Yesterday marked one week on the ground, with five ahead. The trip has picked up a cool rhythm now, which is really nice. The past several days have been interesting. After a great traipse through the Lake District, I headed to the large Island of Chiloé, which, alas, disappointed. Its endless green, rolling hills were pretty to look at, but each town I visited was quite similar to the others – very poor and dirty. Quellón, its capital, was crowded, dirty and a bummer aesthetically, although I had an excellent lunch there. I tried to catch a ferry to Chaitén from there to avoid yo yo-ing back north then around through Puerto Montt, but struck out despite going to three docks and ferry offices. It’s not yet peak tourist season, so it’s a crap shoot as to whether a particular office will be open now.

Found a great spot to camp Sunday night overlooking Ancud, on the north shore of Chiloé Island, in a major rainstorm.

After Quellón, I headed north to Puerto Montt, the largest city in southern Chile. An interesting fact about highways in Chile – when they go through a city, they literally go through the city. No bypasses, as in so many other cities where I’ve driven, so you get spanked in local traffic. I skirted the southen edge of Puerto Montt, right along the water, then came upon this wondrous sign:

The fabled Carretera Austral, which was conceived and built in the 1970s and 1980s by the military dictator Augusto Pinochet, using soldiers for its construction, was designed to connect the disparate northern and southern regions of Chile to each other economically (probably the only positive thing Pinochet ever did during his rule), and it is a marvel of engineering as well as a doorway into some of the most spectacular scenery on Earth. Pinochet also believed that having troops and settlers in Chile’s remote southern region would dissuade Argentina from trying to poach part of the country’s rich but remote territories. Starting officially in Puerto Montt and continuing 800 miles south until its end in the tiny hamlet of Villa O’Higgins (where I’m heading), where glaciers and fjords prevent any further road construction, it is what I’ve been super excited to roll up my sleeves and dive into. It has not disappointed so far, although I’m only 50 miles into it. Some shots of yesterday’s meanderings and the Carretera Austral last night and today:

Waiting for the ferry last night in Caleta La Arena – the Carretera Austral crosses Reloncavi Fjord, two miles wide at its junction with the Pacific, so you’ve got to hop a half hour / four mile ferry to continue onward.

Early this morning after sleeping in a big rain storm. Haualauhie Puerto, off the main road:

Today has been most interesting. I drove fifteen miles to Hornopirén to hop (another) ferry to reconnect with the Carretera Austral southbound, only to learn that there’s only one boat per day for the five hour trip (which left twenty minutes before my arrival 😜), and the next available spot for me and my camper was Saturday, five days hence. Yikes…

Plan B involved taking a different ferry tomorrow from Pichicolo, a bit north, to Caleta Gonzolo. Say that three times fast… These reservations can only be secured by bank transfer / advance payment (unlike last night’s boat), and their payment system ain’t like ours, nor do they have PayPal, Venmo or Zelle. Fortunately, Jorge and his wife Solange (pictured below), who run a terrific little rest stop and hotel named Del Bosque, got me through the local wormhole so I’m reserved for tomorrow (I’ll pay at the dock).

An aside – there are very few police and police cars here. I’ve felt completely safe so far, and the people have been fantastic. One weird thing, though – the police cars look like they’re set to enter the Gaza Strip with the IDF:

No idea why, but they do look intimidating to me. Some other observations – Chile isn’t really thought to be a third world country these days, yet it feels that way to me. I’m not being disparaging, but poverty is ubiquitous here. People have almost nothing, their homes are pretty much cardboard shacks and I haven’t seen fancy casas anywhere. I guess that’s kind of good – unlike the US, where huge wealth and income disparities are, IMHO, sowing the seeds of social revolution, people here seem to be on the same team (and living the same economic reality).

I’m off to hike the volcano in Honopirén National Park. Skies are clearing a bit, so hopefully I’ll stay somewhat dry. We’ll see.