And so my time in Canada has come to an end. I have to thank April for make such a great effort in showing me so much of her country. I look forward to a return visit, but this time in skiing season :)
The art gallery – “The Golf ball” – Field where April did bird banding.
With Inti-Raymi around the corner and the amount of tourists growing every day, I had had enough. Andreo, a friend I met in Buenos Aires (I saw him in Santiago), told me about this oasis close to Ica called Huacachina (pronounced: Wa-ka-chi-na). I need a huge time-out so want to head there and chill for a couple of days. I heard that the sand boarding is supposed to be the best there.
Carolina was starting to stretch her holiday quite a bit and needed to get back to her shop. Unfortunately the busses to Arequipa are experiencing problems due to strikes in the main town along the way. She would have to take a bus via Ica to get there (double the distance). So instead she would come along to Ica and get the bus from there.
After buying our bus ticket I heard from Gary and Sallie (Team Fantastico). They had just arrived from Bolivia and we met up for drinks. They were going to hike Salkantay (like us) and then head north. It was great seeing them again.
After having a fun, interesting and sometimes confusing time in Canada, my time here has come to an end. April has done a great job, as expected, to show me as much of Canada and it culture as possible. Without her this part of my trip would not have been half as enjoyable.
And her family (Gillian, Kevin and Jackson) have been great hosts and I hope to see them in the future.
Next stop…San Francisco, USA!
P.S: 2 months behind on the blog…tsk, tsk. Bad Ruan :) I’m hoping to make some time to update before I get back to SA. Sorry to all of you who regularly follow.
Back in Cochrane the craving for internet beckoned. Surprisingly the connection was pretty good. We both received good news via email. Alex had been accepted to an job in Columbia and I had received an awesome invitation letter from April to aid my visa application (thx April). North was the goal, we would set off in the morning.
We woke up with good weather and not that cold bite in the air as when we went to Tortel. Great day for hitchhiking! We knew the bus was passing at 9am, so started hitching at 8:30. Being pretty confident that we would get a lift, we ignored the bus and waited. And waited. And waited. Damn! By 13:00 we were not happy with our decision. Many cars had passed, but all (apparently) local traffic. Fortunately a German couple, with their dog, gave us a lift in their campervan. Our aim was to get to Puerto Tranquilo by nightfall, but it didn’t look good at the moment. The couple were going to Puerto Guardal, where we have been, so we got off at the intersection with the road heading north. Walking the Austral…again. Nice! Its a different and great experience, knowing that you are in the middle of nowhere…alone. Alas this wouldn’t last (or should I jump for joy). We got a lift 30min after being dropped off, which was going all the way to Puerto Tranquilo! Great stroke of luck.
Puerto Tranquilo is just that…tranquilo (chilled out). Very small, right next to a lake. Great setting. The main attraction here are some caves that can only be reached by boat. This sucked because the boat is really expensive for two people. So we decided to skip it. Rather just enjoy the tranquillity of the place.
Next morning we headed for Coyhaique, the largest town in the Austral. You could call it the capital. There is more through traffic in Puerto Tranquilo and the busses passing through arrived at about 11am. This gave us much more time to get a lift. Once again not many cars. When the 1st bus stopped (there would be three) a French girl got off. She had been working in Patagonia and had a way about her. Friendly and gets what she wants. Reminds me of someone…. :) Since girls get lifts easier than guys, we put her to the task. In 5min a pickup arrived and she sweet talked all of us into a lift. Damn she was good!
The couple we got a lift with were going to Coyhaique and flying back to Santiago that afternoon. Cool, we were sorted. The French girl got off in Villa Cerro Castillo, along the way. At the next town the couple wanted to go have a look at some lakes, so we got out. 20min later we got a very fast lift to Coyhaique :) So fast in fact, that we could catch a bus to Puerto Cisnes (Coyhaique is not a nice place). So we made it further than hoped.
