From the refugio it is about eleven kilometers to the popular La Junta. The hike is a repetition of yesterday’s hike: a muddy path, trenches, rainforest and a few river crossings. Continue Reading…
It’s peak season in Bariloche. What once was a destination for the adventurous traveller, is now a party destination for the young and a luxurious destination for the little less young.
This is my fourth visit to the town and my previous visit wasn’t memorable. I believe I’m a bit too old for scruffy bunk beds in a cellar, rancid bathrooms and too drunken and too noisy roommates. Continue Reading…
‘People don’t hike this trail on their own. You should go with a group. There are no way markers’, states the NP Nahuel Huapi-Officina worker, when I ask where to register my trip. Continue Reading…
Together with my three, new Chilean friends I walk towards La Junta. La Junta sounds like a lot. It is no more than a landing strip and a bridge.
Soon after La Junta we reach la casa de Leticia + termas, where we meet three more Chileans. They have camped in Leticia’s ‘garden’. Maté and small talk follow. My young friends decide to camp here. Continue Reading…
From Santiago the night bus brings me about 1000 kilometers to the south. Arriving at the chilly Puerto Montt bus station at 6.30 am I can’t say that I’m fit for a hike. First there’s a second bus, to Ralún, which is close to climbers paradise La Junta near Cochamó. Since it’s peak season I’m definitely not the only one waiting at the bus stop. Fortunately, the bus turns out not to be one, but two buses. Continue Reading…
Tsjop… Tsjop… Tsjop… This is a new sound! Next to the trail: fresh chopped bushes. An arriero is busy waving around his scythe.’¡Ola !’, I shout, because he’s not aware of my presence. We chat a little. ‘Where am I coming from and where do I go?’. ‘That’s the old route’, is what I understand. Well, that sounds promising! Continue Reading…
Today it’s supposed to be raining. Even though the sky is covered with impressive, dark clouds, it’s not. I’m happy with the clouds. The trail is like a XXL cat litter box: white and dusty sand and small rocks. This stage is very exposed; there are no trees, there’s no shade and only where water flows there’s some colour to be seen. Continue Reading…
The bus to NP Altos de Lircay is full of young people carrying camping gear, food and alcoholic beverages. It’s weekend and vacanciones in Chile and this bus is on it’s way to a National Park: what else could I have expected? Continue Reading…
Good morning! The blue sky is back again, vulcán Villaricca is visible again.. Now and then she burps out a cloud of sulphur. Continue Reading…
Somewhere, underneath the snow the trail is hiding. The trees are still buried under the snow pack and they form a kind of Mikado maze. Holding the GPS I try to find my way. Roughly. Up through a white forest.
Within an hour I’ve left the maze and now I’m in an open landscape. Here, hiking and navigating is a lot easier. Even though the sun is shining it’s still cold and even without snowshoes iI’m able to hike over the thick, white layer. Every few kilometers the landscape changes, but always with one of the many volcanoes in sight. Continue Reading…
Gemaakt met in Haarlem