, Jurassic Park? They’re called nalca and their unique flavor makes them one of the favored traditions of spring.

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Preparing the nalca: Before beginning, a word of advice… when working with nalca, you should use wooden or stainless steel utensils (knives, colanders, etc.), so as to avoid discoloring the stalks (the nalca becomes black when it comes in contact with other metals). First, peel the outer skin of the nalca stalk, removing the spines and the veins. Then, slice the nalca in thin discs (1cm) or chop it into small cubes, wash well with cold water, and drain in a colander.

The syrup: » Ingredients:• 2 cups of granulated sugar.• 4 cups of water.• 4 sterilized 1/2 quart canning jars

(460 ml) » Preparation:

First, sterilize the canning jars. Within an hour of filling, you will need to sterilize the jars by placing them (empty) in a large

pot and completely covering with water. Bring to a full, rolling boil and allow the jars to bath for at least 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and fill. Note: Do not boil the canning lids as this can harm their seal; add them to the hot water when the jars have finished boiling after you turn off the heat.

In a clean pot, heat the water and sugar to a boil, allowing the sugar to complete-ly dissolve, then set aside to cool. Place the nalca slices (or cubes) in the jars in an organized manner so as to maximize the volume of fruit and incorporate the syrup (approximately 1 cup of liquid for each jar). Cover the jars and put them in a large pot with cold water (the wa-ter should completely cover the jars by at least 5 cm, heat the water and let it boil for 20 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and allow to cool. Afterwards, remove the jars and store in a cool place. It’s time to enjoy! Don’t forget to save a few jars for those days when you are craving a bit of Patagonian Springtime.

RECIPE FOR CANNED NALCA IN LIGHT SYRUP (FOUR 1/2 QUART JARS)

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» Activity Type: Collection of native plants, gastronomy and rural farm life. » Start: Camping Los Ñires. » End: Camping Los Ñires or in your own home, when you’re nostalgic for a bit of Aysén. » Distance: You can find nalca along-side the Carretera Austral near Camping Los Ñires. » Duration: 1 hour of preparation. » Seasonality: October - November, but you can visit Señora Rosa and Don Eleuterio Calfullanca year round. » Special Considerations: You don’t need to collect a lot of nalca for this recipe. One or two stalks is suffi-cient. » Reservations: You can contact Señora Rosa in Camping Los Ñires: El Manso Sector, 10 km south of Villa Cerro Castillo; (09) 92165009 - 92936679; [email protected].

OVERVIEW

concentrate and used as a natural dye for wool, and the root and the stem are used in homeopathic healing to clot blood, to wash wounds, to heal mouth and throat infections, and for stomach problems.

Señora Rosa Chacano, owner of Camping Los Ñires, located ten kilo-meters south of Villa Cerro Castillo, is one of the Region’s experts in the preparation of nalca.Situated in the midst of native forest and pure tranquility alongside the Carretera Austral, this oasis is a welcoming discovery for travelers who need to recharge their batteries with a good night’s sleep in a quiet camping area, be revitalized by a hot shower, or be energized with a hearty breakfast of fresh baked bread just out of the oven and, of course, her famous canned nalca, pre-served in a light syrup. And that’s only the beginning of several more surprises: asados al palo in their cozy Fogón, hand-dyed and woven woolen crafts, fresh vegetables and fruits, and hiking to a Tehuelche rock-art site, hidden deep within their land.

If you time your visit with the arrival of

spring, (October or November), you can accompany Don Eleuterio Calfullanca, Rosa’s husband, in the search for nalcas and after-ward, assist Señora Rosa in the kitchen as she prepares her recipe for Canned Nalca in Light Syrup. Look for the most tender stalks available, ideally when the stalk has reached a good height but the leaves are still closed (like a closed umbrella). The best nalca can be found in damp places, swampy areas, or on the banks of streams and rivers, in san-dy soils. Remember that Chile’s National Parks and Reserves prohibit the extraction of plants.

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Even after the Sendero de Chile Foundation (www.senderodechile.cl), elected this route as one of the sections of its national trail for exploring Chile, it’s still an undis-covered gem: most travelers have no idea of its existence and until now, it hasn’t been emphasized on maps. Pristine, beautiful and rarely crowded, the Ardillas is an ideal route to travel by bicycle or car, with incred-ible panoramic views of the Cerro Castillo range, access to three beautiful lakes, the possibility of visiting rural farms and cabanas, and the Salto de Ibañéz, a true whitewater spectacle near where the Ibáñez River joins the Levicán Peninsula.

From Villa Cerro Castillo you take the Carretera Austral toward the south.Pass over the Chacono Bridge where you’ll catch glimpses of the Ibañéz River as it forms a narrow tunnel between walls of rock, flow-ing with tremendous force toward the Salto de Ibañéz, a famous waterfall near Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez. Five hundred meters fur-ther south, you can take a short break and visit one of the most important archaeolog-ical sites in the region: the Paredón de las Manos, a 35 m high rock wall under the pro-tection of an overhang where you’ll find rock paintings dating back approximately 5,000 years. The paintings were formed by Tehu-elche adults and children, who used a mix-ture of natural dyes, mostly in red, to paint “outlines”, or negatives of their hands; they put the paint into their mouth and blew it onto the rock through a hollowed-out gua-naco bone.

Returning to the Carretera, you’ll contin-ue south approximately six km from the crossing for the Paredón de las Manos, to Route X-723, which travels through the Cla-ro Las Ardillas Sector, also known as Alto Río Ibañéz. The road is narrow, steep and

EXPLORE THE UNDISCOVERED LANDSCAPES OF THE ARDILLAS

ROUTE

This 45 km country road connecting Villa Cerro Castillo and Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez, is one of the best kept secrets of the Chelenko Area. Grab your camera and a fishing pole and head to the beautiful landscapes of the Ardillas Route for a great 1/2 day of car or bike touring.

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winding in this first stage, climbing through mature lenga forests. After 2.5 km, you will pass a traditional farm house along the right side, which marks the entrance to Las Ar-dillas Lake, one of the many great spots for taking photos.

The route continues, passing through deep forests, open fields, and the shorelines of several lagoons before arriving at Tamango Lake, one of the main highlights of the route, especially on a clear day. This site is perfect for fishing or a picnic and THE spot to take that panoramic you’ve been waiting for of the entire Cerro Castillo mountain range. On clear and windless days, you can even capture this impressive mountain reflected in the waters of the lake. It will be hard to tear yourself away from these views, not to mention the lake shore! And if you just can’t, don’t worry! There are some great cabanas located right on the beach, where you can stay as long as you like, enjoying the views, testing your fishing skills, or visiting some of the private Tehuelche sites that are sprinkled

TRAVELERS’ TIPSIf you want to stay in the area for a longer period of time, you can con-tact the Lago Tamango Cabanas, Alto Río Ibáñez Sector s/n, 19 km from Villa Cerro Castillo; (09) 99193708 – 93195627 - 98136634; email: [email protected]; www.lagota-mango.com. There are two cabanas that can accommodate up to 11 people and a quincho for barbecues.

OVERVIEW » Activity Type: Car or bike touring on scenic secondary roads. » Start: Villa Cerro Castillo. » End: Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez. » Distance: 45 km. » Duration: 3 - 5 hours, including stops, or several days for those who fall in love with this area! » Seasonality: Year round, depend-ing on weather conditions and the road. » Special Considerations: Drive with caution on the roads and use first and second gears up large grades. There are no mechanics or service stations along the route, so make sure you are auto-efficient and don’t forget to take a picnic! » Reservations: Self-guided activity. Does not require reservations.

throughout this sector (Lago Tamango Ca-banas, www.lagotamango.com).

And this is just the beginning of the route! The road continues along cascading streams, waterfalls and lenga forests for another 7.5 km until you reach the farm called El Franco, home of Oclidia Sandoval, a local settler and artisan, whose friends call Señora Tati. Here you can access the great fly-fishing waters of Laparent Lake or visit the Señora Tati along the shores of Redonda Lagoon; both are equally great places to relax and enjoy the Patagonian landscape.

From here, the road begins to gradually de-scend, following the course of the Claro Riv-er, known for its crystal clear waters. You’ll drive approximately 11 Km before reaching the intersection marking the road to the Peninsula Levicán (right), and to Puerto Ibáñez (left). Continue left, until you recon-nect with the same river that you crossed over at the beginning of the route, this time at the Salto del Ibañéz. The Salto is a HUGE waterfall that plunges down over enormous boulders in three successive drops, crashing into the Ibañéz River delta near the Levicán Peninsula sector of General Carrera Lake. Excellent photographs are guaranteed here, but don’t forget to protect your camera from the wind and spray of the water! From here, it’s another five kilometers to reach the village of Puerto Ibáñez.

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Between the waterfalls, lenga forests and unpredictable waters of Laparent Lake, ad-venturers exploring the Ardillas Route might encounter a very pleasant surprise: the perfect prescription for a tired body and a weary soul. Oclidia Sandoval, known fond-ly as Señora “Tati”, is one of the remaining gauchas of the Region who still practices tra-ditional-style hospitality so, it’s not uncom-mon that weary travelers are invited into the house to warm themselves beside the wood-burning stove and try one of her cu-linary masterpieces, like farm-raised chicken and polenta Cazuela.

Tati lives on the El Franco Farm, about halfway along the Ardillas Route, along the shores of the Redonda Lagoon. Although she doesn’t work in tourism, she has always shown Patagonia-style hospitality to weary travelers who are hiking or biking through the area and stumble upon her farm and the delicious foods she so fondly prepares.

But what exactly is her secret? Let’s start with the chickens, which have never been treated with chemicals or fed artificial foods to fatten them. They are free-range, eating from the farmland and drinking crystal clear water. There are no cages here; only a large coop for nights, to help protect them from foxes and other predators. Next we could list the organic vegetables, or the crystal clear Patagonia water – virtually all of the ingredients in this delicious Cazuela are natural and fresh.

And, there is another vital element that ac-companies Señora Tati when she is prepar-ing this comforting Cazuela. Stop and listen to the sounds of the farm, a peaceful silence where the only interruptions are the song-

SEÑORA TATI’S SECRET

REMEDY: FARM-RAISED

CHICKEN AND POLENTA

CAZUELA

Señora Oclidia Sandoval (Tati), a settler and artisan of the Claro Las Ardillas Sector, shares her secret Cazuela recipe that combines savory, farm-raised chicken, polenta, and delicious ingredients from her garden. The result? A hearty, flavorful soup capable of curing whatever ails you and filling you with wholesome energy, even on the coldest of Patagonia’s days.

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To feed six people, gather the fol-lowing ingredients and find yourself a wood-burning stove heated with lenga wood:

» Ingredients: • 1 medium onion, sliced in large

strips• 3 large carrots, sliced• 4 cloves of garlic, diced finely (but

not minced!)• 1/2 of a small green chili pepper,

diced finely• 2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil• 1/2 teaspoon of cumin• 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper• 1/4teaspoon of merquén (a tradi-

tional Mapuche condiment made from ground smoked chili peppers and coriander)

• 1 tablespoon of oregano• One whole, farm-raised chicken,

divided into six portions• 1/4 of a small red or green pepper,

diced finely• 6 potatoes “cazueleras”, which

means that they should fit in the palm of your hand

• 1 cup of polenta (in Aysén, this is often called chuchoca)

• Water• Salt• Cilantro or parsley » Preparation:

In a large pot, add the onion, carrots,

garlic, green chili pepper, vegetable oil, cumin, pepper, merquen and oregano and sauté for a few moments. Add the chicken, salt (to taste) and the green or red pepper over this base of vegetables and spices. Stir to blend and saute a few minutes more to brown the chicken. Fol-lowing the advice of our specialist, you should now cover the pot and shake it a bit to blend the flavors. Lower the heat and wait for the chicken to change col-ors, stirring the mixture to keep it from sticking or burning. Add a cup of boiling water over the mixture and simmer for another 5 minutes before adding more boiling water to cover the chicken and vegetables completely. Once the carrots are al dente, add the potatoes, more salt if needed and return to a medium heat to cook the ingredients well. When the Cazuela is almost ready, dissolve the polenta in a glass jar filled with cold wa-ter to keep it from becoming lumpy, and then, slowly add it over the soup, stirring the mixture with a wooden spoon. Re-move from the heat and allow to rest for around 10 minutes before serving. Ladle into individual bowls with portions of all ingredients and top with chopped cilan-tro or parsley - the smell will be irresist-ible! For true Patagonia style, you’ll want to serve your Cazuela with tortas fritas and fresh lettuce, picked from the garden and served with a dressing of vegetable oil, fresh lemon juice and salt - ¡Buen provecho! Let’s eat!

RECIPE FOR FARM-RAISED CHICKEN & POLENTA CAZUELA (6 PORTIONS)

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» Activity: Gastronomy - Recipe for making traditional chicken Cazuela. » Start: The best place to start is at a farm in Patagonia but, if need-ed, you can find versions of these ingredients in any store or super-market, both in Patagonia or in your own city. » End: With a houseful of happy fac-es and satisfied bellies. » Duration: Approximately 1 hour. » Season: All year long, but it’s per-fect for a cold, rainy day. » Special considerations: Try to ob-tain farm-raised chicken. The flavor is completely different! » Reservations: If you’re passing through this zone, you can visit Señora Tati at her farm, El Franco, 18 km before Puerto Ibáñez, near Laparent Lake and the Redon-da Lagoon. In addition to being a great cook, she also knits hats, sweaters, and blankets for the foot of the bed, all from natural lamb’s wool.

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birds and the whispering of the wind. Gaze at the landscape around you dominated by massive rock walls that cascade down to the shores of the calm waters of the lagoon. Af-ter you’ve spent a few minutes to relish this calm and magnificent place, will you under-stand the true “secret” of why Señora Tati’s cooking is filled with love and passion.

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Lilian Henríquez and Gerard Dallman are a Chilean-German couple who arrived in the area with the desire to begin a new life based on sustainable tourism. This is what led them to build their climbing center, equipped with more than 40 climbing routes on the rock walls that surround their farm. With the amount of routes and the hospitality of Lili and Gerard, this awesome refuge for climb-ers is not to be missed.

Some of the visitors to El Maitenal are ex-perts looking to set new routes; others are recently joining the climbing world, but all agree that the feeling of reaching the top and taking a look around at the incredible pan-orama of forests, mountains, the Patagonian steppe, and the Levicán Peninsula, is almost indescribable. Many climbers return to ex-plore new routes, proclaiming that El Mait-enal has created one of the best equipped climbing areas in all of Aysén.

The routes vary in difficulty, ranging from grades 5.7 and .12c, so be assured, there is a sufficient challenge for climbers of all levels. There are 30 to 35 set single pitch routes, with lengths not exceeding more than 20 meters or 9 bolts. Gerard and Lili have a file of each route’s topo that continues to grow with the addition of new challenges in this recently discovered climber’s paradise in Pa-tagonia.

To get there from Coyhaique, you need to take the Carretera Austral south and bear left towards Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez. Travel approximately 115 km, until you reach the intersection for the Levicán Peninsula, (2 km before the center of town). From this inter-section, go 5 km and STOP (briefly), because you’ll find yourself face to face with the Salto de Ibáñez, where the Ibáñez River powers its way through boulders, creating a huge

IN EL MAITENAL,

THERE’S ENOUGH ROCK FOR EVERYONE!

