Let’s embark on a friendly journey together through South America!
In this post, I’ll be sharing with you the awesome countries I’ve visited and recommend you explore too.
Traveling alone has been such a fantastic experience for me.
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting incredible people from different countries and immersing myself in diverse cultures.
You know what’s cool?
I don’t have a strict plan for my travels.
Instead, I have a general idea of exploring various countries in South America.
It keeps things exciting and allows me to be flexible and dynamic in my adventures.
Guess what?
My plans change based on the amazing recommendations I receive from the people I meet along the way.
Their stories and advice inspire me to discover new places and experiences that I shouldn’t miss.
It’s been about a month since I started this adventure, and I still have six more months to go (although I may extend it to a year since my ticket is open-ended).
So, there’s plenty more to explore and share with you.
Which Countries Should You Visit in South America?
After having a fantastic time with my family in Punta del Este, Uruguay, my South American adventure officially kicked off on February 12, 2023.
I decided to take a bus from Montevideo to Florianopolis, Brazil.
Although it was a lengthy 22-hour ride, I didn’t mind at all.
I love long journeys with beautiful views.
To make the ride even better, I tuned my iPod to my favorite music and got ready for the exciting ride ahead.
So far, my route across South America includes the following amazing places:
Montevideo ->
Bariloche ->
Puerto Mont ->
Castro (Chiloe) ->
Cucao (Chiloe) ->
Ancud (Chiloe) ->
Valdivia ->
Pucón ->
Santiago ->
Valparaíso / Viña del Mar ->
Mendoza ->
San Juan ->
Valle Fértil ->
Córdoba ->
La Cumbrecita ->
Córdoba (Around: La Cumbre) ->
Rosario ->
Santa Fe ->
Salta ->
San Pedro de Atacama ->
Salar de Uyuni ->
Uyuni ->
Potosí ->
Sucre ->
Santa Cruz.
Florianopolis Brazil
During my stay in Florianopolis, which lasted about two weeks until February 26th, I had an amazing time exploring its beautiful beaches.
One of my favorites was Praia Mole (Mole Beach), where I enjoyed the company of many friendly Brazilian girls, and the waves were perfect for some cool surfing.
I also had a thrilling experience at Joaquina Beach, where I tried sandboarding, and although it was exciting, I ended up breaking my leg attempting a challenging slope – haha, lesson learned!
Another highlight was Praia Jurere Internacional, a stunning area with luxurious houses, reminding me of Punta del Este in Uruguay.
The unique thing about these beaches was the lush greenery and surrounding mountains, creating a picturesque backdrop.
The only drawback was that the island turned out to be larger than I initially thought.
Traveling on a tight budget, I didn’t rent a car, and unfortunately, the bus system wasn’t very efficient.
Getting to the northern or southern beaches from the center required taking multiple buses and consumed around 2 hours of travel time each way.
If you have the funds, I highly recommend renting a car for added convenience.
I was fortunate enough to be in Florianopolis during Carnival (between the 20th to 25th of February), and I made some wonderful friends from Amsterdam and Germany.
We attended the Desfile together, witnessing the spectacular Brazilian costumes, and later joined the street bloco parties, dancing and celebrating the festive atmosphere.
Throughout my stay, I resided at Tucano House Hostel, situated near Laguna de Consecau, a lovely area close to the lake with vibrant bars and restaurants.
The hostel owner, Cayo, was a fantastic host with a true Brazilian spirit.
The hostel offered a delicious complimentary breakfast, and they also provided an optional dinner for 15 reals.
Sharing meals with fellow travelers created an excellent opportunity to make new friends and connect with others.
One of the friends I made during my time there was Eduardo, a wonderful Argentinean companion.
We spent five memorable days exploring the beaches together before he had to head back to Argentina.
All in all, my time in Florianopolis was a fantastic and unforgettable experience filled with beautiful beaches, great company, and exciting adventures!
Curitiba
After my wonderful time in Floripa, I hopped on a 5-hour bus ride to the charming city of Curitiba, located in Parana, Brazil.
I stayed there for one night and was truly impressed by the city’s beauty and eco-friendliness.
