Day 93. Friday 29th November. 2024. From Manihaules to a wild camp somewhere between Villa Cerro Castillo and Puerto Murta on Ruta 7. Chile. Miles 138 or 222k’s

Last nights camp was excellent. Again, clean, tidy operational facilities. We must have turned a corner..:) Run by a little old lady. Most men haven’t got a clue…:)

Today we have to book a ferry to cross the next piece of water. Or do we?

Jen has been worrying about this for some days,. She’s anxious that we get to Ushuaia before the 14th of December. She has made contact with the ferry operator, who has an office in Coyhaique, about 100k’s away.

First off, it has dawned a beautiful day. Clear blue sky and warm sunshine. As the song goes, “What difference a day makes”. Mind you, if you were born after 1950 you wouldn’t have a clue what that’s about..:)

A little bit of shopping in the tiny township of Manihaules, and we are on the road by 10am.

The grass is green, the lupins are purple and white and some pink, the broom is bright yellow. Everything magnified, after yesterday’s greyness. Some snow on surrounding mountains but most has melted by now.

En route, we stop beside a cyclist. He’s a cheery German male who started In Buenos Aires which must be 1000k’s away at least. He said that many of the cyclists we have come across are competing in a race, though he was not part of that, and clearly loving his experience. Again, we are envious…well.. a little bit envious..:)

Coyhaique

This is the biggest town in this part, and until, probably, Ushuaia. It’s buzzing with traffic and people. Jen has the address of the ferry office, so we head for it. After 30min, she returns to Poke with a ‘not happy’ look. We can’t get a ferry booking till next Wednesday! What to do?

Options.

Stay in the town/city for the weekend +?
Drive down to the port in the hope of a cancellation?
Are we going to be able to make up the 4 days?
Or have another look at the map….

Ah! the map offers another option. A tiny white track circuits the stretch of water the ferry cross’s and while it’s probably 3 times the distance, what have we got to lose!? Plus, it is still the Ruta 7, that is the Carretera Austral. We have been so fixated on this ferry, that we hadn’t considered there were options.

While Jen is getting some more provisions I let the tyres down, in anticipation of gravel roads. After refuelling with diesel, we head south, with the sat-nav set for El Maiten, At El Maiten we head back north east, to Chile Chico, This is where the ferry would berth, Then we cross back into Argentina for the next, approx 1000k’s. At Rio Gallegos in Argentina, we head south on Ruta 3 60k’s later, back into Chile, then back again into Argentina and on to Ushuaia. That’s the plan. What to do about the ferry booking?

So much for letting the tyres down. The road has recently been cemented and it’s lovely and smooth for about 80k’s. Just when I’m thinking about re-inflating them, the sign says End of Seal, or something similar…:)

The scenery is spectacular.

It’s what Patagonia is famous for and it does not disappoint.

A French camper, we would have stopped to chat but they showed no interest.

By 5pm we are considering finding a camp for the night. Should we take one or two of those listed, or find a wild camp? Not being impressed with the camps we pass, 10k’s down the road from the last one, we pass what has been a clearing bulldozed and overgrown, behind a fence. The gate is not locked!! We back up and decide the trees ringing the flat area offer adequate coverage from line of sight from the road. The is where Poki comes into it’s own. There is a high shingle barrier to the ramp, where the grader has heaped gravel. With Jen freaking out we cross the pile and following ditch and we are in the entrance. Unwinding the wire keeping the gates together doesn’t take too long and we now have a beaut spot. Protected from the wind by trees. There is a babbling stream nearby, for water. Heaven, unless the owner turns up and is not impressed..:) We will respect his property and leave it undisturbed.

For those who enjoy reading blogs on travel, you will enjoy my daughter Sarah’s blog at worldsafari.ca Her and family, are on their way south from Canada, to South America.

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