Rock climbing in Patagonia is a treat for anyone who enjoys this sport, one of the most intimate ways to connect with nature. And at the end of the day, get ready to enjoy a cold, home-brewed beer, a Patagonian asado and great conversation amongst other climbers once you’ve completed your day of climbing.

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waterfall that drops into two tributaries. Once you’re finished with your photo break, continue along this route for two kilometers more to the intersection for the Claro Las Ardillas Sector (right) and the Levicán Pen-insula (left). Head left toward Levicán and in another 3 km, turn right into the El Maitenal Farm. The second gate is well marked with the name of the farm indicating that you’ve finally arrived at Lili and Gerard’s place.

You can also take public transportation: Head to the bus terminal in Coyhaique, lo-cated on the corner of Magallanes and Lau-taro, where you’ll find buses leaving regularly for Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez. If you contact Gerard prior to leaving, you can arrange for him to pick you up when you arrive in Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez (for a fee). We highly rec-ommend arranging to have an asado al palo and some home-brewed beers, at the end of the day – Gerard’s beer, Dallman, is pre-pared using a recipe straight from Germany!

TRAVELERS’ TIPSIf you need gear, check out Suray Montaña in Coyhaique, Calle Prat #269; (67) 2234088; [email protected].

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» Activity Type: Rock climbing on dense, compact, conglomerate rock with many types of diverse holds, in-cluding crimps and pockets. All routes are a single pitch in length. » Start: Coyhaique or Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez » End: El Maitenal Farm » Distance: From Coyhaique, it’s ap-proximately 125 km. From Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez, the farm is approxi-mately 12 km. » Duration: 1 day or however long you’d like to stay! » Season: Year-round, depending on the weather. The best months are September – May. » Special Considerations: The majori-ty of the routes have new bolts and chains, with single pitches no more than 20 meters. The central area of the farm is located approximately 10 minutes from the climbing area. » Reservations: Contact El Maitenal to

OVERVIEWreserve your spot: Gerald Dallman (09) 83892832 or Lilian Henríquez (09) 85327680; [email protected]. Climbing guides in the area include: • Aventura Tehuelche – Coyhaique:

Pimpinela 723; (09) 84118736; [email protected] ; www.aventuratehuelche.cl.

• Aventuraysen – Coyhaique: Road to El Claro s/n; Km 8; (09) 51193731; [email protected]; www.aventuraysen.com.

• Rumbo Patagón Limitada – Coy-haique: Camino Coyhaique Alto s/n, Km 10; (067) 2219710; (09) 99985637; [email protected]; www.coyhaiqueriverlodge.com.

• Marco Becerra – Coyhaique: Lautaro 798; (09)88251788; [email protected].

• Valeska Formantel – Coyhaique: Lautaro 798; (09) 91239376; [email protected].

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Father Antonio Ronchi is an integral per-son in the history of Aysén, with a legacy of helping local communities that stretches the entire length and width of the region. Puer-to Ingeniero Ibañéz is no exception. In the 1970s, he worked with the women of this tiny pueblo to establish a new vocation that could contribute to the livelihood of their families. The group decided to develop a lo-cal pottery that would use materials from the natural environment.

As they progressed with their art, they looked for new inspirations and Father Ron-chi came to their assistance by bringing a re-nowned craftsman and designer, Pedro Isla, from Chillan, to help them create designs for their now famous pottery. During Don Pedro’s time in the community, the group defined their art’s character: decorative clay pieces called cacharros, which represent an-cient urns and water pitchers. Don Pedro helped them incorporate additional local inspiration in their art, through the symbols from the ancient Tehuelches who roamed these valleys thousands of years ago, and the incorporation of skins from the goats raised in the area, to decorate the bases of the pieces. There are six cachorros in the “tra-ditional collection” of Puerto Ibáñez: 1) the Caiquen Echado, 2) the Boleadora Criolla, 3) the Epulonco, 4) the Moyino, 5) the Caiquen Parado, and 6) the Boleadora Tehuelche.

Today, more than 25 years later, this tradi-tional collection continues to be extremely popular and sought after, but the artisans of Puerto Ibañéz (which now include both women and men), have not rested on their laurels; they continue to innovate, with new molds and works, that are more modern and utilitarian, such as dinnerware and crockery,

PLAY IN THE MUD WITH

THE ARTISANS OF PUERTO

IBÁÑEZ!

The village of Puerto Ingeniero Ibañéz is renowned for its talented artisans who hold the secrets to working with clay from the Levicán Peninsula, leather from local goat hides, and the ancient Tehuelche symbols that decorate their valleys. Keep your memories of this area alive by choosing your own piece of pottery or, better yet, join them in creating your own work of art.

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which incorporate the traditional designs but are coated with enamels and glazes for easy cleaning.

As you drive through Puerto Ibañéz along the main street, Father Antonio Ronchi Avenue, you’ll notice a large wooden sign displaying the location of many of the ar-tisan workshops. You can walk the circuit between workshops and get to know the artists, who love to share their passion for their work and their latest creations. You can get a close-up view of the process of creat-ing these handcrafts and even participate in part of the process, if you’d like. They will be happy to have you accompany them to the Levicán Peninsula, where they collect the clay and then return to their workshops to transform the raw material into the creamy mud that is used to fill the molds. You can also paint the design on your very own cacharro and then return later to collect your original work of art.

The workshops in Puerto Ibáñez include:ARTESANÍA GLADYS (Diego Portales 453; Facebook: Artesania Gladys)

Señora Gladys Alarcón has the fortitude and determination to load huge bags of clay, tan leather with her own hands, and mea-sure out the exact lengths required for the manufacturing of her delicate cacharritos. Her talents with these pieces and her inno-vations with utilitarian ceramics have led to her being invited to conduct workshops in the Cultural Center of the Moneda in the Chilean capital.

TALLER ARTE MANO (Luis Bolados 161)

Señora Albertina “Betty” Chacano special-izes in utilitarian and decorative ceramics in her workshop and learned from the masters, Pedro Isla and Bernardo Kelly. Her cachar-ritos are impeccable and the beauty and

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originality of her dishes, ceramic glasses and vases, is equally impressive, each authentic works of art that can be used in everyday life.

TALLER LAS MANOS (Luis Bolados 485; Hours: Monday – Saturday from 10:00 to 18:00; (09) 83668888; Facebook: Taller Las Manos de Marfa Aguila.)

In the workshop of Señora Marfa Águila and Don Joel Vargas, you can see the entire ar-tistic process for creating ceramics from be-ginning to end: preparation of the clay, filling of the molds, drying, painting, leather tanning and attachment. Joel was one of the first men in town to become an artisan in ceram-ics; today he and his wife focus full-time on their art, which has provided the means for affording higher education for their children. Joel has the same passion and mastery for his art as Marfa and is a great story-teller; to-gether they are great teachers that will help you create your one-of-a-kind memory and souvenir. » Activity Type: “Hands-on” tour of

the ceramics workshops in Puerto Ingeniero Ibañéz. » Start: Puerto Ingeniero Ibañéz » End: Puerto Ingeniero Ibañéz » Distance: Approximately 2 km, de-pending on your chosen route. » Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes, ap-proximately. » Seasonality: Year round. » Special Considerations: The major-ity of shops and workshops close between 13:00 - 16:00 hours for lunch. » Reservations: Self-guided activity.

OVERVIEW

ARTESANÍA MARINA (Carlos Soza 246)

This is the workshop of Señora Eva Carrillo, a recognized local artisan who shares the teachings of her master, Pedro Isla, in the stories she recounts with visitors. Eva has represented the town of Puerto Ibáñez in national and international fairs.

TALLER NUESTRA SEÑORA DEL TRABAJO (Padre Antonio Ronchi 359)

Founded by Father Ronchi, this workshop was created with the lofty goal of increasing the household income for the 50 members who were involved in the original group. To-day there are six women in charge of the workshop; in addition to pottery, they also offer beautiful leather and wool pieces.

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Consider this your invitation to attend the Festival de Jineteadas y Tradiciones of Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez, which takes place the third weekend in January each year. The main event is gaucho style rodeo, called jine-teada, when brave riders attempt to stay on hot-tempered, untamed horses for as long as they can. Expert riders from Chile, Brazil and Argentina compete in the events, seek-ing the recognition of their peers and spec-tators, with the hope of being the best bronc rider of the event.

They show up in ALL their gaucho attire ready to show off their riding skills in this test of wills. Not all of them are able to hold on, but ab-solutely every attempt is a true display of skill and tenacity and a fascinating glimpse of this longtime tradition. The play-by-play action is described by Patagonian style sports casters, called “payadores”, who wittingly improvise music and poetic verse to recount the action of the riders as their horses buck and leap, celebrating their resilience if they manage to hold on for eight eternal seconds and con-doling them if they fall. Their style of music is called Milonga and both riders and specta-tors love to watch them work.

There are lots of other traditions and customs celebrated during the fes-tival.For example, you can count on a huge com-munity asado, which is the equivalent of a

COWBOY UP WITH GAUCHO-

STYLE RODEO IN PUERTO

IBÁÑEZ

The “Festival de Jineteadas y Tradiciones”, is Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez’s traditional annual folk festival, where the central attraction is a gaucho-style rodeo, known as jineteada. You’ll also find plenty of folk music, local foods, crafts, and traditional games like “truco” and “taba”. The Argentine influences woven into the heritage of this frontier community come through loud and clear during this festival, especially when it comes to the jineteada.

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cook-out but in this case, lamb is spit-roasted over the coals of a bonfire. For a festival such as this, you can expect to see 15 or 20 lambs slowly cooking throughout the day. Waiting around nearby is a good idea because, as soon as the asado is ready, you can bet it will disappear!

Other activities include traditional rural farm games like “Taba” and “Truco”, which are popular among the gauchos because they provide opportunities to bet, cheat and lie. The game Taba has been played since the colonization of Aysén and during festivals, it is as popular as ever. It is sort of like horse-shoes but instead, two players take turns tossing a cow’s knuckle bone (the taba) across the playing area. Points are awarded or deducted according to the way in which it falls. Spectators and players take part in the betting and there are all kinds of traditional customs and shouts. You can bet on yourself, for or against your opponent, or basically on any other aspect. But, you aren’t really play-ing if you aren’t betting, so pay attention and learn the chants!

The game of Truco originates traditionally from Valencia and is very popular in many South American countries, having arrived with the conquistadors. It is a game of spec-ulation, lies, and betting that uses Spanish playing cards, and if you didn’t grow up play-ing, it is almost impossible to learn or under-stand. If you have the opportunity to watch people playing and check out the poker faces

and banter among the players, some of them are very funny!

When the day finally ends, the fiesta moves to the town’s school gym, where there’s a gi-gantic community dance that includes every-one (babies, kids, moms and dads and even grandparents are on the floor). You’ll get to listen to the rhythms of regional and national bands and learn local dances like chamamé, cumbia, paso doble, waltzes, and the Chilean national dance, la Cueca.

The Celebration Continues!Summer is a time of celebration throughout the region of Aysén, with festivals and cel-ebrations almost every week. It’s an excel-lent opportunity to experience local culture celebrating small-town heritage. Some of the most popular festivals include:

u “La Trilla como lo hacía mi abuelo” is a pioneer festival in Puer-to Ibáñez held the last week of Feb-ruary each year to honor traditional horse-powered methods for threshing and flour-making. It is organized by a group of locals and offers the opportu-nity to celebrate this pioneer custom, listen to excellent folk music, and try out traditional foods.

u “La Fiesta del Arreo de Bahía Murta” revives the traditional customs of herders and wranglers in a festi-val which includes demonstrations of

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herding and castrating animals, sheep shearing, asados, and dances. Truco, Taba and Rayuela are some of the lo-cal betting games you’ll see and in typ-ical Patagonian style, they continue the festival indoors at night at the town’s school gym, where musical groups liven up the dances.

u In Puerto Río Tranquilo the “Encuen-tro de Acordeón y Guitarra”, held the second weekend in February each year, gathers regional artists to celebrate traditional music of Patagonia. As one of the first traditional festivals of the region (13+ years and running), it has a long history and a loyal following.

» Activity Type: Celebrate a Patago-nian folklore festival » Start: Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez » End: Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez » Distance: Puerto Ibáñez is located 117 km southeast of Coyhaique. » Activity Duration: 2 days. » Seasonality: The festival is held on the third weekend in January each year. » Special Considerations: During the traditional festivals, the small towns of Aysén become popular tourist destinations. It is important to book accommodations beforehand if pos-sible. » Reservations: For more informa-tion on the festivals of this area, contact the Municipality of Río Ibañéz, located in Carlos Sosa 161, Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez. Contact: (067) 2423216; [email protected]; www.rioibanez.cl.

OVERVIEWTRAVELERS’ TIPSIf you want information on all the traditional festivals throughout the region, contact the National Coun-cil for Culture and Arts in Aysén (21 de Mayo, 574, Coyhaique www.cultura.gob.cl/region/aysén/; (067) 2214841), or visit the websites of the 10 municipalities. You can also request information from the Tourist Infor-mation Offices, located in each town.

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Traveling around the region of Aysén in-volves long days on the road. Not so long ago, those days were spent on horseback and food was carried in saddlebags and eaten under a tree, at the side of a river, or perhaps, in a remote mountain post. Today it is very likely that your mode of transporta-tion has wheels, but the distances are equally long, especially when the road borders giant General Carrera Lake.

Have you remembered snacks for the road?Lago General Carrera, known locally as Chelenko, is SO big that it generates winds and weather all on its own, resulting in var-ious micro climates along its shores, where crops grow as if they were in the fertile valleys of California or central Chile. We propose that before traveling between the towns of Puerto Ibáñez and Chile Chico, you take a few minutes to visit the gardens, greenhouses and markets of the zone in search of the raw material for a 100% fresh, natural and delicious picnic.

Your search for culinary treasure starts in the rich soils of Puerto Ibáñez.Here, the magical micro climate produces all kinds of fruits, vegetables and herbs, despite being in the middle of Patagonia.

Start with a visit to Las Paramelas (09) 99813498, a local farm where talent and love for the land is clearly demonstrated by the owners, Juana Vega and Ulysses Pereda. Head toward the airfield to reach this organ-ic oasis where you will find the hand-craft-

SEARCH THE SHORES OF

CHELENKO FOR DELICIOUS

PICNIC TREASURES

In your journey through the region of Aysén, you’ll encounter a part of the world that has not yet been discovered by the fast food chains. Here there is a much better option, thanks to the fertile lands and micro climates of Puerto Ibáñez and Chile Chico, which yield spectacular fruits, vegetables and herbs, perfect for a gourmet picnic to accompany your adventures.

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ed greenhouses, filled with fresh aromas of herbs and vegetables that grow abundantly, thanks to the lush Río Ibañéz valley and to years of experimentation and experience. Señora Juana is an expert with the medicinal herbs of Patagonia and in her boutique you can learn which herbs will brew the best teas for what ails you, whether it’s sore muscles, a head cold, or insomnia. Out back in Don Ulysses workshop, you can find other artisan crafts including hand-made wicker baskets (perfect for holding your picnic supplies) and gaucho style knives, made using traditional techniques and materials of the region.

Continue your gastronomical tour by head-ing to La Granja Municipal de la Agrupación de Horticultores, a community farm located on Carlos Soza Street, (067) 2423365. This community project uses innovative heat-

ing techniques for greenhouses, resulting in delicious products including corn and toma-toes that can only be found in this part of Patagonia. End your harvest on this side of the lake, by visiting the other orchards and greenhouses located along the main road en-tering Puerto Ibáñez, just before the center of town.