Curitiba boasts numerous parks and a strong ecological ethos.
I found a fantastic hostel called Eco Hostel, which had a swimming pool and a spacious outdoor area.
The only downside was its distance from the center, taking around 35 minutes by bus to get there.
During my stay in Curitiba, I had the pleasure of meeting Mario from Chile, and we instantly became good friends.
Together, we decided to explore Isla do Mel (Honey Island).
The next day, Mario and I embarked on a train journey from Curitiba to Morretes.
This scenic train ride lasted about 4 hours and treated us to breathtaking views of the mountains.
Passing through around 30 bridges and 10 tunnels, the journey offered a spectacular glimpse of the picturesque landscape.
Once we arrived in Morretes, we continued our adventure by taking a bus to Paranagua.
From there, we hopped on a 2-hour boat ride to our next destination…
Isla Do Mel (Honey Island)
Living in the Zorro Hostel, right on the beach of Encantadas, was an incredible experience.
Just a quick stroll down 2 stairs and you’re already on the beach, with the water just a minute away.
It was my first time living so close to the beach, and the relaxation it offered was simply unbeatable.
I had a memorable 10-kilometer walk from the beach Encantadas, where the hostel is situated, to the Fortaleza, accompanied by my friends Mario and Bernard, a German guy.
The walk was delightful as we passed through numerous beautiful beaches and some scenic hills.
The island’s beaches were even more splendid than those in Florianopolis, surrounded by green hills and the serenity of being on a car-free and motorbike-free island, with only the sound of boats in the air, creating a pure and tranquil atmosphere.
After our 10-kilometer adventure and a refreshing swim, we decided to take a boat back from the Fortaleza to the hostel.
Watching the sunset from our hostel after such an eventful day was just perfect.
We relished some delicious fish for dinner, truly embracing the island’s relaxing vibe, a welcome contrast after the wild festivities of Carnival in Floripa.
The island had a few places to go out, but not many people frequented them, making it a bit quiet.
However, this suited me just fine as I preferred a laid-back and tranquil atmosphere post-Carnival.
The main goal was to relax!
During my stay on the island, I met two English guys, Sam and Alex, who had similar plans of visiting the Iguazu Falls next.
We decided to travel together, and that was a fantastic decision!
However, getting to the Iguazu Falls from the island turned out to be quite an arduous journey.
We had to take a 30-minute boat ride to Pontal del Este, followed by a 1.
5-hour bus ride to Paranagua.
Then, we took another bus for 2 hours to Curitiba, followed by a 10-hour bus ride to Foz do Iguazu, Brazil.
From there, we went through some migration procedures and took another bus to Puerto Iguazu, Argentina, and finally, reached our hostel, Hostel Inn, in Argentina.
All in all, our trip involved a grueling 24 hours of bus rides, but the destination and the adventures ahead were undoubtedly worth it.
Iguazu Falls
The Hostel Inn in Puerto Iguazu was more like a hotel with reasonable rates, approximately $13 per night.
It provided great amenities such as a swimming pool and air-conditioned rooms, making it a comfortable stay for us.
On our first day, we visited the Brazilian side of the Iguazu Falls.
The park was relatively small, and it only took us about 2 hours to explore everything.
The highlight was the impressive Devil’s Throat, which offered an incredible view from the Brazilian side.
However, we also planned to visit the Argentinian side, which was larger and offered more viewpoints and waterfalls.
The following day, we headed to the Argentinian side, which turned out to be even more impressive in our opinion.
We enjoyed two attractions there: a thrilling boat ride that took us up close to the waterfalls, and a serene rowing boat experience through the park’s jungle.
Walking along the catwalk to the Devil’s Throat from above provided a fantastic view of the falls.
The Argentinian side was so captivating that we decided to spend two days there to fully explore all the waterfall parks.
The views were breathtaking, and we didn’t want to miss anything, especially when we had the opportunity to be in such a special place.
Next, we visited The Parque de las Aves (The Birds Park) located on the Brazilian side, right next to the waterfall park.
The experience there was incredible as they allowed us inside the huge bird enclosures, giving us an up-close encounter with toucans, parrots, and other beautiful birds.
