After a good night´s sleep in Puerto Varas in a great hostel called Casa Azul, we woke up for their breakfast of eggs and oatmeal. Not bad! We then headed out for our adventure on the Carreterra Austral, the 1000 km government highway project to attempt to connect the country from north to south. It has come a along way from nothing, but it is still a big gravel road, connected by ferries and bridges of all shapes and sizes. The ferry we took had an unexpected treat - they took us by a colony of sea lions, sunning on rocks. They were huge, and we got so close! We drove as far as Hornopiren, where one would take another ferry to get to the southern part of Pumalin Park, the land of which was bought several years ago by an American, the owner of North Face, as a preservation project. Time constraints and the expense and infrequency of the ferry prevented us from seeing that end, but we enjoyed watching the folks board the boat and the activity of this very isolated town.
We decided to follow a different route home, one that allowed us to skip the ferry by going around the Estuario Reloncavi. Not the Carretera Austral, but another gravel road through nondescript towns. Beautiful views of the rugged skyline and body of water, also a peek into the way back, backcountry of Chile. The lack of gas stations made for an interesting time, but we made it safely back to Puerto Varas for a great 2 for 1 pizza and drink deal at an authentic Italian restaurant for dinner.
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