The last task in Futaleufu was to visit the nearby Argentine border and get clarification from the Chilean border folks as to exactly which Chilean borders would open in the south, come December 1 and then January 1. This was critical information and would determine both our route south and the transportation method ( driving or ferry ). I’ll spare readers the intricacies of the Argentine/Chile border crossing options in southern Patagonia but suffice it to say that with none of those critical borders currently open we could be looking at an extraordinarily circuitous road route to visit both the Chilean and Argentine attractions that we had hoped to see in the Tierra Del Fuego area. Turns out it was a good news/bad news” story. The bad news was that none of the borders that we needed to cross would be open in December.

Border guys in Futualeufu telling us which borders would open next. They were extremely accommodating ( not much else to do at a closed border I guess )

The good news, as seen below, was that finally, on January 1, a critical southern border was scheduled to open ! For us, assuming it all played out as planned ( and news of Omicron was just breaking leading to new international restrictions ) this would mean being able to complete the Carretera Austral and travel all the way down to Villa O’Higgins, returning back Puerto Yungay and then taking a Chilean ferry through the southern fjords down to the very bottom of Chile. The ferry through the Chilean fjords is a spectacular journey itself, saves us a lot of driving and would have us in Tierra Del Fuego for Christmas. All going well with the border opening as scheduled January 1 it would then be possible to cross to Argentina and work our way back north through Argentina after exploring southern Argentina’s many attractions. With fingers tightly crossed the ferry was booked from Puerto Yungay to Puerto Natales for December 11.

This was important – we did not want to just ‘hear’ it, we wanted to ‘see’ it. The Chilean border officer actually showed us on his phone that the January 1 openings included Rio Don Guillermo ( near Puerto Natales ) which was just the one we needed ( in the south )

That all settled, back to planning the rest of the Carretera Austral !

Road leaving Futaleufu ….realized as we drew closer that these were sheep !
On the Carretera even some of the major bridges were single lane
While the roads got rough the views stayed consistently impressive
Map showing the end of the Carretera Austral in Villa O’Higgins. One then drives back as far as Puerto Yungay to take the ferry to Puerto Natales at the very bottom of South America.

While light rain fell almost constantly on the road to Puyuhuapi, it was a visual treat, albeit rough at times and marred with ( the ever familiar ) roadwork. Puyuhuapi is not particularly attractive but has some interesting German history and more famously is the jumping off point for one of the Carretera’s top sights – Ventisquero Colgante ( the hanging glacier ). Reached by an ( at times ) fairly challenging 3-4 hour hike, the glacier is amazing; had we arrived 10 minutes earlier we could have seen the deafening calving that we heard when we were still a few hundred metres away.

Entering Puyuhuapi a town founded by German immigrants in the 30’s. Strong German influence in Southern Chile
Met up with Johannes, a German biker and the first foreigner on a foreign registered bike we’d seen in Chile. Normally there would be many and prior to Covid we had seen many
Entrance to the magnificent Vintesquero Colgante hike in Parc Nacional Queulat
Crossing the first bridge to Vintesquero Colgante
View on the way up…
The hike required navigating some narrow creek beds….
….to reach the stunning view at the top of the hike
Closer view……heard some calving on the way up ( loud !! ) but missed seeing it
Selfie time

The road from Puyuhuapi to Coyhaique was one of the tougher sections of the Carretera, lots of gravel, lots of rain, lots of washboarded surfaces, lots of steep hills and hairpin bends – but all in a days drive on this road. As someone told us, never a dull moment…!

Some pretty steep roads just out of Puyuhuapi , all under construction – lots of delays but the scenery was impressive
Cascada ( Waterfall ) La Virgen ( on the way to Coyhaique )
Roadside flowers near Coyhaique
The colorful wildflowers were all along the roadside between Puyuahapi and Coyhaique
Close up of the Spring flowers

Disconcertingly, on arrival in Coyhaique, it became obvious that what we thought was just a faulty ( propane ) heater was in fact more serious when the ( gas ) cooktop also suddenly stopped working. How I would explain our propane issues, in Spanish, to someone who could work on an American system ( and find needed parts ! ) in the middle of the remote Carretera Austral was a nerve wracking thought. Fortunately our camp host “knew a guy” and if ever there was a time we “needed a guy” this was it. “Juan” turned up at our camp site at 8pm, stayed till 11pm working on the system and quickly identified a faulty regulator as the issue. Of course, the regulator itself was readily replaceable, and he had one on hand, but the connections ? Of course….all different ! A colleague of his had worked on several foreign ( to a Chilean gas guy anyway ) propane systems, had some cannibalized parts left over and by a stroke of miraculous good fortune these allowed him to tightly connect the new regulator ( property leak tested while we watched ! ) and get the system working perfectly. A huge relief, we could now stay warm AND cook again !