We even got a chance to touch some of them, which was a unique experience.
The butterfly enclosure was equally enchanting, with butterflies fluttering around us.
After the English guys left for Pantanal, I chose to stick to my original plan, heading to Buenos Aires and then exploring the south of Argentina.
I decided to visit Pantanal later in a better season when I could have more opportunities to see wildlife.
Before leaving, I returned to the Argentinian side of the waterfalls and explored some places I hadn’t had time to visit before.
One of the highlights was the Camino Macuco, a 7-kilometer trail through the jungle.
Though I was a bit scared of the unknown sounds of the jungle, I enjoyed seeing monkeys, birds, and even the possibility of encountering pumas (though it’s not common).
Doing this trail alone allowed me to immerse myself fully in the jungle experience and observe its unique sounds and sensations.
I highly recommend this trail for those seeking a deeper connection with nature, but keep in mind that it requires two days in the national park.
If you have only one day, I suggest prioritizing the waterfalls.
After the breathtaking experience at Iguazu Falls, I boarded a 16-hour bus to my next destination…
Buenos Aires
After having visited Buenos Aires multiple times and being familiar with the city, my primary focus this time was to relax and enjoy the vibrant nightlife.
I wanted to experience the thrill of partying, meeting new people, and perhaps even striking up a connection with some lovely ladies.
During the daytime, while day life was important to me, my main objective was to explore the city’s nightlife scene.
I knew that Buenos Aires offered an exciting party atmosphere, and my plan was to indulge in the thrilling nightlife with fellow travelers at the Milhouse hostel, which is known for being a great place to meet new people and enjoy the party scene.
Having spent some time chilling out in Buenos Aires and fully immersing myself in the lively nightlife, I eventually decided it was time to move on to my next destination.
El Calafate
Guess what?
Two years ago, I had an incredible experience at this place with its breathtaking glaciers, and it left me completely amazed.
So, you know what?
I’ve decided to go again!
I had two options for getting there: the cheaper and quicker airplane or the more expensive but scenic bus.
Can you believe it?
I chose the bus!
You might think I’m afraid of flying, but that’s not the case.
I just wanted to take my time and enjoy the journey.
The bus was fantastic – it was a full bed bus, and I booked the front seat on the second floor to get the best view.
I put on my favorite tunes, and for 40 hours, I immersed myself in the beautiful scenery.
It was an experience like no other, and I truly enjoyed every moment of it.
Once I reached El Calafate, I spent my first day strolling around the village, which has this charming lake called Lago Argentino.
The village’s boardwalk was lovely, and I enjoyed every step I took.
As luck would have it, I bumped into two German girls at my hostel, and it turns out we had met in Buenos Aires before (at Milhouse).
What a small world!
We decided to explore the lake together and had a great time.
The second day was an adventure-packed 7-hour navigation across the glaciers.
Although this time we didn’t witness any large iceberg falls like last time, the massive icebergs surrounding the boat were still awe-inspiring.
I didn’t visit Perito Moreno on this trip, as I had been there before.
Instead, I opted for the navigation, which allowed me to see even more glaciers, and in my opinion, they were even more stunning than Perito Moreno.
In El Calafate, I met a cool guy from Holland named DJ, and we decided to venture together to:
El Chalten
One small village that offers fantastic trekking opportunities is El Chalten.
What’s great about El Chalten is that you can do day treks and return to your hostel, just like I did at Rancho Grande, which was a lovely place.
On the first day, I embarked on an 8-hour trek to Fitz Roy.
The view of the mountain was simply breathtaking.
I had the pleasure of trekking alongside a couple from Spain and a friendly guy from Chile, whom I met on the bus.
The second day was dedicated to the Lago Torre trek, and I was accompanied by a Swiss girl and some American trekkers.
One of the most amazing experiences was on the third day when I went alone with a guide to do iceberg walking and climbing.
The weather was on my side, and I witnessed a stunning moment at 7 in the morning when everything turned red for a few minutes – simply unforgettable!
Walking on the glacier was heavenly;
it felt like a dream come true.
But my adventurous spirit didn’t end there.
