As exhilarating as the Carretera Austral was, few want to turn around and do most of the route in reverse ( count us in that club ! ), which is one option for ultimately continuing south by land but due to Covid border restrictions with Argentina ( at time of writing ) that quite literally means going all the way back to Puerto Montt and beyond; in fact likely all the way back to Santiago because that border crossing ( to Mendoza ) is currently the only one open to Argentina. Clearly not an appealing option!
The only other option ( for those with a vehicle ) is to take the weekly ferry south from Puerto Yungay all the way to Puerto Natales in Chile’s Magallanes region, the jumping off point for both Torres Del Paine National Park as well as our ultimate PanAmericana destination, Tierra del Fuego. The choice, if there really ever was one, was simple – we’d sail to Puerto Natales !
This was a bit of a leap of faith. While the 44 hour ferry trip is a wonderful experience in itself we would now be 100% counting on Chile to deliver on its promise to open the Puerto Natales land border to Argentina on January 1, otherwise we would be at the tail end of a very long queue of Chileans (who book ferry passages many months in advance) to head north again. Save for the ferry, if Argentina remains closed off in the south there is no other way out ( again, for those with a vehicle ). Mindful of the limited options and following our “fortune favours the brave” ethos, on Saturday evening the ferry “Crux Australis” pulled out of Puerto Yungay – and we were on it.
At this point quite a few travellers who’d crossed our path before came together – in fact 7 of the passengers were known to us – two Americans, three Germans and the Belgian couple we’d bumped into way back in Pucon were along for the ride, with most having the same game plan as us – exit to Argentina overland on January 1st. As the ferry journey wound its way south we met more travellers and enjoyed chatting with them all – helped to pass what were at times some pretty boring periods.
The weather was mixed – rained a bit, then sun, then cloud, then wind – you get it all in Patagonia ! Quaint towns were passed, got real close to a shipwreck with an interesting story, and saw some dolphins and bird life. Occasionally sightings of a humpback whale ( or orcas ) are made on this route but we were not so lucky. Visibility at the time also hampered us in seeing a few glaciers that can occasionally be seen from the ferry. Still, an interesting trip, great company, reasonable food and it was relaxing to let someone else take the wheel for a few days.
Once the ferry docked in Natales it was the usual mad scramble to get off. Our first stop was the ferry company port office to see if we could score a “backup” reservation to head back to Yungay in early January in the event the Argentine border did not open. Fortunately a spot was secured for January 6, cancellable until January 2nd should our worst fears be realized with the border not opening. Nice to know we at least had a way out if needed.
Natales easily occupied a couple of days for us with much of that time being used to prepare for a few days in Torres Del Paine National Park, replenish our supplies and generally enjoy a few sights while sampling the city’s excellent restaurants and cafe’s. Natales has quite the cafe and restaurant “scene” as the city sees a massive influx of both Chileans and foreigners between December and March as tourists descend on nearby ( world renowned ) Torres Del Paine National Park – and our next stop after Puerto Natales.
Jeff, always great to read about your travels! Enjoying a cup of coffee this morning while reading the most recent adventure and watching the snowfall here on Knox Mountain!
All the best to you and Lois!
Daryl
Hi Daryl,
So very nice to hear from you…hope all is well with Jen and the boys ? Glad you are enjoying the blog ( though last one was not the most exciting ). Hope you guys have a great Xmas – not sure where we will be spending ours yet, but likely ( being it’s Patagonia ) somewhere very windy lol !!!!
Hi to the gang in K town….!
There was a bad typhoon last week that devastated Siargao Island where Jeramy lives. Communications lines and power are down so no contact from them yet. I don’t have your email address so this is the only way I know how to contact you.
Hi Lori,
That is horrible news…..so sorry to hear. Hope Jeremy, his girlfriend and the baby are ok ? We had not heard but have been out of the loop for 3 days at Torres Del Paine. I will send Brad my email ( actually, he has it ! )
Reads like an adventure movie!
Well, some days perhaps……but not the ferry ride ! It was pretty tame……! Next week’s blog should be more interesting ( I hope ! )
Great story & pics yet again. This covid is certainly keeping us on our toes. Still not sure if we can get to Melbourne next week for Christmas. Numbers skyrocketing here – good thing Nick has been & gone I’d say. I have a friend in the UK who’s had the two jsbs & booster & now has Omricon & is very sick.
Visited the Forbes crew the last two days when it rained out the harvest.
Hope your travels continue to go as planned.
Yes, covid ( omicron ) is now a concern everywhere. Surprised your UK friend is actually sick. Supposedly with two jabs and a booster you would only have “mild” symptoms ? First case I have heard of anyone getting seriously sick who has the trifecta of jabs ? Do you know which shots ( and which booster ) she had by chance ?
Yes, we are glad Nick got in and out ( and so is he ) – he had to be tested 6, yes, 6 times, between leaving Canada and returning ( 2 or 3 in Oz I think ).
The next two weeks will be very telling for how our travels go – we are praying that the Chile/Argentine border near Puerto Natales opens as scheduled on Jan 1 ( us and many others down here )or our plans will need to be severely altered !!! As long as we all get tested, and we will be , and are negative, we don’t represent any greater risk than the local population. Fingers crossed !
Living my travels through you guys! Can’t wait for the next blog!!
Safe travels…
Hi Tami,
Glad you are enjoying it, probably brings back memories of your own travels down in South America ( I seem to recall you went to Peru at least ? ). Say hi to any of the old gang you bump into. Ciao !
Que lindo ver como Chile los encanta.
We love Chile !
Hi Jeff and Lois. Loving your blog. Bringing back great memories of our trip last year. Wish we could do it again Did you discover the LastHope distillery in PN? Run by two mad Aussies, they make beautiful gin , one flavoured with Calafate berries. Hoping your plans coming to fruition and wishing you a merry Christmas and all the very best for 2022 xx
Hi Fiona !
Too funny that you should mention the Last Hope distillery. Yes we heard about it, in fact we were strongly recommended to go there, but it just happened that we had so many other things to do in Puerto Natales that we never actually made it. Sad because we ended up going to Puerto Natales three times if you can believe it! We did however get to the Base Camp restaurant and the Holaste coffee shop which locals told us were a couple of the best places in town. Having now been to both of them several times I would have to concur !
I hope you 2 have a Merry Christmas wherever you are!
You too, Ashley ! Hi to all at home !