Juan, the gas technician who worked on our propane problem
Leak tested, every fitting, while we watched

Delighted to have the propane issue now resolved the next few days were spent exploring Coyhaique, a small city of about 65,000. Easy to get around, we enjoyed beautiful sunny days there after a couple of drizzly ones, and all our shopping ( and repair ) needs were met. It also seems the camping facilities are just getting better as we go south – “El Camping” in Coyhaique was one of our faves so far. Secluded, private, close to town, strong wifi, best hot showers and cleanest bathrooms we have seen yet AND they helped solve both our our bedding and regulator problems ! As seems to be a pattern in Chile they also had the most adorable animals that stood watch over our camper.

Downtown street scene in Coyhaique
Another street scene in Coyhaique
Candy and Blanco were always at the bottom of our steps……
……while kitty just loved to sleep under the truck in the camper steps box ! Reminded us of the new pups that adopted us in Villa de Leyva, Colombia

Even got in a little emergency ‘construction’ work on the camper. With the aid of a piece of irregularly shaped plywood, our dinette folds into an emergency bed – we had kept the said plywood with us for the last 6 years until I carelessly left it at the campground in Pucon during a clean up two weeks back. We would need this for the 41 hour ferry ride to Puerto Natales ( there are no cabins on board and while we CAN sleep in the camper we will NOT be able to pop the roof up ).

Borrowed a saw from the campground owner and cut some “slats”
Not the perfect platform I had lost but a few pieces of tongue and groove slats cut to length would close the gap we needed to make our emergency bed !
Voila’, an emergency bed. Better than two nights sitting bolt upright on a crowded ferry !
Italian food tonite ! We seem to eat a lot of it, always washed down with excellent Chilean wine ( and beer ) ! Their cheese is pretty good too.

Leaving Coyhaique on an overcast rainy day we expected a 3 hour trip to Puerto Rio Tranquillo, renowned for the Marmol ( marble ) Caves. Between the weather, countless construction delays and some slow traffic ahead of us, we managed to turn it into a 5 hour saga. I say saga because the road was substantially gravel, and rough gravel at that – loose rocks, ruts, corrugations, steep slopes and narrow cliff edges made it well, shall we say….interesting ! But, just another day on the Carretera Austral. The trip did present some interesting sights and even the weather improved by mid afternoon to reveal the grandeur of azure Lago General Carrera as we rolled into our campsite.

The roads were indeed steep at times….but not quite as steep as this sign suggests ! Freaked us out at first though.
As we drove into Villa Cerro Castillo the eponymously named mountain was covered in fog and cloud. On the way out the clouds parted to reveal this – quite impressive !
Had always imagined the “gauchos” to be an Argentine thing but this horseman ( herding cattle by the road near Cerro Castillo ) sure looked the part ! I showed the picture to a local Chilean who confirmed he was indeed a gaucho ( and obviously that Chile also had gauchos ! ).
Typical of the miserable conditions on this day – road and weather !
Just before Puerto Rio Tranquilo, we passed this idyllic scene. Looked much like the South Island of New Zealand
We passed so many motor cyclists that we lost count ( a few hardy cyclists, too ! ). While almost all were Chilean registered motor bikes many foreigners come to Chile just to do the Carretera and rent Chilean bikes. Saves the shipping headache

Puerto Rio Tranquilo is a small, rustic Patagonian village whose sole purpose seems to be a base to tour the nearby Marmol ( marble ) caves. A pit stop for almost all who tackle the Carretera, these multimillion year old marble caves are found on the shoreline of Lago General Carrera just outside ‘Tranquilo’. We’d seen pictures and they looked impressive so we were keen to get out on the water and check them out ourselves. They did not disappoint – I probably took more than a hundred pictures but narrowed the selection down to the following handful. Definitely worth a stop for anyone who comes this way !

View from inside the caves
Marmol caves – can you see the dogs head ?
Marmol caves
Marmol caves
Marmol caves