I had a strong desire to camp for a night near Lago Toro, and luckily, I could arrange it with Matias from Bariloche.
Hanna from Sweden, Hanks from the States, and I walked along the mountains together for a day and camped overnight.
It was a cool experience since Matias had a stove, and we enjoyed making pasta in the evening while sipping on Mate – the perfect drink for the cold weather.
The view was awe-inspiring, especially with the vibrant colors during the autumn time.
After this incredible adventure in El Chalten, I moved on to my next destination:
Los Antiguos Argentina,
a small village, I had to stay there for 3 days to catch the bus for chile chico, there I met to guys from spain Jema and Oskar.
I just talked with them but we did not travel together, I also met some other guys, I went to the lake in los antiguos by myself it was fun, and there was a nice observatory in town, it was pretty cool to rest a bit in a small village, no rush, and rest for all the treks and high intensity of Chalten.
After that i took the bus to chile chico, along with some other guys from los Antiguos, it was funny because when I got to CHile chico, I met Hanna, she was taking the bus to Cohyaique, along with the other guys, I did not want to rush to Coyaigue.
Since I wanted to go to cohcrane and from there to Tortel in the south, for this I had to wait like 2 days, So i went by myself to the lake, and to the observatory, there I met Jema and Oskar we talk again for a while, and that is how I had another 2 calm days !
Unfortunately the bus to Cochrane was full, so I had to go to rio tranquilo and from there to Chocrane, I stayed 1 night in rio tranquilo, there I have done with Jema and Oskar the marble cave that was interesting, we also did it with a guy from the states Matt we met in chile chico.
After finally getting to cochrane and from there hopefully to Tortel, I was told that the route was closed because of bad weather, and I had to wait 4 days to see Tortel.
I decided it was to much time waste, So i stayed in Cochrane only 2 days, one I have been to the city which was everything closed due to semana santa, and the second day I went to the reserve by myself which was pretty nice.
From Cochrane I went north to
Villa cerro castillo
this place was amazing, surrounded by mountains, and had snow and glacier at the peak of the mountain.
There First day I want to a wall that has some indian fingerprints and hands, that they did 1000s of years ago, there I was lucky and met a local guy he was actually from Santiago moved to here to have some money, we talked and make friends.
His name was Alexis.
Second day I paid a guided tour to the Cerro castillo, We went in the morning on a horseback, till the summit of the mountain, that was a great ride.
First because he let me run with the horse, and as you know not all of them let you run, it was the low season so it was only me with the guide, that is why he let me run, I made the horse run a lot, till it was so sweety, the guide told me gently let him rest a bit, you gonna kill him ja ja.
When we got to the pick of the mountain the scenery was amazing, we saw a turquoise lake, just close to a big and beautiful glaciar, it was so worth it since to get there we ride like 3 hours uphill on the horse than two hours walking.
Since it is a national reserve and there is a part they do no allow horses, the walking was so tough up the mountains, since it was cold and had some ice on it, but it was so worth it.
The next day I was so exhausted, my all body ached especially the back i think because i ran a lot with the horse.
But I did not wanted to lose a great sunny days since in Patagonia, the weather is unpredictable, which means if there is sun you must go out, leave resting for a rainy day.
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So I met up with alex my chilean friend and we went fishing from the morning, he tried to get me to a lake, but he really did not know where is the lake, so first we visit an old friend of him, he offered us fried salmon.
It was so tasty, than he had guitar i played a bit, then we walked down the lake but it was a small one so we did not even try to fish there since we saw no fish.
Then we went again to his friend and met up with some village guys in his house, we helped them load the trucks with logs, and they in tern invited us to a really good dinner, that had cow meet, great salad and a whole lot of wine.
they took us home with the logs, we were sitting up the logs watching the carretera austral view, that was so amazing, since because of the logs they go really slow, and i could take really good pictures from the upper angle, i really enjoyed.
SO this day we did not fish anything but at least we eat fried salmon!
NEXT day as we did not fish, we went trying to fish again, this time after walking a lot i was so exhausted of walking yesterday and the horse ride, but still walked for fishing, we finally found a lake full of salmons.