With your gastronomic loot in hand, it is time to enjoy! Sailing aboard the new ferry “Tehuelche”, you can cross the bright turquoise blue wa-ters of Chelenko in only a few hours, feeling the power of these waters with waves that will make you feel like you are at sea. When you get tired of taking photos and begin to get hungry, it is time to prepare your “tabla”, the Argentine version of a picnic, also known as a “picoteo”. Open your new wicker bas-ket, draw out your gaucho knife, and garner all your culinary creativity. In Argentina, the popular way to serve a picnic is on wooden cutting board but Puerto Ibáñez offers an option a thousand times more interesting and authentic, one of the hand-made clay serving trays made by the local craftsmen in town, using the clay that is collected from the shores of the Ibáñez River. There is no

TRAVELERS’ TIPSThe Womens’ Agricultural Club of Ba-hia Jara also sells its products in Chile Chico at an outdoor market, Wednes-day mornings, on the south side of the supermarket, on the main street (Avenida Libertador Bernardo O’Hig-gins, 394). It’s a good opportunity to coordinate a visit to their farms and soak up the entrepreneurial spirit of these fearless women.

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written rule for preparing your tabla, it all depends on the tastes of your group and the local treasures that you’ve discovered. Once armed, the idea is to share with your entire group, enjoying a simple meal, family style, while you sail across General Carrera.

Chile Chico, located on the south bank of Lago General Carrera, is known as the “City of the Sun”.Its pleasant temperatures and abundant sunny days produce some of the sweetest cherries, peaches, apricots and pears in the world. Yes, the world! Several countries in Europe and Asia import cherries produced in Chile Chico and we are confident that you, too, are going to love them!

If you would enjoy the opportunity to walk around the farms and pick your own trea-sures right off the trees, head a few kilo-meters out of town to the Bahía Jara valley, located 17 km to the west of Chile Chico on the way to Puerto Guadal. Here, amongst

photogenic landscapes, the women of the Womens’ Agricultural Club of Bahia Jara maintain family farms, orchards and green-houses where they produce delicious fruits, jams, preserves, cheeses, herbs, crafts, and much more. You can visit them, tour the orchards and greenhouses, and take away some of their delicious goodies to enjoy during your time on this side of the lake.

» Activity Type: A search for decadent treasures from the greenhouses, or-chards and outdoor markets along the shores of Lago General Carrera. » Start: Puerto Ibáñez or Chile Chico. » End: Chile Chico or Puerto Ibáñez » Distance: The total length of the route is approximately 75 Km by bike or vehicle, with a two-hour ferry crossing of Lago General Carrera. » Duration: Approximately 5 - 6 hours, including the lake crossing. » Seasonality: Year round » Special Considerations: Be sure to take sunscreen, sunglasses and cloth-ing layers; the area is very sunny and windy, especially in summer.

OVERVIEW » Reservations: You’ll need reserva-tions for the ferry, operated by the company, Sotramin. Tickets must be purchased in advance; they are not sold aboard the ship. You can view itineraries and purchase tickets On-line: www.sotramin.cl. You can also buy tickets at their offices:• Baquedano 1198 - Coyhaique;

(067) 2237958; [email protected].

• Port Terminal, Chile Chico; (067) 2411003; [email protected].

• Port Terminal, Puerto Ibañéz, General Carrera 202, Waterfront; (067) 2526992; [email protected].

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Chile Chico is one of the oldest towns in the Aysén Region. There is evidence that nomadic Tehuelche and pre-Tehuelche hunter-gatherers inhab-ited the lands of and around Chile Chico as many as 10,000 years before present day. Its first Chilean inhabitants arrived in 1905, after hard years spent living in Argentina, during an era when these two countries had little tolerance of one and other. Hence they flocked to Chile Chico, where they found a micro climate similar to that in the central zone of Chile and suitable soils for agricul-ture and livestock. They began to settle and build a new life, however, despite finally be-ing back in their homeland, their lives were not problem free. Little more than a decade had passed when, in 1917, their lives would again be marked by conflict and violence. In what history would term the “War of Chile Chico”, armed combat resulted between these settlers and the Chilean state when they were evicted from their homesteads, after being informed that the same lands on which they had settled had been awarded to a foreign interest as part of a large ranching concession. The settlers decided they didn’t want to relinquish the land to this group and there was a skirmish with the police, killing three settlers. This encounter caused such an uproar in Chilean society that the govern-ment was compelled to terminate the lease with the ranching company and formally rec-ognize the presence of the area’s settlers. Thus, on May 21, 1929, Chile Chico was offi-cially founded and soon after, constructed its first school and the initial homes of various settlers.

A WALK THROUGH

TIME IN CHILE CHICO, THE CITY OF SUN

The sunny streets of Chile Chico, located on the southern shore of Lago General Carrera, hold infinite memories of the times when this city was the trade and transportation epicenter of the whole southern area of Aysén. This small walk transports you from the modernity of today to Chile Chico’s first economic boom, when settlers arrived from various corners of the world, bringing their dreams, their culture and their work.

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In the early decades, settlers raised livestock, but the area soon established itself as a trade and transportation center for its proximity to the lake and the roads that led to the Atlantic. Chile Chico became the distribu-tion center for most of the wool produced around the borders of General Carrera Lake, including the area surrounding the Bak-er River. Its settlers developed the first trails in the area, including the routes through Paso de Las Llaves and later, along the north-ern shores of the lake, from Puerto Ibáñez and the Levicán Peninsula, allowing ranchers to also reach the markets of Coyhaique. But, without a doubt, Chile Chico’s most import-ant contribution to the development of the area was the addition of a fleet of iron boats that moved goods through various routes in the enormous bi-national waters of General Carrera Lake. Boats, like the Andes, Manolo, Chile, Argentina, Líbano and Cóndor, con-verted the lake into a transportation hub, providing a viable means to import and ex-port products, equipment, and eventually transport passengers from one coastal town to another.

With this capability already installed, Chile Chico became the major intermediary for the mining and mineral exports of the 1940s and ‘50s, when this area became the most important in the country for the extraction of lead and zinc. During those years, the town experienced its first real “boom”. There was an explosion of hotels, restau-

rants, theaters, dance and sports clubs, all critical factors for meeting the social needs of this small, but cosmopolitan city that was becoming more and more representative of its name. Chile Chico was converting itself into a “Little Chile”, equally full of resources and culture.

Unfortunately, progress in other sectors of the Region caught up with Chile Chico. Trails were being widened to the north and once the road between Puerto Aysén and Puerto Ingeniero Ibañéz was opened in 1958, Chile Chico’s role as a transportation hub soon di-minished and the tiny city experienced a de-pression, which was soon worsened by the closing of the mines owned by the company, Minera Aisén.

Today, Chile Chico has found another “gold-mine”, this time thanks to its favorable micro climate, and is reinventing itself as a center for the export of a different natural re-source, cherries! Once again, this small port town has an important role in national devel-opment, as the difference between the tim-ing of the cherry season in the central zone of Chile and the southern shores of General Carrera Lake, enables growers to extend the productive season for this fruit and provide a meaningful advantage to buyers in the Euro-pean and Asian markets.

Begin your walking tour of Chile Chi-co in its beautiful Plaza of Arms.

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From here, you’ll walk toward the Cerro Las Banderas Scenic Overlook, where you’ll have an excellent vantage point for viewing the entire town and its strategic location along the southern shore of General Carre-ra Lake. Cerro Las Banderas (Cerro of the Flags), owes its name to 1960s immigrants who arrived from countries around the world, including Belgium, Argentina, Peru, Lebanon, Spain, and Bolivia, and started the local custom of adding their homeland’s flags to that of Chile in an early demonstration of multiculturalism.

Next you can head down to the site of the city’s first public school (corner of Bernardo O’Higgins and Pedro González), which is the present site of the Gobernación Provincial, which manages the public administration of the Province. This site is where the town offi-cially began, thanks to the vision of Professor Luisa Rabal Palma. Her choice of locations for the town’s first school set the course for urban settlement that was centered around this building.

TRAVELERS’ TIPSAt the Hostería de la Patagonia, you’ll have the chance to learn about Chile Chico’s Belgian history first hand, talking with the owners and viewing their many historic photos, documents and antiques. In addition, you can learn more about the historic iron ships that served the area during its bonanza as transportation hub for the southern parts of the Aysén Region. Several years ago the Hostería purchased one of the retired historic vessels and restored it as an innovative and unique “cabana”, with capacity for 6 people, a kitchen, bathroom (complete with full sized porcelain bathtub), and a wood-burn-ing stove to keep you warm. So come aboard and relax in this unique accom-modation!

Continue walking along O’Higgins to the Pla-za Hotel (corner of Bernardo O’Higgins and Balmaceda Street). Built in 1937, this hotel was much more than lodging, it was the cen-ter of Chile Chico’s nightlife! The hotel had spacious lounges and even a movie theater, and was host for many of Chile’s famous fig-ures, including Presidents Carlos Ibáñez del Campo, Eduardo Frei Montalva, Salvador Allende, and poet Pablo Neruda, among whose many honors is the 1971 Noble Prize in Literature.

The next stop along this tour of the historic old town takes you to the pier and newly opened waterfront. The construction of the port and the arrival of the first iron boats

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» Activity Type: Heritage tour of Chile Chico. » Start: Plaza de Arms. » End: Hostería de la Patagonia or La Mercé Restaurant. » Distance: 3 - 4 Km. » Duration: 2 - 4 hours. » Seasonality: Year-round. » Special Considerations: To get to Chile Chico, there are sever-al options: You can take a ferry from Puerto Ibáñez, travel over-land through Argentina, entering through Los Antiguos, or take route X-265 around the General Carrera Lake, which connects with the Car-retera Austral in Puerto Guadal. » Reservations: There is a wide range of accommodations, restaurants and services available in Chile Chi-co. If you want to visit the historic houses of the Belgian settlers, con-tact:• Hostería de la Patagonia -

Camino Internacional s/n; (09) 81592146; (067) 2411337; hdelapatagonia@gmai l .com ; www.hosteriadelapatagonia.cl.

• Restaurante La Merce - Los Ar-rieros s/n: (067) 2411582; (09) 91337238; [email protected].

OVERVIEW

were vital aspects of the Chile Chico’s devel-opment, connecting the southern reaches of the region with the rest of the country and the Atlantic coast. The vessel that best rep-resents this era is the Andes, which began operating in 1922. It has been conserved and converted into a museum which you can vis-it on the corner of Bernardo O’Higgins and Lautaro, next to the Casa de la Cultura.

As you head east through town along Ber-nardo O’Higgins, which is the same road that leads to the Paso Río Jeinimeni Border Crossing, you’ll come to an area known as “the chacras” where there are fields lined with huge poplar trees and a series of houses that are the living testimony of the Belgian colonization in 1948. After World War II, a group of Belgians decided to seek a new life at the end of the world. They brought 57 adults and children, including a teacher, a doctor and a priest, to settle in Chile Chico, crossing the Atlantic Ocean to Punta Arenas via ship, with an incredible amount of cargo that included 18 huge overland trucks, left over after the war. From the Magallanes port, they traveled through the Argentine pampas in a convoy toward their new Chil-ean home. Learn more about their adven-tures by visiting some of these houses that

are now restaurants and hotels, including the Hostería de la Patagonia or the restaurant, La Mercé.

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The nomadic groups, which moved through-out Patagonia in ancient times were sur-rounded by strange and fascinating land-scapes, very much different from today. There was still a significant glacial presence in this area and as the ices receded, the lake’s expanse grew. Most of the lower planes you see now would have been under water in this era. In addition, there were huge erup-tions of Volcano Hudson, both 3,600 and 6700 years ago that were accompanied by tremendous distributions of volcanic ash that greatly impacted the entire area surrounding Chile Chico.

The history of these extinct hunter-gather-er tribes is still being discovered, thanks to the advances of a handful of archaeologists who are attempting to decipher their exis-tence via crude artifacts and paintings on the walls of area caves and cliffs. One of these scientists is Dr. Francisco Mena, an expert on Aysen’s archeology, who works for the Center for Patagonian Ecosystem Investiga-tion (www.ciep.cl), in Coyhaique, and has passionately devoted more than 30 years to unraveling the mysteries of the primitive cultures that originally inhabited these land-scapes.

Dr. Mena and his colleagues have evidence that at least 11,000 years ago, at the end of the last Ice Age, there was human exis-tence in this part of the world and the cave paintings in the area indicate that there was nomadic activity as recently as 8,000 years ago. The strange thing is that when the pio-neers arrived in this area in the early twenti-eth century, there was almost no indigenous presence.

IN JEINIMENI YOU CAN

WALK IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ANCIENT

NOMADS

In addition to inspiring geography, one of the best kept secrets of Lago Jeinimeni National Reserve is its important archaeological registry. Evidence has shown that the Jeinimeni plains were frequented ancient groups of hunter - gatherers who moved through the sectors near Chile Chico, Chile, and Los Antiguos, Argentina. Without the modern-day concepts of “borders”; for these ancient groups, Patagonia was a single area and very different from today.

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So, what happened during the thou-sands of years in between? It appears that indigenous people almost never ventured through these lands during recent centuries and the grand mystery of “why” is what has occupied the professional life of Mena, and many other archaeologists throughout Chile and the world. What IS known is that these ancient groups left trac-es of their presence all around the sectors of Chile Chico and Jeinimeni. Although they were not rural farmers, and did not leave behind huge monuments or ruins, their con-stant nomadic movements as hunters led to a large quantity of “evidence”, including handmade tools (arrowheads, flakes and blades), former campsites (animal bones and ashes from campfires), graves marked by piled river rock, referred to as “chenques” and, of course, rock paintings.

You can spend a few hours recreating the no-madic advances of these primitive hunter – gatherers in the Jeinimeni National Reserve. You’ll need to travel 25 km south from Chile Chico on Route X-753, which you’ll encoun-ter approximately 1.7 km past the giant hand that marks the exit of the downtown area. There is a discreet sign in the small parking area indicating the trail-head, the route, and the approximate walking times, depending on the route you intend to walk. We sug-gest you add a bit more to these estimates because most of the spots are worth taking extra time to photograph and contemplate.

The Trail to the Cave of the Hands, the Rock Tower, and the Valley of the Moon

It’s easy to imagine that this sector was a favorite for early Patagonians, based on the rock art paintings you will pass and the im-mense presence of unique and colorful rock formations. In fact, one of the characteristics of this sector, in contrast to other remote valleys, is the availability of a great variety and quality of rocks for making the typical indigenous tools. It is quite possible that the original inhabitants took advantage of this splendid spot to stock up on quality raw ma-terials that couldn’t be found in other places.

Your first major indication of nomadic pres-ence along the trail is the Cave of the Hands (Cueva de Las Manos), along the left side in the Pedregoso Stream sector. The cave con-sists of a rock wall positioned under an over-hang with rock art paintings. Unfortunately, the paintings are not in good condition, as a result of vandalism that has occurred in recent decades. The manifestations are characteristic of the style of rock art called Patagonica, and is the most ancient of all South America’s identified styles. The most well-known representations of the Patagon-ica style are hands, guanacos and abstract geometric symbols, called grecas. The basic features and style of these paintings has re-mained unchanged for millenniums. Dr. Mena has shared that some of the paintings on the walls of the Cave of the Hands indicate a human presence in the area, approximate-ly eight thousand years ago, although there have been no carbon-dating studies to date. He adds that based on research conducted in nearby sectors, it is not unlikely that men and women first hiked among these land-scapes, ten thousand or more years ago.

