Antarctica or Bust! Well, almost Antarctica.

A daunting 2,500 km from Santiago to Tierra del Fuego, the southern tip of South America, we headed south by train, by truck, by taxi, by bus, by car, by foot, by boat, and by plane.  Although our destination was the sub-Antarctic, we enjoyed the journey which was nothing less than stunning. This was not a route for the faint of heart. No superhighways — only a thousand miles of potholes or gravel — but the breathtaking views made the inconvenience worthwhile.

If that wasn’t enough, the Andes Mountains made it challenging to ever cross from west to east, from Chile to Argentina.

Our first leg was by train. This launched us on an appetizer platter of small communities along the way. Meeting the down-to-earth, helpful, friendly folks along the way was a bonus.

We stayed in small family-run hotels or guesthouses, walked in the town plazas, enjoyed fairs and craft markets, and ate with the locals.

Like a serpent climbing a wall, we inched our way over the massive Andes and landed in Bariloche, Argentina.  Bariloche is famous for its alpine architecture and chocolate, a bit like a Swiss village. Located along an azure lake and surrounded by towering mountains, we decided to pay extra for a room with a lake view for our week there.

Instead of one of the classier places along the shoreline, we ended up in one of the original old hotels, currently run by Maximillian and his partner, a couple of eccentric, sometimes grouchy, guys from Santiago. They tried managing for a year, and 12 years later they needed a remodel almost as badly as the hotel.

Up we went — stairs getting smaller — to the crow’s nest. From there, if you stood on your tiptoes while doing an extreme yoga move, you could see the lake. Well, not quite that bad, we did have a partial lake view.  It seems that for almost a century it had a panoramic lake view, but the big boys had moved in and blocked it. We had a heated debate about what qualified as a “room with a lake view” and finally gave up.

The managers had spent years establishing a list of rules and regulations, and it became a challenge to break as many as possible during our stay. Mission accomplished, I must say.  One thing that was memorable was their nightly routine of baking fresh pastries for breakfast. This filled the Argentine establishment with delicious smells as you drifted off to sleep, reminiscent of Little Grandma’s povatitsa baking.  Somehow, this made us forgive all the sins of this Argentina Marigold Hotel.

We took a chairlift up to an astonishing outlook perched on top of one of the nearby mountains. You could literally spin 180 degrees as the view of blue lakes, grey mountains, eagles, and forest just kept getting better.  Sorry for all the superlative adjectives, but this journey south was jaw-dropping at every turn.

Argentina is the carnivore capital of the world. It took a bit of maneuvering to feed these hungry vegans, tired from all our hiking and outdoor adventures.  Like manna from heaven, we discovered two tiny vegetarian buffet eateries. Home cooking at its finest.

Our next mission was to find a way to explore the Cruce Andino.  In the late 1800s, Chilean entrepreneur Carlos Wiederhold started a business transporting Patagonian wool across the Andes from Puerto Varas in Chile to the city of San Carlos de Bariloche in Argentina. His pioneering route crossed four lakes — Llanquihue, Todos los Santos, Frías, and Nahuel Huapi.

Upon reaching Bariloche, the wool was transported to Buenos Aires and then sent on a long maritime journey to Europe across the Atlantic Ocean. With the construction of the Panama Canal, followed by the First World War in Europe and the Great Depression, Wiederhold went bankrupt.  Swiss visionary Ricardo Roth later transformed it into a tourism venture.

While visiting Peulla, one of the major waypoints along the Cruce Andino route, Roth had a fortuitous encounter with Francisco “Perito” Moreno, an Argentine explorer and environmentalist who wanted to conserve Patagonia’s incredible landscapes and natural beauty.  As a result of this friendship, Roth became a promoter of the creation of Chile’s first national park, Vicente Pérez Rosales, which protects forests, mountains, and lakeshores near the western end of the route.

This famous but obscure passage weaves its way through the daunting Andes Mountains, providing a hidden gateway from Bariloche, Argentina, to Puerto Varas, Chile.  A combination of buses, boats, and small ferries took us through the invisible heart of the Andes. And, in keeping with our journeys along the path of Che Guevara in Cuba and then Peru, we saw Che’s very own motorcycle by the side of the road. It had broken down while he was on his famous motorcycle road trip around South America.

A spectacular route, we were blessed with crisp sunshine at the outset, pouring rain on one lake crossing, and misty fog at the hidden gem of Peulla.  Expensive due to all the logistics involved, it was a challenge to figure out a way around the cost. The answer came in the form of using the complicated exchange rates between U.S. dollars, Chilean pesos, and Argentine pesos.  We rotated among different money changers, collecting piles of cash, which we exchanged for passage on the Cruce Andino.

A portal, a doorway, a wrinkle in time, off we went from Argentina to Chile without going over the massive 4000 meter high, 8900 km long Andes Mountains. This was an adventure not to be missed.

Love, Light & Laughter, 

xo  Nancy & Joseph

TRAVEL NOTES:

“¿Qué onda?” (What’s up?)

Chillan
Hotel Libertador Bernardo O´Higgins

Address: Av. Libertad N° 85, 3800590 Chillán, Chile

Phone:+56422223255

A wonderful old fashioned hotel (6 blocks from downtown) which made us feel like going to Aunty’s home.  Helpful, friendly front desk workers.  No cooking facilities but free breakfast.

Osorno

Alojamiento Parque Schott

Address: 1434 Serrano, Osorno, Chile

Phone:+56992687005

Wonderful, welcoming hosts and their friendly dogs. Clean little apartment, quiet, secure.  8 blocks to downtown.  Worth staying.  Say Hi from us!

Argentina

Bariloche
Hosteria Las Amapolas

Where do I begin?   This eclectic place, carefully run by helpful Maximillian and his partner, is over 100 years old.  The rooms need renovating or brightening up, but that is part of the charm.  Old memories linger in every corner.  Walking in from the blustery wind off the lake in the evening, we were enveloped in the fragrant aromas of the following morning’s pastries.  The price is reasonable and the location good.  We booked a lake view room and enjoyed opening the shutters and gazing (on our tip toes) over the beautiful lake below.

 
Lake District & Cruce de Andino
Turisur

Puerto Varas:
Hostal Klein

Cinthya and friendly, helpful family members run this large hostel.  A large gathering dining room is a fun place to meet other travelers.  You have access to the kitchen but without cooking appliances – which doesn’t make sense.  A shared kitchen must have a stove – not only a microwave.  Wonderful gas heaters in the rooms provided relief from the cold summer temperatures – just make sure the pilot light doesn’t go out or it could be dangerous in a closed room.

 About 30 minutes by taxi from Pt Varas to the Pt Montt airport.