You could literally see lots of them jumping, we through are little fish, which they suppose to follow, but had no luck we were fishing for like 3 hours and could not get anything.
Then somebody told us that we should tried flyfishing and not fishing with little toy fish, but anyway we had no equipment with it.
so we came back to his house, by the way by this period i moved to his house to save the hostel costs ja ja.
We were so hungry and the super was already closed and 1 hour walk from where he lived.
So i convinced alex to let me slaughter his chicken, first time in my life I slaughtered a chicken, I chunked the chicken from the throat and broke her neck bone, it was so weird to see how the chicken like kept moving her wings after i chunked her the death reaction probably.
Then we put it on a hot pot so we could easily remove its fathers, and then we cut the chicken and cleaned it from the inside, we gave the inside parts to his cats, then we gathered some wood and made fire, and cooked the chicken on the BBQ.
We made a few salads and fried potato it was a delicious meal, actually the chicken was not very tasty it was hard meat to eat.
Since she had lots of muscles, since generally the chicken you buy in the grocery store is younger, and his chicken was older, but as the phrase in spanish say, when you are hungry there is no hard bread…
After the great time i had and really great experience in Villa Cerro castillo, I was heading to
Coyhaique
a big city, Stayed there for a while I went there to the national reserve and did the forest trek for 5 hours by myself it was scary a bit since there were pumas there and i was the only one in the park because of low season
However the way was beautiful especially LAGO VERDE the green lake, a lake with lots of trees around it.
It was a great time to rest in coyaique since it was a big city, i was surprised to see a big supermarket after long time in small villages, i was actually missing it.
From Coyaique I went to
Futaleufu
And guess who I met on the bus, again the spanish guys Oskar and Gemma, we stayed in FUtaleufu together, went to the lake it was nice, we could not do the rafting it was off season, from there we went together to
Esquel
stayed there 2 nights.
I really like Esquel first because it is in Argentina, and I was missing argentina, and second, because it was a very big city, I was surprised how big was it.
First day we just relaxed on the big city center, with all the shops, and went to a mirador a nice observatory on the mountain where you see the whole city, second day we where to the lake 2 hours walk a nice lake.
After Esquel I got to
El Bolson
a really beautiful place, made me remember El Chalten, It has lots of treks to offer, they were not as nice of el Chalten, but still very pretty.
El Bolson Village center was bigger though than el Chalten, and The ice-cream at Jauja was great, almost as the ice cream of El Turista in Bariloche.
First day in el Bolson I was with the spanish friends, and we where walking around the city center and the market was pretty big and nice, I also met Jenny the American Girl I met before in Los antiguos.
The second day I had a farewell from the spanish guys they left, But I did the trek to Cabeza del Indio and the Cascada Escondida with two american girls Jenny and Julie.
That was pretty nice, the way was amazing, the indian head was more or less not so similar to me to an indian head, the Waterfall (cascada escondida) was really nice since the river was great.
Second day I met an Australian girl called Tamara, and we did the Bosque Tallado, it is a way of around 4 hours when you go up the mountain, and you see trees sculptured as different figures, like monsters, angels etc.
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not only the artists who did it, did a great job, because you see actually the tree coming up the ground and then the figure they made out of it.
But also the way up to the mountain was amazing, the view around especially up to the top was incredible, from the forest we went to the refuge, and they offered us to stay, with an amazing view to the valley of el bolson and to lago puelo, unfortunately we did not checkout from the hostel in el bolson and we did not want to pay double.
From there we could walk 2.
5 to the pick of the mountain but we had no time it was 18 and it was getting dark at 19, that is why we decided to go back to el bolson, we walked till 19, it was almost dark, then somebody offered to take us, we did not hitchhike but he offered, so we took the offer, and went tired to the hostel.
In the third day, we met one english guy and one Australian guy called Sean, and the four of us rented a bike, and we went 15 kilometers to Lago Puelo, an amazing lake, the bike ride was really nice as well, from there we did a small forest circuit with the bike, I felt like bike rally it was cool, riding the bike along the forest.
And then we climbed 30 minutes the mountain to an observatory.