The trail continues toward the west for ap-proximately one km, where you see a huge

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stone totem sticking out of the ground, as if a giant had come along and driven it into the ground. This mysterious Rock Tower is called the “Piedra Enclavada”, an enormous and solitary volcanic rock, well-polished by the strong winds that blow through this area of the pampa, giving it a curious form that is a monumental 40 meters high and three meters in diameter.

After a few more kilometers, you’ll reach the summit, which according to many is the highlight of the tour. You’ll have a spectacular view of General Carrera Lake, which ap-pears bluer than ever from a birds-eye view, spread out amongst the arid, wind-swept pampa grasses. It’s an excellent spot to pause and contemplate how different this dynam-ic environment must have appeared for the first persons to reach this summit.

TRAVELERS’ TIPSThe trail through these enigmatic land-scapes is faint, making it easy to lose your way. You can end up spending a lot of energy wandering amongst a plethora of side trails, so take your time, download the track or hire a local guide in Chile Chico. Patagonia Xpress, a tour operator that performs the circuit on a regular basis, has offices in the Municipal Gallery of Chile Chi-co (Bernardo O’Higgins 333) and two daily hiking trip departures at 07:00 and 13:00; (09) 98020280; [email protected]; www.patagoni-axpress.cl.

What should you do if you find an arrowhead, a fossil, or some other artifact?

Dr. Francisco Mena advises, “Ideally an archaeological object should not be removed from its original location because the relationship of the artifact, in relation with other objects and with the environmental context provides the information we need to begin to understand the history of early Patago-nian hunter-gatherers (or other ancient peoples). This is particularly important in areas like Patagonia and Jeinimeni, where the evidence we have is relative-ly limited. If you or someone you know discovers an archaeological site or ob-ject, you should leave it as it is, note the geographic location with the most precision possible (a GPS point is ide-al) and provide this information to the nearest academic institution (in Chile Chico, the community museum or li-brary), which will assume the responsi-bility for coordinating further study by authorized personnel and experts.”

In accordance with the Law of National Monuments (N° 17,288), all archaeo-logical artifacts are the Government property; possession, marketing, de-stroying or altering an artifact in any way is punishable under this law.

NOTES

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» Activity Type: Hiking in the Jeinime-ni National Reserve » Start: Trail-head and Parking Area, 25 Km from Chile Chico » End: Trail-head and Parking Area, 25 Km from Chile Chico » Duration: 2 - 4 hours. » Distance: Approx. 9.5 Km (loop) » Seasonality: Year-round. » Special Considerations: The trail is often confusing and hard to de-cipher. We recommend hiking the circuit with a professional local guide because, in addition to show-ing you the right way, he will be able to share more information on the natural and cultural environment of the sector. It is advisable to bring hiking poles, hiking shoes, a water-proof jacket, sunglasses, a brimmed hat, and sunscreen. Don’t forget to carry water and a snack, and of course, your camera! » Reservations: No reservations needed; however, you need to stop at the Reserve’s entrance area to pay the fees and register your visit.

OVERVIEW

As you make your descent, you’ll encoun-ter the strange Valley of the Moon Sector, which is named for the white color of the rocks that appear similar to the surface of the moon. From here, strong winds will ac-company you on the rest of the loop, a fitting backdrop for one of the loneliest and most secluded panoramas in the region of Aysén.

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As is the case with most of Patagonia’s trea-sures, this road demands maximum effort and in return, provides you with incredible rewards. The effort involves maneuvering through the steep and narrow road that winds its way around the southwest border of General Carrera Lake, through the Paso de las Llaves (Keyhole Pass). And the prize? Spectacular views, dominated by huge ex-panses of blue and turquoise, which sparkle and change with each passing cloud, along the drive from Chile Chico to Puerto Guadal.

Early inhabitants of this sector of Patagonia called their tremendous lake, Chelenko, which means Troubled Waters. Its enormous size (the second largest in South America) is fed by snow melt and the waters of a million glacial streams. On warm days, the cold waters are brought to life by the heat of the sun’s rays across the magni-tude of its surface. When the fierce Pata-gonia winds begin to blow, waves of up to 3 meters are produced. This lake is anything BUT sweet and serene; providing technical challenges that beckon expert kayakers and delight landscape photographers. The near constant movement of the winds and clouds, combined with the dramatic intensity of light, convert into a dazzling show of sparkling blues and turquoises across the canvas of this lake. It might be cloudy where you are stand-ing, but as you gaze across this lake’s horizon, a powerful beam of light sneaks through the clouds, highlighting the waters below it, as if they were sacred. The landscape of Chelen-ko is never still – wait one minute and that ray of light will be resting over you!

This photographer’s adventure begins along

CLEAR YOUR MEMORY CARD FOR THE DRIVE THROUGH PASO DE LAS LLAVES

General Carrera Lake, known as “Chelenko” by the Tehuelches, is the star of this scenic drive between Chile Chico and Puerto Guadal. It’s a dizzying journey filled with steep cliffs and tight 90° turns, but you’ll be amply rewarded for your bravery with unbelievable panoramic views of the lake around every corner. Ready to explore?

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the southern shore of the lake, in Chile Chi-co. Head west along the main street past the entrance to the Cerro Las Banderas Scenic Overlook, where the road becomes Route X-265. In the first few kilometers you’ll note how the foothills of the mountains rise up over the steppe, producing dramatic open-ing shots, especially in those points where you catch glimpses of the lake. (Did you re-membered to clear the memory card in your camera?)

In kilometer five, you’ll spot an intersection and a small shrine at the side of the road, with hundreds of plastic bottles of water lined up all around. This shrine honors the Difunta Correa, a popular patron saint of the roads in Chile and Argentina who, according to legend, died of thirst wandering the pampas of Argentina, but, miraculously, was able to save the life of her baby by protecting it with her own body. The Difunta Correa is an icon in Patagonia, with many devotees, as you will note when you see the collection of plastic

TRAVELERS’ TIPS » For a totally unique lodging experi-ence, turn left on the road to Lagu-na La Manga, 1.5 kilometers before arriving in Puerto Guadal. Here, you’ll find the eco-hostel “ Un Destino no Turístico”, which offers camping and hostel-style lodging in a completely sustainable manner that includes renewable energies, organic crops, alternative cooking methods and a variety of cours-es and workshops on principles of environmental sustainability and permaculture: [email protected]; www.destino-noturisti-co.com. » And if you’re not quite ready to quit for the day, you can continue along Route X-265 for another nine km to the Carretera Austral. If you take a right and drive 6.5 km, you’ll find yourself at one of the trea-sures of this sector, Mallin Colora-do Ecolodge (www.mallingcolorado.cl), located on your right, up on the hill. This collection of luxury caban-as with panoramic views of the lake and a comfortable clubhouse, is a great spot to rest for the night or use as a base for a few days. Pau-la Christensen offers a range of services including delicious organic meals, featuring local flavors and ingredients, owner custom tours of the sector, fishing, horseback riding, trekking, and much more.

bottles in front, left to quench this heroine’s thirst. The intersection presents the choice to take a 12 kilometer detour to the Ba-hia Jara Sector, where there are beautiful white-sand beaches, camping, and cherry groves, along with several local farms that sell fresh produce. This sector, as well as the Fachinal Sector, located four kilometers fur-ther along Route X-265, are excellent places to stop along your journey, for walks along

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» Activity: Scenic drive. » Start: Chile Chico. » End: Puerto Guadal. » Distance: 107 km. » Duration: 2 hours and 30 minutes. » Seasonality: year round » Special Considerations: Make sure your vehicle has sufficient ground clearance because there are many pot holes and sections with wash-boarding along this drive, especially in the Paso de las Llaves section, where you will need to advance through the curves and slopes. Both Chile Chico and Puer-to Guadal have gas stations where you can fill your tank and check your tire pressure, amongst other travel services. » Reservations: No reservations re-quired.

OVERVIEW

the beaches, photos and picnics.

After leaving the lowland sector near Bahia Jara and Fachinal, you will begin to climb high above the shoreline of the lake toward the tiny community of Mallín Grande. The road becomes more complicated during this part of the drive, passing through an area called the Paso de las Llaves (Keyhole Pass.) The road is narrow and follows along the cliffs through hairpin curves. It can be a challenge for those who suffer from vertigo, but the scenery along the way is unsurpassed. Just go slow, take your time and, if you’re a cyclist, take extra precaution with the wind.

This adventure portion of the route contin-ues for approximately 32 kilometers, when you will arrive in Mallín Grande, a small and quiet village where you can stop for a brief walk around, visit the local shops, and buy a snack before continuing on towards Puerto Guadal. Mallín Grande is the starting point for the trail that leads to Cerro Tronador, an excellent horse trek that offers spectacular panoramic shots of Chelenko and the sur-rounding valleys. We recommend doing this trip in autumn when the native forest takes on intense shades of red and yellow.

In the final 64.5 km stretch between Mallín Grande and Puerto Guadal, Route X-265 winds through native forests and farmlands that border the lake and the drive is much more relaxing, with plenty of opportunities to stop for photos beside waterfalls and streams, at scenic overlooks of the lake, and at strategic points where you can observe the mountains on the horizon, like Monte San Valentin (4058 m), the highest in Patago-nia, which you’ll see toward the northwest.

Puerto Guadal is the perfect place for a re-freshing dip in the lake with all of the ame-nities you’ll need: a supermarket, gas station, restaurants and a selection of accommoda-tions that meet the needs of all travelers and all budgets. The range includes options for tent-camping, luxury lodges, and everything in-between, making it hard to go wrong: no matter where you decide to relax in this sector, Chelenko will offer you tremendous panoramas of its beautiful colors and turbu-lent waters.

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One of the most exciting adventures of the Chelenko Area awaits you in Mallín Grande, a small agricultural community located along the southwest shore of General Carrera Lake. This two-day autumn horse trek fol-lows gaucho trails between the summer and winter pastures of Cerro Tronador. The in-tensity of colors will leave you mesmerized and full of the energy you’ll need to enjoy a one-of-a-kind experience that you’ll never forget. The Cerro Tronador sector is full of thick ñirre and lenga forests and when they change their colors, during the last weeks of April and the first weeks of May, they inun-date the hills with vivid reds, oranges and yellows. The contrast of their colors with the evergreen coigües, the whites of the snow-capped mountains and the turquoise hues of General Carrera Lake result in a landscape that is almost too beautiful to believe.

There are several regional guides who work in the area and each has their own version of the route, based on their favorite places to see. Here we share the version offered by Don Pascual Diaz, owner of Turismo Kalem of Puerto Guadal, a regional company with more than 15 years of experience with the leadership of guided trekking expeditions in the sectors of the Leones and Calluqueo Glaciers and Mount San Lorenzo.

Pascual’s two-day horse trek be-gins from his family’s farm in Mallín Grande and travels through the foot-hills of Cerro Tronador to the sector known as Las Horquetas.

If you don’t have previous experience in horseback riding, that’s okay, because the

HORSE TREK AMONGST

THE VIBRANT FALL COLORS IN MALLÍN

GRANDE

Autumn is the best time to surround yourself in the intense colors of Aysen’s lenga and ñirre forests. It’s also the time when Patagonia’s gauchos venture up into the high valleys to round up their herds and lead them to lower pastures in anticipation of winter. This two-day horse trek will immerse you in fall beauty and bring you face to face with hard working gauchos in the sector of Mallín Grande.

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On the first day you’ll ride along a path that winds up the mountain through the forest for around three hours. During the 17 ki-lometer ride, you’ll pass streams and en-counter some sections with dead tree logs, remnants from the fires that ripped through this sector years ago, before finally arriving to an expansive area of high valley pastures, the summer grazing lands for the cattle of the Díaz - Georgia farm. Here, you’ll find a simple dwelling that will serve as refuge for the night, a spectacular high Andean camp where you can enjoy a good meal and a few rounds of yerba mate. Camping in a high mountain post is a special experience; here there are no roads or traffic, other than an occasional gaucho passing by on his horse, in search of a little conversation and a warm mate, before continuing up the trail. Relax, enjoy the scenery, and relish the gaucho tra-ditions!

After a hearty breakfast, you’ll begin the descent that encompasses day two of this

trail isn’t difficult and follows a pace that any-one in good physical condition can handle without problems. For most of the route, your horse will be moving at a walk, because it’s hard work to climb these mountains with riders on their backs and they need to pace themselves to conserve their energy and strength! Your guide, Pascual, will provide you with a horse suited to your level of ex-perience and the corresponding tack (reins, saddles, saddle pads, ponchos, saddle bags, etc.). You’ll also travel with a “pilchero” in your group, which is a conditioned pack horse capable of handling a heavier load. The pack horses are necessary since you’ll be bringing everything you need to spend the night in the mountains (of course, he or she would appreciate it greatly if you pack only the essentials). Pascual will also offer you the opportunity to try out the gaucho fashion with a pair of traditional “pierneras”, which are full-length chaps made of goat-hide full that will keep you warm and dry.

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» Activity: Horse-trekking. » Start: Mallín Grande, Díaz - Georgia family farm. » Finish: Mallín Grande. » Distance: 40 Km. » Duration: 2 days and 1 night. » Season: October to May (Note: The fall colors are at their most vivid during the last weeks of April and the first weeks of May,) » Special Considerations: Remember to always wear sunscreen (and a hat with a visor!) even on cloudy days and for clothing, include a fleece hat, gloves, and your usual base, insulating and waterproof layers. Bring a backpack with all these items, plus your camera

OVERVIEW(hopefully with a Ziploc bag to pro-tect it from the rain) and a bottle of water. » Reservations: Horseback riding re-quires planning, so reservations should be made at least 15 days pri-or to travel. This trek is offered for groups of 1 – 6 persons. • Turismo Kalem – Puerto Guadal:

Los Alerces 557; (067) 2431289 - (09) 88112535; [email protected], Facebook: Turismo Kalem Patagonia.

• Patagonia Riders Excursiones y Expediciones – Camino Las Horquetas Km 9, Mallín Grande; (09) 93332432; [email protected].

adventure. This is the best day to capture prize-winning photos, as you’ll be able to see the valleys spreading out below you and even a special view of General Carrera Lake that allows you to capture almost its entire length. About half-way, you’ll take a break at another gaucho outpost, this time located in the sector where the gauchos will be delivering their animals to spend the winter months. After resting awhile and capturing a few more photos of the scenery, you’ll remount your horses and continue to the main farmhouse in Mallín Grande, proud and satisfied with your time on horseback in this unique trip, full of col-ors and gaucho culture.

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Villa Cerro Castillo marks the end of pave-ment on the Carretera Austral. From this point south, you will be adventuring along gravel roads, where you’ll have to slow your speed, because the potholes and wash-boards make it a bit complicated to maneu-ver. It’s not all bad though; going a bit slower gives you a better opportunity to pay atten-tion to the details hiding around every curve of this incredible, scenic journey. Relax and take your time!

After passing the Chacano Bridge and the turnoff for the Paredón de las Manos indige-nous hand paintings just outside of Villa Cer-ro Castillo, you will find a lookout point with a perfect view of Cerro Palo (2,320 m), a great tower of rock and ice that is part of the Castillo mountain range. Tear yourself away from the view for a moment and look at the ground where you are standing; it is very likely that you’ll see small granular materials that are similar to sand, but a little bigger, in a range of light gray, dingy green, brown and yellow colors. These are the ashes left be-hind from the modern-era eruptions of the Hudson Volcano in 1971 and 1991.

