Author: Colin Clark
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Volatile Chile
We arrived in the town of Chaitén by bus on 28th January. A short three and a half hours by minibus from Futaleufu, we were happy to see paved roads again. However, we did not quite know what to expect to find, as stories about Chaitén’s status abound on the road. Rumors and backpacker gossip…
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Puyuhuapi
On the 21st January, we traveled the 225 kilometers from Coihaique to Puyuhuapi North along the gravel road of the Carretera Austral. The bus was a combi, or minibus, and was extremely full. Making a few stops along the way, it stayed that way the wh0le journey – which twisted, turned and bumped around so…
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Chile Chico
Arriving to the Argentine border town of Los Antiguos on the 9th January, we were excited to see some of the annual cherry festival that was being held. Many people were packed in to hostels and camping sites, sharing food and drinks. We had travelled from a small town called Perito Moreno, an hour or…
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The Manufactured Towns Of Argentina
We crossed the Argentine-Chilean border for the fifth time on the 29th December after spending Christmas in Puerto Natales in Chile. This was to be our last planned stint in Argentina, to visit some of the more well-trodden parts of Argentine Patagonia; the tourist towns of El Calafate and El Chalten. Unfortunately it was right…
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Christmas in Puerto Natales
We returned from our six day trek in Torres del Paine National Park on 22nd December. Puerto Natales has a retarded taxi system, whereby they have to be called out one at a time to come and pick up people arriving at the bus station. We thought we would buy a little minibus and arrive…
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Pioneering Punta Arenas
After an early start on the 9th December, and an all day long bus journey that trundled through Argentine Tierra del Fuego, we arrived at the Strait of Magellan, boarded the ferry and crossed over to mainland South America one more. Another few hours and we passed through the Argentine and Chilean border checkpoints, all…
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The Natural SeaWorld
Francesca and I arrived in Puerto Madryn on 25th November after a nice overnight bus journey from Esquel through the raised, flat Patagonian steppe. Founded by Welsh immigrants from the tea clipper Mimosa, and named after one of the founders estates in Wales, the settlement grew around one of the Chubut provinces railway, and now…
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Esquel: Trains, Trevelin & Trees
We arrived in Esquel (from the Tehuelche language for marshland) on the 22nd November, and checked into a hostel near the bus station. Esquel is surrounded by Andean foothills and mounts, and it’s small size gives it a sleepy, natural feel. Dating back to the middle of the 19th Century, Esquel, like many other towns…
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Jaguar Island & Bariloche
We took a short bus journey (4 hours is now nothing) on the 18th November from San Martin de los Andes to San Carlos de Bariloche. There are two routes you can take – we chose to go through what is known on the tourist trail as the ‘seven lakes’ route. I recommend doing this,…
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The Biggest Dinosaurs
After pulling our bus over and boarding it like mad banditos in the middle of the Argentine desert, we made our way across Mendoza province South to Neuquén province. The vast flatness of this central desert marked the beginning of our trip into Patagonia. We had organized a couchsurf in Neuquén and waited in the…