It was one of the BEST observatories I have ever seen, because it had an AMAZING view to the lake, and all the forests, the red yellow and green trees it was so great.
The greatest thing was that the Australian and the English guys surprised us and took of their backpack 4 beers.
One beer for each one, that was the first time I drank a Quilmes Beer up the mountain, with an incredible view to lago pueblo, definitely a place to go back.
Since there were so many trails in this national park, I really like this place.
From el Bolson, I took with the Australian girl the 2 hours bus to
Bariloche
In Bariloche I stayed for 8 days.
We stayed in 1004 hostel, it was pretty nice,
The best thing about this hostel is that it was in floor number 10, and the view was INCREDIBLE from this height, especially watching the sunset or the sunrise, an incredible experience.
Our room was good too, we had a 3 beds shared room, with view to the lake.
And the best view was in the bathroom, you just have a shower in floor number 10, and you see from the huge window the enormous lake of Nahuel Huapi Bariloche, taking a poo was great too, while watching the whole lake just in front of you, the best shower I have ever had….
First day in Bariloche we were just walking around the city.
Second day I went with Tamara to Cerro Otto, a nice little mountain in the middle of Bariloche from which you can see the whole city.
We were too tired to do the 3 hours climb since we were tired from the treks in el Bolson, So we just took the 15 minutes lift, besides it was not interesting to climb the steepy mountain since you walk just under the rail of the lift which is not nice way at all and very hard.
From the lift it was nice to see the lake and how we get higher and higher…
Once we got up, we was lucky with the wheater, and could see the WHOLE Bariloche city and a very nice angle to the lake,
We walked up a trail of 2 hours, to see another observatory, which had view to the lake of the other side of the mountain that was really fun.
The best way was to go back to bariloche, we did not go back with the steepy way, but we walked by the car route back to the city, surrounding the mountain a few times.
It was my best walk, since the whole time you walk down, and it is easy, and you see the huge lake just in front of you, it seems as if you walk along the lake from the air….
It took us the whole way back to the city just 90 minutes!
Third day Tamara met some people that wanted to do the 7 lakes route, from Bariloche to San Martin de los andes, I have already done this route, but since I did not have to organize any group the guys just wanted to do it, I agreed to go with them.
We were for Tamara, and to Dutch guys, One dutch girl dancing teacher, and one Dutch guy both from Switzerland.
Nobody had driving license, I was the only one.
So I had to drive the whole way by my self it was trying.
I drove from Bariloche to San Martin the Los Andes, the way was amazing lots of lakes, and we really had an AMAZINGLY beautiful day.
We had only one CD of Bob Marlin and with no radio signal most of the way, we had to hear the same CD again and again.
Till San Martin de los andes it was really fun driving, but from San Martin it was already dark, and we had to go back by the highway at dark till Junin de los andes, and from there back to Bariloche.
We stopped at Junin to have some dinner, and then I have to ride 3 hours in the dark the whole way back it was really a killer and very hard way, especially when I was the whole way driving, I really wished to get home as soon as possible…
Finally we got home, this day we left at 10 and got home by 1:00 am.
It was a tiring day, but we really had a lot of fun.
Forth day I went with Tamara and we did the Circuito Chico, which is basically renting a bike and going around 30 kilometers of uphill and downhill, while renting the bikes we met one boy from Switzerland and one girl from Sydney Australia, so we ended the four of us doing this route together.
The view along the route is very nice you see the Llao llao Hotel, and a lot of lakes in between, it is a hard bike ride since there are a lot of uphills, and the bike quality was average a lot of time I had the chain falling of the bike it was a shit.
But it is a very good sport, especially since this muscle is not trained enough all the time I do trek and never ride a bike, so it is nice to train another muscle.
Some uphills we had to walk since we were so tired.
We stopped for a big lunch time by the lake and it was so good, the problem is that we had hard time going back to ride after a big lunch.
We ended this route at Colonia Suiza a small village, not so nice, but we had there hot chocolate and a good cake, it was a tough day but worth it.
The other day I went with some american girls to Cerro Campanario, we took there the bus and just stayed there for 2 hours, the view from there is amazing.