The Hudson Volcano is H-U-G-E!It is even larger than Cerro Palo, with an al-titude of approximately 2,500 meters and a 10 km diameter. It is located 82 km southeast of Coyhaique in the vicinity of the northern ice fields and the fjords and channels; the same vicinity as the Liquiñe - Ofqui geolog-ical fault line. The volcano consists of a row of cones, dikes, eruptive centers, and a giant circular crater that boils when active. Ironi-cally, around the peak of the volcano, there is a permanent glacier.

The Hudson Volcano has been active for at least 1.5 million years, producing some of

IN THE WAKE OF A GIANT BETWEEN

CERRO CASTILLO AND

MURTA

Everyone who travels south along the Carretera Austral in the Aysén Region relishes the breathtaking scenery between Villa Cerro Castillo and Bahía Murta, but there are few capable of recognizing the traces left from the “not so gentle” giant that has attacked this area on various occasions and even now, could awake from its sleep at any moment.

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the largest eruptions in the Andes during the Holocene period, including confirmed eruptions 3,600 and 6,700 years ago. But given its remote location, it was only recog-nized as a volcano in 1971, when it awoke, sending up a 12 km high column of smoke and ashes that produced an explosive flood of the areas rivers, due to the lahar (debris and mud-flows), sediment, and water which descended from the volcano. Ash was the most damaging factor of the eruption, cov-ering the entire valley, grasslands and forests, and impacting the ecosystems, agriculture and, in particular, livestock. The area’s set-tlers lost all of their sheep and for many, this meant absolutely everything to their fami-ly. Some had to leave the area, others sold their land and the majority had to start from scratch.

Twenty years later, in August of 1991, the Hudson Volcano roared once again, but this time with such violence that it ranks as one of the twentieth century’s largest volcanic eruptions. It was extremely explosive, with violent lahars and columns of smoke and ashes shooting up to an astounding 18 km in altitude. The Patagonian winds blew this tremendous column all the way to Como-doro Rivadavia and San Julian, Argentina, along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. The affected area totaled about 80,000 km2, depositing between two centimeters and a meter of ash across agricultural and ranching lands, forests, and steppe. Can you imagine a meter of ashes? That’s almost up to many peoples’ waists! The areas around General Carrera Lake, including the section along the Carretera Austral between Villa Cerro Cas-tillo and Bahía Murta, were the most heavily impacted; you can still see the evidence of

this devastating eruption as your travel along the route.

Shortly after you pass the crossing for the Claro - Las Ardillas Sector, you will come to a camping area called Camping Los Ñires (Km 12), a wonderful place to rest with-in native forests and share the hospitality of Señora Rosa Chacano and her husband, Don Eleuterio Calfullanca. Both remember the eruptions of the Hudson Volcano vividly; don’t hesitate to ask them about these his-toric events because they love sharing their stories. They are excellent sources of local knowledge and an insight into the culture of this area.

Around kilometer 34, you’ll pass through a sector along the road where there are signs of the last Hudson eruption all around you. If you pay attention, you’ll notice fence posts poking up out of the ground about ten cen-timeters or so. That’s because the other me-ter of their height is completely buried under a meter of volcanic ash. And you won’t even need to try to see the “Bosque Muerto” (Dead Forest) because it fills the horizon for a stretch of four kilometers! The eruption ac-tually changed the course of the Ibañéz River and wiped out dozens of hectares of native forest, leaving the trees completely under water and ash. You’ll also probably note that the road through this sector is a little bit soft-er; that’s because it is surfaced with the ashes left behind by the volcano, forming a much smoother and finer surface layer; a welcome break from the normal washboards of the rough gravel.

The next few kilometers offer views of abandoned farms and large pine plantations,

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introduced after the eruptions for their adaptability and disposition to grow, given the new composition of soil. In this section, you’ll want to take a look at the mountains in the distance to your right where you can see black stains on their snow-covered peaks. These are the marks left from the more re-cent eruption of the volcano, which occurred in October 2011. This time the damage was minimal thanks to the fact that the eruption was short and relatively low-impact. Never-theless, the explosion resulted in the gener-ation of small eruptive columns and the ap-

pearance of at least three new craters in the glacier that is nestled near the boiling crater.

If you want to hear more stories about the giant and powerful Hudson Volcano, we suggest you complete your journey with a delicious lunch at Hospedaje Patagonia (Km 96.5), located a few meters south of the intersection for Bahía Murta. The owner, Señora Clotilde, is a great local historian and storyteller. She will bring history to life and recreate the epic geological adventures of the landscapes that surround you.

TRAVELERS’ TIPS » If you’re interested in a bit more perspective about the effects of the Hudson Volcano’s eruptions, take a horseback ride up the mountain with one of the providers in Cerro Castil-lo. From the top, you’ll not only get close to the spirals of Cerro Castillo – you’ll also have amazing panoramic views of the entire Ibañéz Valley that allow you to see how the river has changed its course and the murky hues provided, thanks to the ashes of this volcanic giant! » If you are a bird watcher or an avid photographer, head 19.5 km south of Villa Cerro Castillo to the outflow of the Verde Lagoon. Here you have a beautiful panorama of the Ibañéz River Valley and the headwaters of the Manso River, the shortest river in Chile. The lagoon is home to a wide variety of birds, including various species of ducks. Take a minute to pull off to the side of the road and take some photos!

» Activity: Driving tour that provides the opportunity to observe the trac-es of the Hudson Volcano. » Start: Villa Cerro Castillo. » End: Bahía Murta. » Distance: 96 km. » Duration: 3 hours, with stops. » Seasonality: Year round. » Special Considerations: Plan your route with sufficient time to avoid any unnecessary rushing. Travel with the mindset that you are going to stop several times to take pictures or admire the scenery. The average speed on this gravel road is between 45-70 km/h. » Reservations: Self-guided tour, does not require reservations.• Camping Los Ñires – Located

in the El Manso Sector, 10 km south of Villa Cerro Castillo; (09) 92165009 - 92936679; [email protected].

• Residencial Patagonia – Located alongside the Carretera Austral just past the crossing for Bahía Murta; (09) 87259186; [email protected].

OVERVIEW

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“Oh, how pretty, how pretty, my land, nestled beside the lake and the mountains. I am a pioneer and I live con-tent, I am from Murta, simple and sincere”.

This translation of the first few lines of pop-ular folklorist, Señora Águeda del Carmen Pradines’s original song, provides your first clues about what to expect when you visit the quaint village of Bahía Murta. The natural setting around Murta is filled with spectacu-lar forests, meadows, mountains and rivers, and the sandy beaches and turquoise waters of General Carrera Lake’s border the south-ern end of town. The mighty Hudson Volca-no lies a morning’s flight away for a condor (65 Km), which means Bahía Murtinos re-member, all too clearly, the fury produced when this sleeping giant decides to wake up.

The atmosphere is laid back; its people sim-ple and sincere; what you see is what you get. BUT, the people of Bahía Murta haven’t always been so relaxed and at peace with their setting. For many decades, they lived at odds with the rivers and volcanoes that surround their peaceful village. To maintain their dreams of living a peaceful and sim-ple life, they developed a collective spirit of courage and determination, with which they learned how to survive and live content, along the shores of such a powerful lake, and it has rewarded them with their natural en-vironment.

Bahía Murta is located 4 km off the Carretera Austral, along Route X-731. Start your visit at the Hospedaje Patagonia, located along the Carretera Austral 500 m from the crossing with Route X-731. In addi-tion to a good night’s rest and home-cooked meals, you can tour the Lucio González Mu-seum. Owner, Señora Clotilde Yáñez is the daughter of some of Murta’s first settlers and has a passion for local history. Her museum has a great collection of historic artifacts and typical tools and household items of the pio-neer era. The Hospedaje Patagonia is also a strategic site for learning about the two Bahía Murtas, as it is located in between Murta An-tigua and Murta Nueva and Señora Clotilde

EXPLORE THE SCENIC, SIMPLE AND

SINCERE LANDS OF BAHÍA

MURTA

On this tour you’ll learn that there are two Bahía Murtas, through a fascinating story told by their own folklorists.

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can provide a firsthand account. You’ll also want to ask her to share the story of Murta’s name, which involves the “miss-identifica-tion” of local flora.

The first settlers arrived in this sector in the early years of the twentieth century and built their initial town, Murta Antigua, between the Engaño and Murta Rivers, only to be humbled by the indomitable nature of these lands. After falling victim to various floods of the Engaño River, the inhabitants of the Mur-ta Antiguo realized that they had positioned their town to live in constant threat of nat-ural disaster. They gathered their forces and their collective strength and began to look for solutions. During the decades of the ‘60s and ‘70s, they began to transfer everything to a new site, chosen for its good grazing pastures, protected setting, and proximity to the lake.

And they had reason to be cautious! Not too long after, in March of 1978, the prophecy was fulfilled; Patagonia’s indomita-ble climate showed its head, with a gigantic avalanche, and flood of the Engaño River that passed through the original town, de-stroying practically all that remained. We recommend you pay a visit to Murta An-tiguo to see its miraculous survivors; the ancient cemetery sits high atop the hill and if you enter the small road leading toward the remains of the town, you’ll find a beau-tiful church made of characteristic tejuelas,

a type of hand-hewn wooden shingle for which, Bahía Murta is famous. The church dates back to the ‘50s, is well preserved and still in use; each August 30, this is the site for the popular Santa Rosa de Lima religious festival.

Bahía Murta (New Murta) is home to around 300 inhabitants and located only four Km from Hospedaje Patagonia, heading along Route X-731. When you reach town, look for the plaza and then head up the hill a few hundred meters to a great overlook that will provide you with the complete per-spective; you’ll be able to distinguish the two Murtas and have a panoramic view of the lake and the mouths of the Engaño, Murta and Resbalón Rivers. The overlook is located after the second curve in the first meters of the climb of the road to Puerto Sánchez.

What is there to do in Bahía Murta? Señora Águeda del Carmen (Carmencita) explains it well in her song: “In the south of Aysén, is the village of Murta, resting now, on the shores of General Carrera Lake. The Engaño River, covered it with water, for which we paid twice times. In Murta Anti-qua, our history has passed, in Murta Nue-va, we can live (in peace). If there is a rodeo, I’ll be in the quincha, if there is a sporting event, I’m going to play. When you see me, I’ll give you a smile. If there is a celebration, I’m going to dance. I am from Murta, land of Chile, a place of dreams which you’ll nev-er forget.”

Bahía Murta is famous for cattle ranching, with delicious “organic, grass-fed, free-range” beef. Murtinos haven’t developed a special system focused on delivering these trendy characteristics; rather, wandering the meadows munching on fresh, natural grasses, is just the happy, every day, reality of being a cow in this beautiful and natural zone. People come to Murta from all over the region, to buy fresh beef and you can too! To find a lo-

TRAVELERS’ TIPSLa Fiesta del Arriero of Bahía Murta is a good opportunity to learn about the customs and traditions of the ter-ritory, especially about the gauchos and herding of animals. You can also enjoy music, dances and delicious local food. It occurs the last week of February each year.

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cal butcher, look for the little red flags posted outside the stores in town – these red flags indicate that there is fresh meat on hand. One sure bet is the Carnicería La Bahía ((09) 84652955), located beside the Plaza de Arms. Don Exequiel Bello Inostroza, the butcher offers fresh beef almost every Tues-day and Friday. He is also an accomplished soguero, a master of the art of working raw leather into beautiful and intricate reins, bri-dles and other types of tack.

In fact, there are many fascinating artisans and folklorists in Bahía Murta and sever-al love to share their traditions and crafts; telling the tales of parents and grandparents who taught them these time-honored prac-tices. In addition to Don Exequiel Bello In-ostroza, you can visit Señora Nuvia Muñoz Téllez, who is an accomplished gardener and artisan, specializing in wool crafts (Sector el Engaño Km 201). Señora Deyanira Muñoz Aguilar (Av. 18 de septiembre 482), devel-ops textiles from local wool, and Señora

» Activity Type: Tour of the two Bahía Murtas. » Start: Hospedaje Patagonia. » End: Enjoying an activity in nature, vis-iting a butcher shop or visiting a local artisan. » Duration: 1 or more days. » Seasonality: Year round. » Special Considerations: Artisans and folklorists are members of the com-munity and willing to share their knowledge with visitors, but keep in mind that they do not work in tour-ism and may not always be available for visit. » Reservations: Try to make your res-ervations in advance. Options include:• Residencial Patagonia; (09)

87259185; [email protected].

OVERVIEW• Cabana y Hospedaje SuizAike; (067)

2214031 - 2524929; [email protected].

• Cabanas Kela - Colombia 93; [email protected].

• Hospedaje La Cascada – Pasaje La Cascada 52; [email protected].

• Hostal y Residencial La Bahía - Av. 18 de septiembre 467; (067) 2419600.

• Lodge Patagonia Bay - Carretera Austral Sur s/n, crossing for Murta Viejo; (09) 66408112; [email protected]; www.patagoniabay.com.

• Residencial Marianela - Av. 18 de Septiembre 476; (09) 82282782; residencialmarianelaBahí[email protected]; Facebook: Residencial Marianela Bahía Murta.

Patricia Alarcón Bustos (12 de octubre N° 78), is a local musician and folklorist who is teaching her son to carry on the traditions of accordion and guitar. These members of the community are willing to share their knowl-edge with visitors, but keep in mind that they do not work in tourism and may not always be available for visit.

Bahía Murta is surrounded by incredible nature with perfect fly-fishing rivers, beau-tiful mountains and forests for trekking, the turquoise waters of the lake for boating or kayaking, and exquisite natural hot springs. To take advantage of all this nature, head to the Cabana y Hospedaje SuizAike, lo-cated at kilometer 4.5 along the road to Puerto Sánchez. It’s a magical place to visit, with an incredible log-home and cabin set deep within the nature in this sector and its charming owners offer a full range of excur-sions and activities.

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Meatballs are a typical Chilean dish, usually served with rice, potatoes or salad, but in the farmhouses of Aysén they are more than just tradition, they are one of the staples, served at least once or twice a month, whenever there is fresh beef available. The Patagonian touch? Without a doubt, it has to be the fla-vor, thanks to the farm-raised animals that graze on some of the freshest grasses and most pristine waters in the world.

Bahía Murta is an excellent spot to try this recipe! Known throughout the region as one of the best places to find fresh beef, Murta also is home for an expert in the prepara-tion of Patagonian meatballs, Señora Clotil-de Yáñez. You’ll find her in the Residencial Patagonia, at the junction of the Carret-era Austral and Route X-731, the route to Bahía Murta – a peaceful village along the shores of General Carrera Lake. Señora Clotilde can tell you first-hand about this town and its historic struggles with Pata-gonia’s climate and rivers. There’s a happy ending and knowing the details makes it all the more fun to visit Bahía Murta, explore it’s beauty and nature, and treat yourself to some of the region’s most delicious, naturally-raised beef.

Señora Clotilde is legendary for her excel-lent homemade recipes, and one of her most anticipated plates features her Patago-nian meatballs. Her recipe has been handed down through her family, and she is gracious-ly sharing it with you.

HOMEMADE MEATBALLS,

PATAGONIAN STYLE!

Are you hungry for a bit of Patagonian gastronomic tradition? Well, give Señora Clotilde Yáñez a little more than an hour and she will prepare her delicious homemade recipe for Patagonian meatballs. Or you can prepare it yourself, thanks to her willingness to share!

