4Runner Roadtrip – Chile Part 1, Argentina Part 3
Leaving Ushuaia, we were heading up to the Torres Del Paine region in Chile, something we were really looking forward to. Our route would take us back to Rio Grande and then cross the border for a stay back in Punta Arenas.
Just outside of Rio Grande we had to stop at the largest shrine to Gaucho Gil we had come across. For those not in the know (certainly us) Gaucho Gil is a folk religious figure in Argentina and Chile. Popular accounts vary, but Gaucho Gil was a poor ranch hand who, through various circumstances, acquired a reputation as a Robin Hood figure by protecting the poor and disenfranchised and performing miracles after his death. You can read more about Gaucho Gil here.
Our stays in Punta Arenas seemed a little cursed. On the first visit we had the windshield cracked and our second visit we were locked out of our Airbnb! Our host thought the key was in the door and waiting for us but alas it was inside the apartment. His cellphone didn’t have reception and we sat around for 30 to 45 minutes before we took matters into our own hands. I noticed that the bathroom window could be jiggled open from the outside and Shani was just the right size to wiggle in with a little boost from an outside stool. I’m sure he got a kick when he reviewed the surveillance footage!
Heading up route 9, our next stop was Puerto Natales. It is a port city on the Señoret Channel in Chile’s southern Patagonia. It’s the gateway to Torres del Paine National Park to the northwest, and the port for boats touring the Patagonian fjords. As no dogs are allowed in the National Park, Sebastian and I stayed home while Shani got a tour of Torres del Paine. Apparently it is incredible! The bits I could see from the road were very beautiful. (She took a full day trip from Puerto Natales and totally loved it.)
From Puerto Natales we crossed into Argentina at another remote border crossing where the pavement turned to gravel coming from Chile into Argentina. So many remote border crossings, it was kind of cool; we felt like real overland adventurers!
Leaving the Torres del Paine region we were headed back up to El Calafate for a couple of days and then on to El Chalten for a few more. We hadn’t been to El Chalten for 10 years but the place is largely the same. It’s a really small village within Los Glaciares National Park in Argentina’s Santa Cruz province. It’s a gateway to trails surrounding the peaks of Cerro Torre and Mount Fitz Roy to the northwest. 
Like Chile, most of the National Parks in Argentina have a no dog rule. This relegated Sebastian to the village but nothing else. Shani, on the other hand, had a nice hike. (Seeing a pattern here?)
We took two driving days to get from El Chalten to Perito Moreno, stopping for one night in Gobernador Gregores and then crossed back into Chile and stayed a couple of days in Chile Chico. Now we were meeting up with the Carretera Austral ready to experience the country’s ‘most challenging and yet wildly beautiful road trip’. Us being us, we decided we should drive south first and get to the end of the road and so we headed down to Cochrane on our way to O’Higgins.
We rarely make reservations in advance and this trip south in Chile was no exception. Once in Cochrane, Shani started looking at our options further down the road and it was pretty slim pickins. We also discovered that there was only one ferry early every day and the weather was getting ready to turn bad. So the three of us had a little group meeting. We also had to factor in the not so great roads and the potential of driving in inclement weather on the way back from O’Higgins and just like that we weren’t headed to O’Higgins after all!
The first stop as we headed back north was Rio Tranquilo, a small village on the lake. One of the things I like to do is Google gluten free restaurants in the towns and villages we visit to see if there will be any tasty treats for Shani. It’s hit or miss but Rio Tranquilo, as small as it is, had an option. Sadly for us, it was closed. As we walked around the little village we noticed a small take-a-way joint advertising Arepas. Arepa is a type of food made of ground maize dough stuffed with a filling, eaten in northern parts of South America since pre-Columbian times (Wikipedia). And this would be our first authentic Arepa, nom nom! We grabbed a box of wine from a shop and had a little picnic on the beach.
From Rio Tranquilo, our next stop was Coyhaique. The 4Runner was due for a service and I had been trying to sort that out for a bit and thought Coyhaique might be the solution. That didn’t work out but we did get our first stay in a container house. Container houses are very popular in this region of South America (possibly all of South America?) and we were quite curious to stay in one. Overall it was a pretty good experience, even if it was a little damp while we were there.