It takes only 40 minutes to climb it, and it is rated number 1 mountain view in the whole world !
And yes after watching the view from this mountain you realize that you do not have to climb a lot to see the best view.
Once getting there you find TONS of lakes, and you have 360 degrees of beautiful view, and an amazing nature.
Lots of trees, lakes, and nature colors we really enjoyed.
After this we went down took the bus to llao llao hotel, had lunch on the lake, and went back to Cerro Campanario to watch the sunset, it was really nice to watch the sunset from the most beautiful view in the world, and see the sky turn into pink and red while having hot coffee with whiskey !
Last day in Bariloche I went shopping for some ski equipment like waterproof pants and stuff.
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And I met up with the hair dresser Matias I met him in el Chalten, and he is from Bariloche, so I took advantage and had my hair cut in his place, I also put some blond color in it.
It was a pleasure to meet Matias.
Also I met him with Tamara few days before the haircut and we had dinner together, Tamara Sean Matias and Me.
It was funny how Tamara new Matias as well from el Chalten, it seems that we have been in the same time in el Chalten, and we found it out through Matias the common friend.
However I never met Tamara in El Chalten.
After Bariloche, I left with Sean to
Puerto Montt Chile
It seems that both of us had the same plan to go to Chiloe so we traveled together.
We stayed two nights in Puerto Mont, first half day just walking around, the second day we took an excursion to Puerto Varas, a lake, A Mountain, and a national park.
The excursion was pretty good, we climbed the mountain for like 2.
5 hours, and could get some snow on the top of it, I had a little snow fight with Sean.
After the mountain they took us to the national park which had really nice waterfall, and from there we went to a huge and nice lake.
We had not much time in the national park since we had to wait a lot in the mountain for 2 Colombians in our group, that could not catch up with the time told by the guide, so they make us lose a lot of time !
After Puerto Montt we traveled together to Castro the Capital of
Chiloe
first day was bad and raining we just walked under the rain upset and cursing the bad weather.
Second day we traveled to Cucao, since we heard we can rent horses there without guide.
The first day we rent wild horses, it was nice we could ride them along the beach go wild wherever we wanted, since we had no guide, we paid around 20,000 chilean for a full day, it was cool.
Before we paid for the horses it start raining, so we were depresses, we thought we do not gonna ride today but then after 10 minutes it stopped raining, so we decided to go for it.
Then at lunch time it rained like crazy for 35 minutes, but just after we finished lunch it stopped raining we were very lucky with the weather that day.
But very unlucky with the horse.
Each time I told my white horse to it didn’t listen and go on waling, I had to pull the rope really hard to get him to .
Luckily I am a big guy and can pull really hard, so the horse surrender and have to listen.
But even with the wild horses we had so much fun, we rode all the way to the beach and there we make them run like crazy.
We rode them on the beach really fast, and it was a big fun, going wild riding wherever we wanted without a guide which are always pain in the ass , especially when it comes to horses.
So it was really a pleasure to be free to do whatever we wanted to
After the ride my hands were gone, I could not feel anything.
Both of us were really exhausted, and some muscle I did not know that existed in my body start to ach me.
It was a really tiring day but was worth any effort, since riding on the beach and on the small forest was really good.
On our way back to Cucao, I asked some restaurant guy where can I rent for tomorrow better horse, he told me to go to Pancho Perez, so I told Sean that if it is a good weather I gonna horse ride again.
Sean was not convinced whether he stays in cucao and goes back to Castro the same day, But once we got back to Cucao it start raining like crazy and Sean decided to stay, I was happy he was staying with me….
.
Once we got to Cucao we have been offered from the same guy who rented us the hoursed rooms to stay for 6000 chilean, He tried to tempt us with good coffee and dulce de leche.
We ate the bread coffee and dulce the leche, But I was so pissed of with the horses he gave us so I did not wanted to pay him anymore money to stay in his place, furthermore it was not a good price for staying just a normal price…
So we found a hostel for the same price, We were so happy to get into a warm place, first thing we did was to take a very hot shower, after the good shower we sat near the hot fireplace and ate a DELICOUSE Cazuela, which is a hot soup with meet beans potatoes…
Very good for the cold and rainy whether, it was so good soup and very satisfying, We were really happy with the portion and it cost us only 1500 chilean which means 2.