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» Ingredients• 1 kg of beef, preferably sirloin• 2 farm eggs• 1 clove garlic, minced• 1/2 tablespoon cumin• 1/2 tablespoon oregano• 1/2 tablespoon salt• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper• 1 small onion, chopped• 1-1/2 cups of vegetable oil• 1 cup of bread crumbs• 1/2 cup of flour• 1 cup of water• 1 cup of tomato sauce

» Preparation• Step 1: Prepare the meat. Chop

the meat into small chunks and pass them through a meat grind-er. Ideally, you should use a tender cut of meat, like sirloin, filet or rib eye. It should be purchased fresh and ground immediately. If you don’t have a meat grinder, choose you whole portions and then ask the butcher to grind them fresh. In a medium bowl, combine the ground meat, eggs and minced garlic. Add the spices (cumin, oregano, salt and black pepper), and the flour, which will give the meatballs their consistency. The measurements can be varied according to taste. Take care to mix the ingredients together well so that it is uniform and the eggs and spices are evenly distributed.

• Step 2: Hand-form the meatballs.

Use a large spoon to spoon out a portion of the meat and begin to form it into a ball until it be-comes firm. Once it is ready, roll it through the breadcrumbs and set it on a tray. Repeat until you have used all of the meatball mixture.

• Step 3: Cook the meatballs. In a large pot, sauté the onions over a low flame, in a bit of vegetable oil (This pot will be used for the final cooking process). In another, more shallow saucepan, heat the rest of the oil in which you will brown the meatballs. Once the oil is hot, fry the meatballs for approximately five minutes, gen-tly turning them periodically, un-til they are browned on all sides. Then, transfer the meatballs to the pot with the onions and top with 1 cup of water. Finish the cooking process, by covering your pot and simmering over a low flame for approximately 15 minutes. If you desire, you can serve the meat-balls with a tomato sauce. Senora Clotilde recommends thinning a pre-made sauce with water and adding it to the pot for the last 15 minutes of the cooking process. In Patagonia, the traditional number of meatballs per plate in Patagonia is three, with a ladle of the sauce across the top and your choice of rice, potatoes and/or salad.

Congrats on making your delicious Pata-gonian meatballs! Enjoy!

RECIPE FOR RESIDENCIAL PATAGONIA’S HOMEMADE MEATBALLS (6 – 8 PORTIONS)

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» Activity Type: Gastronomy – Rec-ipe for Residencial Patagonia’s Homemade Meatballs » Start: You can find the ingredients in any supermarket, whether in Pa-tagonia or your home city. » End: Happy guests and full stom-achs - you’re going to love them! » Duration: A little over an hour. » Season: They taste great all year round! » Special Considerations: Cooking times are variable, depending on the type of stove you are using (gas, electric, wood burning). Por-tions vary according to the size of the meatballs you choose to create. One kilo of meat will yield approxi-mately 18 palm-sized meatballs. » Reservations: Señora Clotilde is owner of Residencial Patagonia, at the junction of the Carretera Aus-tral and Route X-731, the route to Bahía Murta; (09) 87259186; [email protected].

OVERVIEW TRAVELERS’ TIPSYou can purchase fresh local beef in several butcher shops in Bahía Murta, such as the Carnicería La Bahía, locat-ed next to the Plaza de Arms, at the corner of Av. Chile and 21 de Mayo. Here, Don Exequiel Bello offers fresh meat almost every Tuesday and Friday. Give him a visit or call for more infor-mation: (09) 84652955.

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The charming hand-crafted log hospedaje and cabana of SuizAike are the life’s project of Chilean-Swiss couple Ninoska Vera and Werner Bleicher. Their fantastic architecture is surrounded by a landscape so remarkable that it will be difficult to convince you to come inside and eat U-N-T-I-L you catch a whiff of the delicious smells coming from Ni-noska’s (and Werner’s) kitchen, like Cheesy Risotto with Wild Morel Mushrooms. It’s a delicious labor of love; the Cheesy Risotto is compliments of Werner and his Swiss tradi-tions, and the Wild Morel Mushroom Sauce is the creation of Ninoska. The meal was inspired by family excursions to collect these delicious mushrooms in the Patagonian for-ests that surround their home. The Patago-nia Morel is hard to find! It grows in Aysen’s fields and around tree roots, but only at the end of spring, on warm sunny days, just after a rain. Morels have a high nutritional value and are believed to be antioxidants with anti-carcinogenic properties; one thing’s for sure, finding them requires walking, search-ing and work SO they are definitely calorie burning!

To reach SuizAike, a true refuge of gastronomic miracles, take the road leaving Bahía Murta toward Puerto Sánchez. Around kilometer 4.5 km, you will see a sign indicating the parking area for Hospedaje Rural SuizAike. Enter the gate and park; you may want to spend a few moments to orga-nize a day-pack with your gear because your experience begins with a beautiful 15 - 20 minute hike, (800 meters), through the na-tive forest that isolates the hospedaje from the rest of the world.

SAVOR SUIZAIKE’S

CHEESY RISOTTO WITH

WILD MOREL MUSHROOMS

Risotto, an inspired part of Italy’s gastronomy, is loved around the world. This local twist on risotto mixes native ingredients found in the SuizAike farm in Bahía Murta with Switzerland’s traditions, resulting in a Cheesy Risotto with Wild Morel Mushrooms that has seduced travelers from around the world.

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» IngredientsNote: The ingredients are easy to find, with the exception of the Morels. You’ll find Morels in gourmet shops and some grocery stores and you can also substi-tute another variety of dried mushrooms.

For the risotto:

• 2 cups of white rice (if possible, use an Arborio rice or another variety with high starch content).

• A medium onion, chopped finely.• A cup of white wine.• 1/4cup of sunflower or canola oil.• A cup of grated soft cheese, like

Mantecoso or Gouda cheese.• Six cups of chicken broth.

For the sauce:

• Two cups of fresh or dried Morels (you can also use other mush-room varieties).

• Three cups of whole milk.• A clove of garlic.• Salt to taste.• Finely chopped fresh herbs such

as cilantro, chives or parsley.

» PreparationStep 1: Prepare the sauce. If you are using dried mushrooms, you’ll need to reconstitute by soaking in the milk for approximately one hour. Once reconsti-tuted, or, if using fresh Morels, dice finely (2 cm cubes). Place in a saucepan with the garlic, milk and salt (to taste). Sim-

mer over a low heat while cooking your risotto, allowing the broth to reduce slowly, and stirring occasionally to en-sure that the milk doesn’t burn.

Step 2: Prepare the Risotto. The risotto is easy to prepare, but there are a few tricks you’ll need to know in order to achieve the fine, creamy texture you’re seeking. To begin, sauté your chopped onion in a large skillet, with the vegeta-ble oil. Then add the rice, stirring, and mix well, taking care that the rice is well coated with the oil/onion mixture. Add the white wine and saute the mixture a couple of minutes while stirring with a wooden spoon. Slowly start to add the broth to the rice, one half a cup at a time, stirring in between and allowing it to slowly absorb, before adding more. It is important that you have patience, adding the broth little by little and con-stantly stirring the mixture during the 30 or 40 minutes that it takes to cook. When the rice has absorbed all of the broth and you have obtained the de-sired texture, remove the pot from the fire and stir in the grated cheese so that it melts into the creamy rice. Serve in large individual bowls with a generous (2/3 cup) ladle of sauce over each por-tion of risotto. Sprinkle your choice of fresh, finely chopped herbs like cilantro, chives or parsley. No doubt, your guests will be delighted to savor this tiny bit of Patagonia!

CHEESY RISOTTO WITH WILD MOREL MUSHROOMS (4 - 6 PORTIONS)

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As you walk, you’ll be periodically treated to awesome views of the lake and shortly before your arrival, the trail leaves the for-est, depositing you in the center of a magical scene: a perfect grassy knoll with an incredi-ble log house perched on top and an impres-sive backdrop of the blue waters of General Carrera Lake. It is a true “log house,” de-signed and constructed by Werner over the course of 7 years, using hand cut and hewed coigüe logs from the property. Friendly dogs come running to greet you and, of course, not far behind, their lovely owners, who will make you feel like you are part of the family. The food is incredible - everything is fresh: farm eggs, whole grain breads, organic vegetables, roasted salmon, and of course, Cheesy Risotto with Wild Morel Mush-rooms. It is truly astounding to experience the diverse gastronomy and comfortable setting they have been able to create in a place that is absolutely isolated from the rest of the world! If you stay a couple of days, you can relax in their rustic sauna and Wer-ner and Ninoska will happily accompany you along different trails, such as their hike to the Escargot Lagoon or Cerro Pichon. Other excursions include visits to the Engaño Hot Springs, an afternoon of kayaking in the lake, and of course, you are welcome to help out with typical work around the farm. Every-thing at SuizAike is organic, natural and cer-tified as sustainable by the organization Bio-sphere. And, after your visit to SuizAike, you can savor the unique flavors of this risotto wherever you find Morels, thanks to the rec-ipe that Ninoska and Werner have shared.

» Activity Type: Gastronomic visit to the charming Cabana y Hospedaje SuizAike. » Start: Cabana y Hospedaje SuizAike (or your own kitchen). » End: Depends on you! We recom-mend staying at least a couple of days at SuizAike to enjoy the scen-ery, the tranquility and the sereni-ty of this special place. » Distance: SuizAike is located along the shores of General Carrera Lake, at the end of an 800 m trail that descends from their parking area, located 4.5 km from Bahía Murta, along the road to Puerto Sánchez. » Duration: The preparation takes approximately one hour. » Special Considerations: The risot-to calls for Morels, but don’t hes-itate to substitute an alternative mushroom in this delicious recipe. The trail from the parking lot to the hospedaje is well marked, but if you prefer to walk with the com-pany of a guide, or have heavy lug-gage, call their cell (09) 95975454, and they’ll wait for you with a pack horse. » Reservations: You can check avail-ability directly on the calendar of their blog: loghouse-suizaike-pa-tagonia.over-blog.com and re-serve your dates by contacting: [email protected]; (09) 95975454.

OVERVIEW

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Puerto Eulogio Sánchez is a tiny town lo-cated in a sector formerly known as the Malvinas. This sector, comprising the lands between Puerto Alarcón, Puerto Sánchez and Bahía Murta, was one of the first inner peninsulas of the General Carrera Lake basis to be populated. Its first inhabitants migrat-ed around the Levicán Peninsula near Puer-to Ingeniero Ibáñez and settled here in the mid-twenties.

A few decades later, geologists from the company that operated the nearby mine in Puerto Cristal found an important copper deposit, named Las Chivas, in the sector where Sánchez is located; in subsequent years other deposits were discovered, in-cluding El Pelao, El Toro and Olguita. These findings provoked a new era for the sector when, in 1950, the mining company con-structed camps and an official port for ship-ment of the ore. They renamed the whole sector Puerto Eulogio Sánchez, in memory of the president of the company, engineer and pilot Eulogio Sánchez Errázuriz. The de-posits produced a large quantity of minerals in their early decades of operation and the tiny settlement became a bustling and pros-perous small town during these golden years, similar to many other villages along the Gen-eral Carrera Basin which also became mining centers. The mining around the lake gener-ated significant revenues for the companies, and for Chile, motivating a massive influx of workers for these small towns.

As you arrive in town and take a brief look around, try and imagine this era, when there were so many people that they had four soc-cer teams. Local players got bored playing the same teams each week so they formed a

CRAVING ADVENTURE?

EXPLORE THE ROUTE TO PUERTO SÁNCHEZ

Puerto Sánchez is a tiny village located along the shores of General Carrera Lakes that you’ll reach after driving a daring mountain route. The town boomed from the 1950s to the 1980s, when it was an epicenter for copper mining. Today, only memories and a few buildings remain, but the incredible scenery presents a million new adventures, just waiting to be discovered.

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league with the teams in nearby villages like Puerto Cristal. Eventually there were teams from the villages all around the lake, and the coveted Copa del Lago championship tour-nament (that still exists) was born.

In addition to playing soccer every Sunday, the majority of the workers also went to ca-sinos to gamble, playing traditional games like Truco and Taba. There were also family ac-tivities, like the celebrations that took place each year on Miner’s Day. The company would donate lambs for a giant asado al palo and the families would prepare the salads.

But the glory days didn’t last very long.By 1960 the original mining company had claimed bankruptcy and abandoned Puerto Sánchez. A new State backed entity assumed the operations but by the 1980s, they too had disappeared, replaced by the State run Development Corporation, Corfo. During these decades, most workers left Puerto Sánchez in search of better options for their families. In 1992, the Chilean company Ca-laAisen, owned by the Walker Prieto family, purchased the entire village, including the mine. In the years following, they donated lands in town to 17 of the original families who continue to live in town.

In the last decade, the small destination town of Puerto Sánchez has begun to gradually change; the Walker Prieto family has restored some of the older buildings and torn down others and the municipality has made major improvements to the roads and streets. All good signs for tourism! The original sector of Puerto Sánchez, a paradise filled with sandy beaches, open fields and beautiful forests, is

being rediscovered by travelers who, like the first settlers, are enamored with its natural beauty and ready for adventure.

Are you ready to get to know this lakeside town?Until just a few years ago, the only access to the village was by boat, crossing General Carrera Lake from Puerto Tranquilo, but in 2000, a road was built, connecting the town to Bahía Murta via a beautiful (but awe-in-spiring) 25 km journey. When you leave Murta, the road immediately begins a series of upward curves, which provide panoramic views of the valleys, the lake and the snow-capped mountains. We know the views are fantastic but don’t let yourself get too distracted, especially in the “La Candonga Sector”, because the route is narrow and perched high up on the side of a huge cliff where there’s not much between you and the lake, far below, except a lot of fresh air. Yikes!

Once you’ve tackled the steep curves in the beginning of this scenic route, it levels off, passing through beautiful sections of high mountain forests before gradually dipping back down into the Sánchez Valley. As you make your way toward the lake, the horizon is filled with the beautiful Panichini Islands. Two kilometers before reaching town, you’ll pass over a bridge, where, on the other side, there is a perfect place to stop for views of the valley’s rural farms and meadows, the turquoise backdrop of General Carrera, and the Panichini Islands, with their marble cav-erns, appearing as beautiful mounds of green and white. What better greeting than this?

Now, the adventure changes from its focus on the natural beauty to a mixture of histo-

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ry, nature and contemplation. As you arrive in town, you’ll likely feel like you’ve stepped back in time about 70 years. The town will transport you to another era as you explore what’s left of the original mining company infrastructure, the location of the original docks, slagheaps, storage facilities and hous-es. Moving towards the center of town, you’ll come across the school, fire department, ru-ral health post, and the brand new houses of the some twenty families that still live here. There are a couple of stores where you can buy snacks and other essential elements. Puerto Sánchez is clearly returning to a sim-pler time; yet in many ways, it is becoming more modern; the streets have been reno-vated, there are new decorative street signs and markers, and a modern electricity and sewer system.

The town’s beach is near perfect with great views of Lago General Carrera and the Pan-ichini Islands a mere 20 minutes away, by kay-ak (five, in boat). The main island is actually private property, but kayaking its perimeter is a great adventure, bringing you close to some of the lesser-known marble caves, in the Chelenko Area. It is a great opportuni-ty to see raw, organic marble, in its natural state, before it is removed, polished, and set into the floors and walls of the world’s luxu-rious buildings.