Puerto Cisnes is another fishing village, slightly off the main drag of the Austral. I did not care for the place much and would’ve like to sleep in Puyuhaupi, but such is life. Weather was crap the next day, so we took the bus to Puyuhaupi in the afternoon. Spent the morning catching up on some emails and some research for the upcoming part of the trip. To be honest, this is the first place along the Austral that I just wanted to get out of. I had a bad feeling about it, fortunately only a feeling. Nothing bad happened.
Puyuhaupi is a much nicer town with a homey feel. It was founded by Germans after WW2, which you can spot if you look really close. The roof design is unique to this part of the Austral with the type of roof called “Puyuhaupi style.” The houses also have nicer workmanship (but that's not difficult for the Austral). This is my favourite place along the Austral.
Close by is a national park with a couple of interesting things to see, but since the weather didn’t play along we missed out. The weather has really played havoc with parts of this trip. Eish.
Since Alex and I were both keen to get north, we hopped on the afternoon bus to take us a far north a possible. Villa Santa Lucia would be our destination. We were now so close to Chaiten, where the ferry departed to Chiloe, we could almost smell it. To our disappointment, the bus driver told us that the ferry to Chiloe ran that morning. Missed it by 1 day! The ferry was going to Puerto Montt the following day, with a bus driving through Villa Santa Lucia on the way to the ferry. What did we have to lose by trying to hitch? Nothing, even though it was already 18:30, and dusk.
Strangely enough there were more cars on the road than I expected, but going the wrong way :| An older looking gentleman stopped to pick us up, but he was only going halfway to Chaiten. A lift is a lift, so we took it. There was very little place in the car, but he was nice enough to make space. Alex and José, our lift, hit it off. By the time we arrived at his destination, he was nice enough to check for accommodation for all of us. There wasn’t any. So he drove all the way to Chaiten! Mmm…something different about this guy.
It turns out he is a salesman and visits this area about 4 times a year and rarely gives lifts. We ended up sharing a cabin and then cooking together. Well, Alex and I did all the cooking, but he bought a nice Chilean wine. Fair deal. It turns out this guy isn’t you average salesman. Well yes he sells household stuff, but he was really insightful with a great sense of humour. We all got along really well! I was a bit disappointed to have to say good bye, but it was a great end to our trip along the Austral. We had made to Chaiten. The town that had been burried under volcanic ash about 2 years ago.
Unfortunately Alex and my paths will split here, as he has to go to Temuco and will go to Chiloe before heading to Santiago. It has been a great trip, but all good things come to an end.
Waiting for a lift in Cochrane – Lunch on the road – Water is really blue here
Walking is tiring :) – Postcard pictre – And another
Church in Puerto Tranquilo – Yes it was cold in Puerto Tranquilo. REALLY cold!
Farmers russtling cattle, in the road (notice even the women get involved) – Puyuhaupi square (every town has one) – Nice house in Puyuhaupi (not “Puyuhaupi style” roof).
Some of Alex’s pics:
Getting desperate for a lift in Cochrane – Puyuhaupi – A long day (Villa Santa Lucia)
Our “end of trip” feast – Feast with José
The internet in El Chalten, where I am now, is really slow so can’t do a proper update (not that I have had time to write much). Just to keep you in the loop….
I arrived in El Chalten with Gary, Sallie, Orlagh and Alex from El Calafate. Unfortunately this is the end of the road for “Team Fantastico”, as Gary, Sallie and Orlagh are heading to El Bolson (close to Bariloche). Alex and I are heading for the Carratera Austral in Chile. It has been a great 2 weeks for us all. All good things come to and end :(
The Carratera Austral is supposed to be on of the most beautiful places along the route north, but not much traffic. So we will be engaging many locals (great!). I am hoping that we will not struggle with transport too much and get to Isla Chiloe in about 2weeks. Santiago will then be my next stop.
I’m guessing that internet connectivity will not be great as we travel along the Austral, so don’t be surprised to see little activity on the blog during this time.
Catch you on the flip side…
It has been quite an effort, but have tried to get to see all my closest friends before I leave. If I didn’t get to you, I’m sorry. We can catch up when I get back.
Last good bye’s said, I say good-bye to South Africa….for now.
