WE COWERED behind whatever rocky outcrops we could find as the storm force winds roared across the stunning landscape of sheer granite snow clad mountains and freezing cold lakes. We were hiking in the world famous Parque Nacional Torres del Paine and discovering first hand just how windy it could be in this part of Chilean Patagonia.
Two members of a long distance Italian hiking group, who had just passed us sporting huge rucksacks, had been completely bowled over by the force of the elements. Then, just as suddenly as the wind had risen, it died and there was calm. This changing phenomenon continued all day and we soon learned to predict when the gusts would arise by watching the spray being whipped up on the nearby lake, forming iridescent rainbows in the sunshine.
Wildlife
Our long journey from Argentina into Chile had passed with minimum fuss at border control and the service bus arrived on time in Puerto Natales, attractively situated on the Pacific Ocean side of South America and famous for its adventure sports, including sea kayaking. The most popular eatery in town was a café called Melissa’s. The chief attraction wasn’t the tasty hamburgers but the miniscule length of the waitresses’ skirts. The term ‘micro-mini’ hardly did them justice. Clearly they breed ‘tough’ girls out there as even though it was mid-summer, the weather was far from warm!
We passed through wild scenery on our bumpy three hour car journey to the National Park, enhanced further by a whole host of Patagonian wildlife. There were many Rheas (the S. American ostrich), hundreds of Mara (one of the world’s largest rodents and a member of the Guinea Pig family) and, of course, the graceful Guanacos (members of the camel/lama family who look at you haughtily though huge clear brown eyes). All the time, the mighty granite towers of Paine, rising to over 2,600 metres, loomed ever larger in front of us.
This park is a Chilean gem. We spent two happy days hiking through the foothills, admiring views of lakes and mountains and the many bird species, wild flowers and shrubs – including the tasty Calafate berries, from which they make superb ice cream. The most adventurous hikers undertake a full circuit of the central mountains, many of which have sheer 1,000 metre granite walls. This is a serious and spectacular long distance walk that can be marred by horrendous weather at any time of year.
Due to the untamed wilderness of Chile’s west coast, one of the remotest places on earth, we had to motor south on the daily service bus to Punta Arenas, the country’s southernmost city, in order to fly north for two hours over the vast Patagonian ice cap to Puerto Montt. From here, it was a short hop by car to Puerto Varas, which you could be forgiven for thinking was in Germany – Bavaria to be more precise, as it was the annual Beerfest!
German immigrants came to this land of temperate rain forest, beautiful lakes and huge pointed active volcanoes many years ago and a strong German influence remains in the architecture and way of life. We enjoyed a superb day out admiring the most scenic areas, waterfalls and volcanic landscapes. The mighty Mt Osorno, clad in a blinding white ice cap, smiled benignly down on us, but it was clear from the huge lava flows that this volcano could readily turn angry.
 Mt. Osorno and adventure holidays |
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The weather forecast was bad and the rain duly arrived – in torrents. Nevertheless, we joined a small party of intrepid walkers under the expert leadership of German guide Ingrid, for a hike into nearby Parque Nacional Andino Alerce. This is an area just south of the lake district, where they raise massive quantities of farmed salmon, but it was the superb virgin forest, in particular the beautiful ancient Alerce trees, that we had come to admire. They can live to over 3,000 years with trunks up to four metres in diameter. We were totally drenched to the skin in the downpour, and squelched our way for hours through the trees and around a magical misty lake, to return shivering but surprisingly satisfied, back at our transport.
Witch doctors
Before leaving this beautiful area there was one more excursion, this time on a rusty creaking old car ferry, rolling on the choppy seas, to the strange island of Chiloé. It has a hilly green landscape and its cool wet climate is ideal for growing potatoes. The Spanish settlers and the local Mapuche Indians have both influenced the culture. Chiloé is famous for excellent fish restaurants and handicrafts, notably woollens and basketware. The island is also renowned for its many legends and weird mythology – based on basilisks, sorcerers, water horses and mermaids. It’s all very Harry Potterish and some of the restaurants look like Hogwarts’ classrooms with weird mythical figures painted on the walls. Witch doctors still practise there!
The last leg of our journey was by air, 1,000 kms north to the warm Mediterranean climate of Santiago. We enjoyed the cosmopolitan nature of Chile’s capital, perched attractively below the Andes. The museums were full of history and the markets packed with tasty produce. On our final day we travelled to the picturesque Maipo Valley in the coastal range of mountains outside Santiago, where we visited the celebrated Concha y Torro vineyard.
We couldn’t finish our Patagonian story without mentioning the people and the food. The people of both countries were quite charming and generous with the service and the time they gave us.
This is not a place for vegetarians as it is a red meat eaters’ heaven! The steaks are massive, juicy and succulent and astonishingly cheap and the barbecued lamb in Ushuaia was the most tender we have ever tasted. The fish was always fresh and the wine as good as anything produced in Europe.
The Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan was the first European to discover Patagonia in 1520 when he sailed past Tierra del Fuego into the Pacific Ocean. Our trip around Patagonia was just as memorable but considerably more comfortable!