If you want to know a little more about the mining history of the area, you can visit the Mining History Museum of Puerto Sánchez, which is operated by Don Abraham Gallar-do, who worked as one of the original min-ers and now manages the museum, located in the building that formerly housed the town’s larger grocery story, that was called the “ECA”. Just ask for Don Abraham in town and he will kindly open and guide you through the museum.

» Activity Type: A country drive, with options for kayaking or a boat ride to the Panichini Islands, situated in the bay in front of the village, Puerto Eulogio Sánchez. » Start: Bahía Murta. » End: Bahía Murta (You’ll return fol-lowing the same route). » Distance: 60 km round trip. » Duration: 1 day, or more if you choose. » Seasonality: Year round, though during the winter the road between Bahía Murta and Puerto Sánchez can be SCARY and at times, inac-cessible. Ask before venturing out and bring chains and a shovel! » Special Considerations: The road has three sections with strong slopes and tight curves, so you have to drive with caution and at a safe speed (40km/h). Maintain an ap-propriate distance from the edges of the cliffs and drive defensively around curves in case you encoun-ter an oncoming vehicle. » Reservations: No reservations required. If you are interested in lodging or finding a guide in Puer-to Sánchez, contact La Hosteria de Puerto Sánchez, located on Ricardo Fritz 4, (02) 1960413. You can also find guides in Bahía Murta or Puerto Tranquilo that can coordinate your visit to the town or the marble cav-erns of the Panichini Islands.

OVERVIEW

TRAVELERS’ TIPSIt’s definitely possible to visit Puerto Sánchez for the day; it’s only a two-hour drive from the Carretera Austral. However, if you want to soak up the local culture and explore the natural wonders that surround the village, we recommend you stay a night in town. There are basic accommodation and food options, and excellent fishing!

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The Marble Caverns, Chapels and Cathe-dral of General Carrera Lake, have earned the well-deserved reputation of being one of the most visited sites in the Aysén Region. These luminescent caverns are featured on thousands of postcards, websites and books about Patagonia, making them a “don’t miss” excursion for visitors. We’re sure these amazing formations of marble and rock will steal the spotlight in your photos, too!

Don’t confuse Puerto Tranquilo’s marble cathedrals with the type of marble you find in luxurious buildings or sculptures, because that type of marble has been passed through a hundred different industrial processes to polish the rock and make it shine. Here in Patagonia, you’ll find marble in its rawest and naturally beautiful form. According to geo-logical research, this site represents a deposit of 5,000 million tons of marble, of 94% pure calcium carbonate, which is the main com-pound of this precious element.

As you get close to the caverns, you’ll see that the rock contains a variety of shades. The white areas represent the purest marble in terms of concentration levels of calcium carbonate. When the white mixes with oth-er colors, like blue, pink and green, it is due to other minerals mixed in with the marble. These rocks are more than 300 million years old, but the formation of the caves is a more recent, post-glacial phenomenon that has occurred within the last 15 thousand years as a result of powerful movements of ice and water.

To view these unique and ancient formations for yourself, travel to Puerto Tranquilo, located between

NAVIGATE CHELENKO’S COLORFUL

MARBLE CAVERNS,

CHAPELS AND CATHEDRAL

The Nature Sanctuary of Marble Caverns is one of the most fascinating and unique geological spectacles of Patagonia. For thousands of years, nature has carved out a series of cavities, caves and grottos on the marble outcroppings that border the northwestern sector of General Carrera Lake, creating shapes, textures and colors that will you keep you in awe all day long.

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Bahía Murta and Puerto Bertrand, along the Shore of General Carrera Lake. Each summer, this quiet and tranquil town transforms into a busy hub for thousands of travelers visiting the Marble Cathedrals, General Carrera Lake, the Exploradores

Valley and Glacier, the Northern Patagonia Ice Fields, and San Rafael Lagoon National Park. Puerto Tranquilo offers these visitors an ever-growing variety of accommodations, restaurants, supplies, services and shops, as well as a beautiful and expansive beach. So far, there is no ATM Cash Machine in town, so make sure you come with enough cash.

It’s easy to arrange your trip to the Ca-thedrals; just take your pick amongst the many local operators located up and down the main street along Tranquilo’s waterfront. The tour lasts approximately an hour and a half, depending on weather conditions and your captain. However, all excursion visit the Marble Caverns, the Marble Cathedral and the Marble Chapels, each named for its unique shape and size. If you visit on a windy day, (a pretty safe bet!), be sure to take a good jacket and a fleece hat. Choose a good operator with a safe boat and life-jackets, and then sit back for the ride. Trust the abil-ity of your captain to navigate the waves of this giant lake as they do every day of the year. One trick is to plan your trip for early morning because usually, it is less windy. It is quite an experience to see how the guides maneuver between the marble, entering the narrow caves with extreme precision and dexterity. When the roofs are so low that you find yourself ducking, we recommend you forget about taking the perfect photo and simply enjoy. You’ll be surrounded by the marble, the clear water of the lake, and light filtering in from the outer world, creat-ing a spectacle of color and contrasts. One of

TRAVELERS’ TIPSIf you are looking for an excursion with a bit more exercise and adventure, you can visit the marble caves in kayak or canoe, but you’ll need to hire a guide and rent the appropriate equipment. You can ask the operators near the lake about this option, or check out El Puesto Expeditions, where you can rent kayaks, with or without a guide. Pedro Lagos 258; (09) 51893146; [email protected]; www.el-puesto.cl; Facebook: ElPuestoHostaly-Expediciones.

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» Activity: Boat Tour. » Start: Puerto Tranquilo. » End: Puerto Tranquilo. » Duration: 2 - 5 hours, depending on the weather and your chosen route. » Seasonality: The tour to the Marble Caves operates year round. January and February have the highest de-mand and during these months, we recommend advance reservations. » Special Considerations: Be sure to follow the guide’s instructions on how to properly buckle your life-jacket, as well as his suggestion of how to sit or stand within the boat during the jour-ney. Bring warm clothing including a jacket, fleece hat and gloves, because the wind can be quite strong at times, whipping up water from the lake. We also recommend sunglasses and sun-screen, because you’ll be on the wa-ter and the sun’s rays are amplified. » Reservations: There are several op-erators in the Puerto Tranquilo area, including:• Juan Aldea, Excursiones El Cón-

dor - Carretera Austral s/n; (09) 88210409; [email protected]

OVERVIEW• Lenin Soto, Excursiones Ma-

ran-Atha - Pobl Esperanza; Pasaje 2, Casa 17; (09) 66479614; [email protected]

If you’re in Coyhaique and want to ar-range a day tour to the Marble Caverns, Cathedral and Chapels, contact one of these operators:

• Cristhopher Piñeira, Ecotravel Patagonia; (09) 56679288; [email protected]; www.ecotravelpatagonia.com.

• Cristian Solís, Geosur Expedi-ciones - Simón Bolívar 521; (09) 92648671; [email protected]; www.geosurexpe-diciones.com; Facebook: Expedi-ciones GeoSur.

• Darío Figueroa, Turismo Patago-nia Mármol Tour - Pobl. A. Prat, Max Casas 795; (067) 2233286; (09) 93562138; [email protected]; www.patagoniamar-moltour.cl.

• GeoTurismo Patagonia - José de Moraleda 480, Office 6; (067) 2233439; (09) 66367733 - 83565342; [email protected]; www.geoturismopatago-nia.cl.

the highlights of this trip is the moment when you float in and between these immense walls of marble.

Now, if you are looking for something a little less touristy, you can arrange to extend your route and include a further trip to the Pan-ichini Islands located in the vicinity of Puerto Sánchez. It adds two hours of travel time, but we promise that it will be unforgetta-ble, especially if it is a sunny day with calm waters. Like Puerto Tranquilo, the Panichini Islands contain several outcrops of marble, but in this sector the rocky banks of the is-lands are carved along their edges and the tops are covered with grassy areas that are perfect for a picnic. It’s a place so special that one person actually bought one (yes, a whole island)! Little by little, he is building a unique house inside one of the caves! And this is only one of the thousands of stories and legends surrounding this area of Patago-

nia. Ask your guide to tell you what Puerto Sánchez was like when it was the economic epicenter of this sector, and to show you the ruins of the old iron boats that used to carry out the loot. It will turn a few hour tour into a full day adventure.

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This fantastic 75 kilometer route won’t dis-appoint you, beginning to end. The route starts in Puerto Tranquilo, a small village lo-cated on the western shore of Lago General Carrera. If you are coming from the north on the Carretera Austral, you will take Route X-728, on the right, just before crossing the bridge that leads you into town. Continue down this tiny road, heading west, towards the Pacific Ocean. This road will lead you to the Exploradores Bay, through sections that border the Tranquilo and Bayo Lakes, and the northern boundaries of the Northern Patagonia Ice Fields.

One of the first things you’ll notice is how the scenery changes from shrubs and meadows near General Carrera Lake to landscapes increasingly green and lush. Soon you’re in the middle of impenetrable forests of huge coigües, mañios, canelos, and cypress of the Guaitecas, in the constant company of giant nalcas, ferns, waterfalls and glacier peaked mountains.

One of the most spectacular waterfalls is La Nutria, with crystalline waters falling at least 30 m in height. You’ll encounter it on the left hand side in kilometer 23; it’s a perfect place to stop and observe the micro plant world of fungi and lichens which thrive in this damp environment. The colors and textures are extraordinary, so don’t forget to pull out your macro lens! As you continue, the forest begins to envelop the road and the moun-tains jet up from all sides, immersing you in their ancient peaks.

After approximately 51 km, you’ll come to the Deshielo River, which descends from the Exploradores Glacier. In another kilometer, you’ll come to the El

FEEL THE ICE OF THE

EXPLORADORES GLACIER

UNDER YOUR FEET

Have you ever imagined walking on a glacier? You can, on the Exploradores Glacier, in the Northern Patagonia Ice Fields. And if hiking with crampons over the glacier isn’t for you, the road to Bahia Exploradores is an experience in itself, winding between impenetrable forests, hanging glaciers, and overlooks where you can view the tallest mountain in Patagonia.

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Puesto Expediciones Refuge, where you’ll leave your car, register and choose between your options for seeing the glacier. Your first option is a short, but steep, 25 minute hike that leads to an observation deck where you’ll have a tremendous view of the Explo-radores Glacier. You’ll notice that this glacier is different from many; it doesn’t descend to the sea, nor does it give rise to a great lake or lagoon. It is a breathtaking landscape of ice, rocks, and small creeks and crevasses that form part of the mass of the Northern Pa-tagonia Ice Fields. On a clear day, you’ll also have a majestic view of Mount San Valentin, the highest peak in Patagonia (4,058 m).

Your second option is to take a six-hour guided hike out onto the glacier. There are several regional guides working in the Ex-ploradores area and each one has their own version of the tour, depending on their ex-perience and knowledge of the area. Here we share our experience with the guides of El Puesto Expediciones (www.elpuesto.cl), a regional company with more than 15 years

of experience offering guided trekking expe-ditions on the glacier.

After a short safety talk, your guides will help you get settled with the equipment you’ll need to walk on the ice, and your adventure on the glacier will begin. Your first obstacle is the glacial moraine, a valley full of large rocks and loose stones that have been left from the advancement and regression of this giant mass of ice. After conquering the moraine, you’ll begin to walk on clean ice, a sign that it is time to put on your crampons! If you’ve never hiked with crampons before it can be a little awkward at first, but your guides will teach you the techniques and you’ll soon be on your way.

As you walk, you will encounter a totally ir-regular surface, full of mounds, cracks, small streams and enormous sinks, which are deep holes that can reach all the way to the base of the glacier. On the ice everything be-comes magical: the landscape, the colors, the sculpted glacial forms, even the sound of the

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narrow strip of land separates you from the incredible natural surroundings. The forests become more lush and virgin, filled with giant Cypress of the Guaitecas and other endemic species like nalca and mosses and ferns and lichens, which combine to produce a million tones of green. If you stop and take a brief walk along the road, or simply open your windows, you will be able to hear the exotic sounds of frogs and birds that inhabit this zone. With each kilometer you drive, the sensation of being in a Jurassic Park strength-ens until you feel like a dinosaur could walk right out in front of you at any moment.

As you approach km 75, you’ll see several signs letting you know that the road ends. For now, the route ends at the Exploradores River where a bridge must be built to con-nect the finished sections on the other side that go to the Bay. Eventually this road will provide access to the Pacific Ocean and one of the most famous natural wonders of the Aysén Region: Laguna San Rafael, a beautiful glacier that is famous for having an enormous amount of icebergs calving off its walls and floating throughout the bay.

Although the road is not finished yet, you can still see this impressive display of ice, water and marine life. Both Destino Pata-gonia (www.destinopatagonia.cl) and Turismo Río Exploradores - EMTREX, (www.browsers-sanrafael.cl), offer trips that leave from the parking area at the end of the road, transporting passengers across the river, and then via boat on a 2.5 hour trip through the fjords and untouched land-scapes until you reach the San Rafael Glacier and Lagoon. It’s an expedition that will leave you feeling like a true explorer!

TRAVELERS’ TIPS » Take a moment to notice the fam-ily cemeteries along the route. One of the most picturesque and colorful is the Berrocal Fam-ily Cemetery, whose tiny houses made of tejuelas wooden tiles can be seen along the left side of the road, 1.5 km from Puerto Tran-quilo. » If you want to stay in the valley, a surreal experience awaits at the Campo Alacaluf Complejo Turístico (Km 44; www.campo-alacaluf.com; [email protected]). The owners, Katrin and Thomas emigrated to Aysén from Germany after falling in love with these landscapes. They have carved out a life here in the mid-dle of the Exploradores Valley and enjoy sharing their love for nature with visitors. Their charm-ing farmhouse and rural lodge have a capacity for nine people with options for private or shared bathrooms.

crampons breaking the ice. And if you want even more adventure, you have the option of camping on the glacier, which will afford you more time in the ice, allowing you to try out ice climbing, one of the most unforget-table experiences that Patagonia can deliver.

After your hike you can continue along the road that travels to Exploradores Bay. In this sector, the gravel road is raised to pass through marshlands and no more than a

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» Activity Type: Scenic vehicle or bicy-cle route, with the option of walking on the Exploradores Glacier. » Start: Puerto Río Tranquilo. » End: Puerto Río Tranquilo. » Distance: 150 Km, to the end of the road and back. » Duration: 5 hours round trip in ve-hicle. The glacier hike is 6 hours round-trip. Travel to the El Puesto Expediciones Refuge, by bicycle, takes approximately 3.5 hours. » Seasonality: Year Round. » Special Considerations: Drive with caution on the road to Exploradores because the road is very narrow at times with loose gravel on the berms. The entire road has gentle slopes, so it’s perfect for bicycle touring; relaxing and not too strenuous. Bring snacks and clothing suitable for the excur-sions that you want to do. El Puesto Expediciones offers guided walks to the Glacier Exploradores year round that include technical equipment and

OVERVIEWcamping options on the ice. It is not necessary to have reservations to visit the overlook. » Reservations: It is best to book in advance. Reservations are required during the winter season. Some of the companies working in the area include:• El Puesto Expediciones - Puerto

Río Tranquilo: Pedro Lagos 258; (09) 51893146; [email protected]; www.elpuesto.cl. Face-book: El Puesto

• Valle Leones – The Outdoor Ex-perience – Puerto Río Tranqui-lo: Carretera Austral s/n; (09) 77031622; www.valleleones.cl.