Continuing up the Carretera Austral we next hit Puyuhuapi, a very very small town that’s only been a town since the 1980’s. We stayed in a lovely rustic cabin owned by a Swiss guy named Diego. He was super nice and I could definitely see the appeal of living in such a small and remote place. The views are absolutely amazing.
From Puyuhuapi it was stops in Chaiten and then a long ferry through the absolutely stunning Pumalín Douglas Tompkins National Park to Hornopirén. Pumalín Douglas Tompkins National Park is a 1,000,000-acre national park created by Tompkins Conservation, which was endowed and led by the American business magnate Doug Tompkins and his wife, former CEO of Patagonia, Inc., Kris Tompkins. By an accord announced on 18 March 2017, the park was gifted to the Chilean state and became a national park.(Wikipedia)
In Hornopirén we stayed at a neat little spot where the owner had wood fired hot tubs and a network of trails and hikes into the forest. Sebastian thought that was pretty great. There is another little ferry ride on route 7 to get across on the road to Puerto Montt. Fortunately for us this one runs every half hour or so. We arrived at the port only to discover that we had left Shani’s purse in the cabin in Hornopirén!
We stayed for a few days in Puerto Montt before moving on to Osorno where we finally got the 4Runner serviced. We didn’t see a whole lot of Osorno, our Airbnb was more on the outskirts and our real goal was getting the car serviced. Shout out to Toyota Portillo Sur; the language barrier can be a challenge at times but at the end of the day it all worked out.
Our last destination for the season in Chile was Pucón. Pucón is a town in central Chile’s Lake District, lying on Lake Villarrica overlooked by the snow-capped Villarrica volcano. An adventure tourism hub, it’s renowned for access to hiking trails, water sports, white-water rafting and kayaking as well as skiing and snowboarding. The surrounding terrain ranges from lakeside beaches to temperate rainforest. Natural hot springs are found in nearby forested valleys. (Wikipedia)
There was a gluten free restaurant in Pucón which turned out to be a great picnic treat for Shani. Thanks to the nice folks at Pucon Sin Gluten we had several nice lunches down on the sand at the lake. The views were stunning and the Villarrica volcano is really impressive looking.
Speaking of Villarrica…
We needed to get another vet certificate for Sebastian which was no problem in Pucón, we found a really good vet and even opted to do some extra blood work to make sure everything was good with the little dude. (It was.) However, the office that takes care of the export paperwork is in Villarrica which is a bit bigger town on the lake. We had to drop the paperwork off and then retrieve it a few days later. So, a couple of days later I was parked on the side of the road while Shani was in getting the paperwork and I heard a loud bang on the rear passenger side of the 4Runner. I looked in the side view mirror just in time to see a guy that looked like he had bent over and was straightening back up. At the same time another guy was coming around my side and they were both saying things in Spanish. “No hablo espanol.” was my reply to which the one closest to me said in English “Hotel California” and laughed as he walked away.
At this point in my little story I should mention that a few days prior while we were parked in a little tourist town a guy had done the same thing at the back of the 4Runner. Before we drove off my Spidey Sense was tingling and I asked Shani to check the back of the car. Lo and behold there was a little slice of potato with an iron spike set in it right in front of our tire designed to give us a flat.
I’ll be damned if there wasn’t a little slice of potato with an iron spike set in it right in front of our tire in Villarrica. Those evil bastards were planning on robbing us, one way or another. According to the U.S. State dept. “Thieves have punctured rental car tires in order to distract foreigners and steal their belongings from the vehicle.” Apparently as a foreign plated vehicle we are a target too.
As you might imagine, being targeted twice by thieves in a matter of days put us off of Chile. We’ve been travelling for years and nothing like this has ever happened. We spent a couple more days in Pucon and then crossed into Argentina and down to San Martín de los Andes where we felt a little more safe.
Stay tuned as we head up into the Mendoza wine region of Argentina, head back east across the country, put the 4Runner in storage in Uruguay and debate ever visiting Chile again.
