Nov. 8, Coyhaique to Las Horquetes
Knox woke up early to have the left, front tire looked at and changed because of an “almost imperceptible bubble in the side wall.” We figured we were headed into one of the least populated places in the world, so, just in case, let’s have it checked. Knox found a tire place five minutes from the lodge that opened early. He was back with a brand new tire on the Amarok by 9:30, we packed up and were out by 10 a.m., but we ran into a gas line (in Chile!) due to the rush of tourists going south. Finally, we were on the road by 10:30 with a long day ahead; 8+ hours plus a border crossing.
At first, the landscape had a European feel (think rural France and northern Spain) with rolling plains, pastures and even more farms, and more cows and even more sheep. But we started climbing and entered Parque National Cerro Castillo, and, soon, we were driving up Mount Castillo with a steep change in altitude and terrain very much like Colorado and other parts of U. S. American west, very arid, heavily wooded with pines and high mountain lakes, rocky peaks towering above, and bubbling brooks along the road. There were hiking trailheads everywhere, and the temperature dropped dramatically as we climbed, from 16 degrees Celsius to 5 in less than an half-hour and then we saw snow on the ground along the road for the first time.
As we descended and began navigating the switchbacks on the other side of Mount Castillo, an impressive view of the Andes range appeared.
Then, continuing along route 45 down into the valley of the Rio Ibanez, the pavement turned rough with lots of potholes to avoid, as, apparently, it was no longer maintained once no longer in the park. The road continued winding around large escarpments and rock formations of all shapes and sizes.
Finally, we reached Puerto Ibanez…a port on the Chilean side of Lake Buenos Aires (which is the Argentine name; it is known as Lake General Carrera on the Chilean side.) During the high summer season, many ferries cross daily, but today no one was in sight, including the customs officer at what appeared to be the customs office. But the gate was open, and so we kept going. The plan was to drive along the north side of the lake to reach the border and then continue on to route 40 to head further south in Argentina.
The road, really a path, along the lake, was otherworldly with more escarpments, rolling hills, low, green desert flora, more cows, lots of goats (in the road), a few small farms, salt flats, swampland plus sweeping views of the Andes beyond the enormous, sprawling lake. After about a half hour of winding pathway and exceptional views, halfway along the lake we dropped down again and came to what Google told us was the Chilean-Argentine border. There was a sign and an open gate, but nothing else…no Aduana (customs), nothing, and so we continued on.
Five minutes more on our narrow, gravel, path, and we arrived at the Argentine customs house and it’s loan officer, who tells us that we cannot pass into Argentina. Why? Because we must first exit Chiile officially, which we had not done at the (seemingly closed) Chilean customs office back at Puerto Ibáñez! Apparently, if no one is there at the Puerto Ibáñez office (and no one was) you must wait. And the reason they keep the border open with no gate to stop unwitting tourists like us from passing through, is because of the farmers who need to come and go. I asked if this was a recurring problem, and the officer assured me it was. So, we turned around and back we went. At least the scenery was spectacular and the weather perfect.
After an additional hour of driving back and back again, past the farms and the goats on the winding path, and after getting our papers stamped on the Argentina side, we continued. It was scrub desert for at least 30km, and then we looked behind us to find that we were now firmly on the Argentine side of the Andes.
Unfortunately, we had yet another 60 km of dirt road to go before hitting route 40 –very desolate dusty, rocky, rutty, and flat, save a few rocky mounds of desert poking up like mole hills in a giant field. This, we remarked to one another, is what one thinks Patagonia should look like. It stayed at an even 12 to 15 degrees as we sped along the high moon-like terrain, and eventually there were glimpses of the glaciers gleaming in the far-off distance.
Then we reached Perito Moreno (the town, not the glacier) and route 40 south. After filling up with no line, we were in for additional endless high plains, dry prairie scrub (just enough for a few sheep to graze on) with occasional buttes and mesas, tons of sky, and many guanacos, usually just individual animals here and there, instead of herds. Still with 3+ hours to go, the winds began picking up and we stopped and ventured out of the truck to look at the horizon above the road.
Now the sky and clouds were the story once again, a show really, producing incredible formations that looked like grand, white, hovering, but unmoving tornados rising up out of the buttes dotting the landscape. The vastness of these high plains is unmatched by anything you can imagine.
Finally, around 7 p.m., amongst the dozens of birds of all kinds nesting in the fields all around us, we pulled into our destination for the night, Estancia La Angostura, a beautiful, hundred-year-old, large ranch tucked down in a valley below the plains, south of Las Horquetas. They have thousands of sheep and hundreds of head of cattle plus a few horses, and they board travelers during the high season because there is literally nowhere else to stop on route to El Chalten. We were shown to our small room off the main house, and then invited to sit down to a homemade meal with two other tourist couples from Germany and the Netherlands. Following dinner, the sound of the roaring wind put us to sleep in no time.
CHECK OUT THE GOOGLE DUMP OF PHOTOS AND VIDEOS of the COYHAIQUE TO ESTANCIA LA ANGOSTURA LEG HERE:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/cPYKA89saEArk87x5
Estancia Angostura: It is a farm in the middle of nowhere, with dinner and breakfast included, it is the best you’ll do on the way to El Chalten, and it is a true Bed and Breakfast, with a proprietress who hosts dinner and breakfast and enjoys telling stories of the 100-year-old farm. Small, neat, and with comfortable beds, but very sparse lodgings in general. The farm is an oasis in El Alto Plano (the high plains).
So the video of the road resembles a roller coaster to me-what happens if you meet a car coming the other way??? Again-these pics are so incredible. I love this for you two-what a wonderful adventure!!
there are no other cars! We ran into a big yellow grater and sheep in the road, but that was it!