• Tribu Patagonia - Puerto Río Tran-quilo; (09) 66108619; [email protected]; Facebook: Tribu Patagonia

• LAPO Expediciones Patago-nia – Puerto Río Tranquilo: (09) 56322337; [email protected]; Facebook: LAPO Expedi-ciones Patagonia

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We want to tell you about a unique expe-dition that will take you to one of the most fascinating, colossal glaciers of Patagonia. We refer to the Laguna San Rafael National Park, one of the most dreamed of and challenging places to visit in the region. The combina-tion of the immense blue wall of the glacier, the lush green forest environment, and the enormous diversity of birds and fauna, make the San Rafael Lagoon and Glacier one of the most unique places in the world.

Until recently, accessing this isolated Lagoon was extremely difficult. If you were an ex-pert kayaker, you could reach the ice after various long days of navigation. If you were a pilot, or could afford to charter a small aircraft, you could fly over the lagoon and achieve a birds-eye view of the area. If you were a person of means, you could buy space on one of the small cruise ships that approaches the lagoon, and then board one of the boat’s Zodiacs, along with twenty oth-er cruise mates, to get closer to the ice.

In recent years, things have changed. Today, there is a new alternative for visiting the magnificence of the San Rafael Lagoon and Glacier, thanks to the construction of Route X-728, a beautiful new road that will soon link the town of Puerto Tranquilo with the Exploradores Bay, a gateway for the Lagoon. For now, the road extends 75 kilometers to the Exploradores River, where work is temporarily halted until the construction of a bridge over the river can be complet-ed. Even though there’s no bridge for now, the road has been completed on the other side, continuing for several more kilometers to the Exploradores Bay. From the Bay, you can navigate along the coast of the Elefan-

IN EXPLORER MODE TO

LAGUNA SAN RAFAEL

It won’t do much good for us to share stories or photos: you have to be in front of a glacier yourself to understand how majestic and awe-inspiring they can be. Luckily, the Aysén Region is full of glaciers! You’ll just need to choose which ones to see and how you would like to approach them – decisions that will define some of the most memorable adventures from your trip.

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tes Estero and Golf and access the San Ra-fael Lagoon through the Témpanos River. Sounds complicated, but not for the expe-rienced operators that offer this expedition, like Destino Patagonia (www.destinopata-gonia.cl), and Turismo Río Exploradores – EMTREX (www.exploradores - sanrafael.cl).

The itinerary that we suggest is based on the expedition offered by Daniel Torres, own-er of Destino Patagonia, a regional business with more than ten years of experience of-fering expeditions to Aysen’s glaciers.

The trip begins at 09:00 hours, at the end of Route X-728, the road that travels the Exploradores Valley. After driving 75 km along Route X-728, you’ll come to the Exploradores River, where workers are still in the process of construct-ing a bridge that will connect with the rest of the road on the other side. Thus, you must park your vehicle at the roadside and cross the river in a small, wooden boat, owned and operated by Don Jaime Schienfeldt, a local settler, who has lived and worked in this sector for 15 years, along with his wife, Rosa Vera.

The crew from Destino Patagonia will be waiting for you on the other side of the river with a vehicle to drive the last 11 km of the road that leads to the docks of Port Grosse, on the Exploradores Bay. Along the way,

you’ll note that there are several long-es-tablished cattle and sheep farms. For years, these have been some of the most remote farms of the region, accessible only via days of horseback riding. Soon, these settlers will be able to reach Puerto Tranquilo via road in a few hours’ drive; a change that will dramat-ically change their way of life.

At Port Grosse you will board Destino Pa-tagonia’s boat for the next part of your adventure, navigating through the Explora-dores River Delta. It’s time to enjoy a cup of coffee and homemade tortas fritas, fresh-ly baked by Senora Rosa, as you enjoy the amazing coastal scenery on your way to the sea. If you’re lucky, dolphins may accompany you for a few moments for a few moments, swimming alongside the boat to welcome you. Soon, you will enter the Cupquelan Es-tuary and afterwards the Elefantes Channel, where you’ll have views of the Gualas Gla-cier and, if the weather is right, Mont San Valentin, the highest mountain of Patagonia (adventure, learning and contemplation) will

TRAVELERS’ TIPSIf you’d like even more adventure, you can embark on an eight-day expedi-tion, navigating the rivers leading to the Lagoon and Glacier by kayak. The trip begins and finishes in Puerto Tran-quilo. As long as you have a moderate level of physical fitness, and the mental strength to withstand the weather and topography, you will enjoy this expedi-tion; the trip does not require signifi-cant amounts of experience kayaking. While not a formal kayak course, the expedition mixes adventure, learning and contemplation; thus coaching and assistance is offered along the way. In-terested? You can make reservations with Aguahielo Expediciones: (09) 76053580 - 96162538; [email protected]; www.aguahielo.cl.

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Are the glaciers disappearing?

In simple terms, glaciers are thick layers of ice that form on the Earth’s Surface as a result of snow accumulating year after year and gradually compressing into ice. Today, only 10% of the Earth’s Surface is covered in glaciers, but in the peak of the last glacial era, this percentage reached 30%. Today, Patagonia contains the third largest ice surface in the world; never-theless, during the most recent ice age, glaciers extended all the way from Puerto Montt to the end of the continent. This period of glacial advancement reached its peak approximately 22,000 years ago, covering 480,000 km² of landmass. To-day, only 4% of this peak volume remains, contained in the Northern and Southern Patagonian Ice Fields. The Earth is cur-rently experiencing an interglacial period that began at the end of the Pleistocene Period, around 12,000 years ago. The cli-matic changes associated with this period

NOTEhave produced an accelerated glacial melt and it is predicted that many of the glaciers will disappear.

Heritage for All

The Laguna San Rafael National Park was declared an UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve for the combinations of its beauti-ful landscapes, and for the tremendous bio-diversity that exists within its boundaries. With 1,742,000 hectares, this Park is home to the Northern Patagonian Ice Fields, and Patagonia’s highest peak, Mount San Valentín (4,058 m), which remains buried under the ice. Glacial flows, like the Explo-radores Glacier, descend steeply from the ice’s mantle and 39 glaciers drain from the periphery of the Ice Fields, including San Quintín, Steffen, Colonia, Leones, Nef, Soler and, of course, San Rafael. The area of the San Rafael Glacier covers 741 km2, with walls that vary in height from 40 to 60 meters, and countless numbers of icebergs floating in its lake.

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reveal one of its faces.

This is the halfway point for your trip to the great San Rafael Glacier! After two hours of boating you’ll start to ascend the Témpanos River, where you can see Glacier San Quintín in the background and, jutting out from the left, your destina-tion, the San Rafael Glacier. Upon entering the bay, you’ll make a short stop at the Con-af dock before continuing your exploration of the bay, maneuvering around incredible icebergs, until you come face to face with the stunning blue, glacier wall. In front of the wall, you’ll find the best spot for viewing glacier calving, when huge ice masses fall off from the wall, forming icebergs in the wa-

» Activity Type: Boat expedition to Laguna San Rafael National Park. » Start: Villa Puerto Tranquilo or Bahía Exploradores » Finish: Villa Puerto Tranquilo or Bahía Exploradores » Distance: 320 km » Duration: Each business offers its own tour, anywhere from 1 – 8 days. » Seasonality: November to April. » Special Considerations: The trips described include food, lodging and entrance fees to Laguna San Rafael National Park. You should come prepared for rain, cold and sun, as in one day it’s possible to experi-ence all four seasons! If you need transportation to km 75, ask your tour provider to coordinate it di-rectly from Puerto Tranquilo. » Reservations: • Destino Patagonia - Puerto Río

Tranquilo: Gilberta Flores 208; (09) 91586044 - 88229421; [email protected]; www.destinopatagonia.cl.

• Turismo Río Exploradores (EM-TREX) - Puerto Río Tranquilo; (09) 82594017; [email protected]; www.exploradores-sanrafael.cl.

OVERVIEW

ter. With a bit of luck, you’ll also be treated to the company of a few sea leopards. Af-ter a delicious lunch and a swig of whiskey or pisco served over glacial ice, you’ll begin your return trip back to your vehicle, with an approximate arrival time of 20:00 hours, at your lodging in Puerto Tranquilo.

Destino Patagonia offers other programs that include one or two nights in the San Rafael Lagoon, sleeping in domes (yurt-like plastic lodges) or in the cabana owned by Conaf. With your additional time in the Park, you can explore the trail that leads to a spectacular overlook of the San Rafael Gla-cier, walk along the beaches to get up close to the grounded icebergs, enjoy unforgetta-ble sunsets, or kayak through the Lagoon to a place that will allow you to get up onto the Glacier and hike across the ice. You can also navigate a bit more, crossing to the south-ern shoreline of the Lagoon, where there is access to the Istmo de Ofqui. In the 1940s, developers began construction of a canal in this sector to link San Rafael with the Gulf of Penas. The project was abandoned after the Panama Canal was enlarged and modernized in the 1940s, changing the ocean’s traffic pat-terns forever. It is fascinating to view the site and imagine the plans of these early specta-tors who envisioned a canal of grand scale and importance in this remote and isolated part of the world.

Our recommendation? Definitely spend at least one night in the San Rafael Lagoon, so that you can take full advantage of your ex-pedition and time near the Glacier. It’s the perfect place to contemplate the immensity of nature and relish its silence - truly a mys-tical experience.

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Among the flora and fauna that you can see, are: Trees and Shrubs: Poplar or Alamo (Populus nigra - Intro-duced); Araurcaria chilean (Araucaria araucana - Introduced); Arrayán (Luma apiculata); El Calafate (Berberis buxifolia); Canelo (Drimys winteri); Chaura (Pernettya mucrona-ta); Chilco (Fuchsia magellanica); Cypress of the Guaitecas (Pilgerodendron uviferum); Ciruelillo or Notro (Embothrium coccineum); Coigüe (Nothofagus dombeyi); Coigüe Chiloe (Nothofagus nitida); Magellan coigüe (Nothofagus betuloi-des); Luma (Amomyrtus luma); El Maitén (Maytenus boar-ia); Short Needled Mañío (Saxegothaea conspicua ); Pointed Leaf Mañío (Podocarpus nubigenus); Michay (Berberis ilicifo-lia); murtilla (Empetrum rubrum); Ñirre (Nothofagus antarc-tica ); Mosqueta Rose Hips (Rosa rubiginosa - introduced); Willow or Sauce (Salix humboldtiana - Introduced); Tepa (Laureliopsis philipiana); Tepú (Tepualia stipularis)

Flowers and Canes: Astelia (Astelia pumila); Coligüe Cane (Chusquea culeou); Coicopihue (Philesia magellanica); Coirón (Stipa humilis, Stipa speciosa, Festuca pallescens); dandelion or chicory (Taraxacum officinale); Wild straw-berries (Fragaria chiloensis); reed or Juncillo (Marsipposper-mum grandiflorum); Manila (Eryngium paniculatum); Mata Negra (Chilitrichum diffusum); neneo (Mulimum spinosum); Panguecito or Devil’s Strawberry (Gunnera magellanica); Yel-low Retamo or Scotch Broom (Spartium junceum - intro-duced); Swamp Violet (Drosera uniflora)

BIODIVERSITY PRESENT IN THE CHELENKO AREA

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Mosses, Fungi and Ferns: Ampe or Palmita (Lophosoria cuadripinnata quadripinnata); Old Man’s Beard (Usnea barba-ta); Cow;s Rib Fern (Blechnum chilense); Diguene of Coigüe (Cyttaria harioti); Diguene of Ñirre (Cyttaria darwinii); Fuin-que (Lomatia ferruginea); Large Palmetto Fern (blech-num magellanicum); Filmy Fern (vascular epiphytes species or vas-cular epiphytes species dentatum pectinatum); Feather Fern (Blechnum penna - marina); Morilla (Morchella Conica) ; Pini-to Moss (Dendroligotrichum dendroides); nalca or Pangue (Gunnera tinctoria); Palmita (Lycopodium paniculatum); Pal-omita (Codonorchis lessonii); Frog’s Umbrella (Hypopteryg-ium arbuscula); Topa topa or Capachito (Calceolaria tenella); Yerba Loza or Palmita (Gleichenia quadripartita)

Amphibians: Sapito Four eyes (Pleurodema thaul)

Birds: Eagle (Geranoaetus melanoleucus); Hawk (Buteo polyosoma); Bandurria (Theristicus melanopis or Theristicus caudatus); Cachaña or Austral Parakeet (Enicognathus fer-rugineus); Canquenes or Caiquenes (Chloegphaga picta or Chloegphaga poliocephala); caracara (Phalcoboenus albogu-laris); ordinary woodpecker (Picoides lignarius); black wood-pecker (Campephilus magellanicus); Kestrel (Falco sparve-rius); Chucao (Scelorchilus rubecola); Chuncho (Glacidium nanum); Southern Tapaculo (Scytalopus psychopompus magellanicus); black-necked Swan (Cygnus melancoryphus); Patagonian sierra-finch (Phrygilus patagonicus); Condor (Vultur gryphus’); Cormorant of the Rocks (Phalacrocorax magellanicus); White-crested elaenia (Elaenia albiceps); Chil-ean flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis); Gull (Larus scores-bii); Brown Gull (Larus maculipennis); Franklin’s Gull (Larus pipixcan); Dominican Gull (Larus dominicanus); elegant Tern (Sterna elegans); South American Tern (Sterna hirundinacea); Barn Swallows ( Hirundo Tachycinetta leucopyga or Rustica); Wilson’s Storm-petrel (Oceanites oceanicus); Huala (Podi-ceps greater); throated Huet-huet (Pteroptochos tarnii); Lile (Phalacrocorax gaimardi); Kingfisher (Ceryle torquata); common lesser rhea (Rhea americana ); Duck or Como-rant (Cormorant); Bronzed-winged Duck (Speculanas lapis specularis); Torrent Duck (Merganetta armata); Large Jergon Duck (Anas georgica spinicauda); Pejerrey (Odontesthes re-gia); Pinche (Zaerius pichyi-pichyi); Flightless steamer duck (Tachyeres pteneres); flying steamer duck (Tachyeres pa-tachonicus); rayadito (Aphrastura spinicauda); Chilean Skua (Stercorarius chilensis); Tero (Vanellus chilensis); Magellan diving-petrel (Pelecanoides magellani)

Marine Mammals: Austral Dolphin or Tonino (Lagenorhyn-chus australis); Chilean Dolphin (Cephalorhynchus eutropia); Leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx); Austral River otter (Lon-tra provocax); Austral fur seals (Arctocephalus australis); common sea lion (Otaria flavescens)

Wild Mammals: Suanaco (Lama guanicoe); Huemul (Hippo-camelus bisulcus); Huiña, Colorado or Colo Cat (Leopardus guigna); Patagonian hare (Dolichotis patagonum); Armadillo

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(Zaedyus pichiy); Hairy Armadillo (Chaetophractus villosus); Puma or Pudú (Puma concolor); Arboreal Rat (Irenomys tarsalis); Orange nosed Rat (Abrothrix xanthorhinus); Long Haired Rat (Abrothrix longipilis); European mink (Mustela lutreola - introduced); Austral Vizcacha (Lagidium wolfshon-ni); mountain vizcacha (Lagidium viscacia); Patagonian skunk (Conepatus humboldtii); Colorado or Culpeo Fox (Lycalo-pex culpaeus); Colored Fox (Lycalopex culpaeus)

Fish, Mollusks and Crustaceans: Peladilla (Aplochiton zebra); Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss - Introduced); Fario trout (Salmo trutta fario - Introduced); Morrón Trout (Salmo trutta - Introduced)

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