5 U$S !
for a huge soup.
We stayed the night there, that was my longest sleep in the trip,
After the soup and some beers, I almost slept in the sofa, then I saw Sean just asleep on the table, I called him to go to bad.
We went sleeping at 20:00 and walk up at 9:30, that means 13.
5 hours of sleep, we were so tired, and we walk up with our bodies aching everywhere !
But it was a very good sleep, and a very good sensation to be at bed at 20:00 really exhausted.
I felt like little kid that has to go to sleep early, but this time I was not complaining to my parents why going early to sleep….
.
Next day the weather was amazing it was not raining and the sky was so clear, it has been a while since last time we saw a clear sky.
So we went to the national park of Cucao and did some trails, it was very nice, it made me remember the rain forest of Costa Rica, since the national park had lots of trees and green nature.
We finished walking at around 12, and decided to rent horses from this Guy known as Pancho Perez, after looking for him, we could finally find him.
He rented us horses from 13 to 17 at only 13,000 chileans.
His horses were much much better, once I was on the horse I could him and he actually responded to what I told him.
So we went again to the beach and start running with the horses like crazy it was so good to run.
After 3 hours of riding we could not run with them anymore, no not because of the horses but because of our bodies, it ached everywhere, each step of the horse while he was running we suffer, so we decided to walk the rest of the way.
At 17:00 we gave Pancho the horses back, we thought he is gonna be happy, since we arrived 10 minutes earlier than planned, but it was the opposite, he was really mad at us.
It seems that we lost one part of the horse seat, he claimed he gave us more layer, and one layer fell, we have not seen any layer fell, maybe while we were running.
Anyway he claimed it cost 10,000 chilean and asked if we could pay half of it, we did really not feel that it was our fault, he should have tied it better, and we did not agree to pay, we felt very bad for the guy, since he was a good guy.
But from the other hand, we paid him 26,000 for the horses, and he claim to lose 10,000, which means he still earned from us 16,000, which is 32U$S which is a very nice money for Chile,
and beside he did not even had to come with us since, we were independent, and took the houses by ourselves, so I really thing he made a good deal even with the loss of the horse seet.
Anyway there was nobody else that rented this hourses this day, since it was low season.
So we felt bad for the guy, but not too bad….
After cucao, we went back to sleep one night in Castro, for there we went for a day to Ancud in the north of the island, left our staff in the tourist center of Ancud, and went for a day to know a bit the city.
It was good to walk this day and not to ride horses, since we did not felt our bodies, and it was really hard to get the mochile on, for the bus to ancud.
In ancud we saw the nice beach, went up the mountain to see the Mirador (Observatory) of the city.
And went to the market.
We bout two HUGE salmons, Of 1 kilo each.
1 salmon for each to cook at dinner.
From there we went to Puerto Montt, cooked our amazingly HUGE Salmon, that was the best dinner I have ever had this huge salmon of 1 kilo cost only 1800, which means only 3U$S !
!
that was the most tastiest and the cheapest Salmon I have ever had.
After this amazing night, we went to
Valdivia
Which suppose to be a student city, We stayed there for one night, went around the city,
Went to the university, and to the Botanical garden inside the Uni, It was a nice and relaxing day, since we needed another day to rest from the horse ride !
At night as it is student city we wanted to party, it was Tuesday, we went walking to the center, this night was really cold, and very foggy outside, after thinking a lot, we decided to go party even though the weather sucks.
After getting in this frozen night to the center, we found nobody was there, we were really depressed and went back to the hoste, the good thing was that we were really tired and we had to catch an early bus to
Pucon
When we got to Pucon after 2.
5 hours of bus, I fell in love with this place, it made me remember Bariloche, but much smaller, we went to the beach, and then went to another beach to see the sunset, the weather was amazing, and we could see clearly the peak of the mountain Villarica.
We booked a tour for the following day to climb villa Rica mountain, it was an expensive tour of 30,000 chilean pesos.
……TO BE CONTINUED…
