Crossing the Andes

Saturday, 27 April, 2013

Our route across the Andes

On this rather misty day we travelled from Bariloche in Argentina to Puerto Varas in Chile.  Not far as the crow flies, but a full day's journey for us.  The only way across the Andes by land in this region is by boat and bus.  The road is only used by a privately owned company (Cruceandino) which operates the bus and boat services.  They even provide guides to make sure all travellers get across the border without any problems, as well as giving commentary about the various sights along the way.
Our departure time was 9 am and we checked into our hotel at 7.30 in the evening.

Arriving at Puerto Panuelo

The bus took us to the embarkation point at Puerto Panuelo, about 20 minutes drive along Lake Nahuel Huapi and just after 10 am we set sail for Puerto Blest.  It was warm and comfortable inside the ferry with plenty of spare seats and the usual cafeteria facilities.  Huge wrap-around windows give everyone a fantastic view of the passing scenery.  Today was overcast and the high distant mountains were partly obscured, but those around the lake were clearly visible.  After a short time of sailing north the boat turned into an arm of the lake in a westerly direction.  As we passed a small island the boat slowed in front of the grave of Moreno, the national parks founder, and gave three toots of its horn - something that occurs each voyage.  The rest of the hour long journey up this arm of the lake was like being in a fiord as it is quite narrow and the mountains rise straight up out of the water.   The lower sections of the mountains are covered with dense forest and it seems amazing that such large trees are able to grow out of what appears to be solid rock.  I  did venture up on the top deck but it was too cold to stay there for long.  As we travelled the sun came out and we had blue skies until we reached Puerto Blest.

Forests and mountains, Lake Nahuel Huapi

Fiord-like west arm of Lake Nahuel Huapi

Sailing into Puerto Blest

Puerto Blest is definitely a one horse town, just a staging post where the bus collects passengers from the boat to transport them to the next lake crossing.  A pretty little river tumbles down from the mountains and enters the lake at this point.

Lakeside, Puerto Blest

River, Puerto Blest

The bus trip is quite short, about 10 minutes and is on a rough unsealed track through dense rainforest.  There are some huge trees (relatives of the North American redwood) and a lot of bamboo - looks like panda country in many ways.  Much of the bamboo was dried and dead because after flowering, which happens once every 70 years, the plant dies off.  Very strange.  By the way, no pandas, but this is puma country. No chance of seeing one as they are apparently as elusive as pandas.

Bamboo and rainforest

Our bus rattled down the hill to a jetty  (Puerto Alegre)  at the end of a small but startlingly green lake, again surrounded by mind-boggling mountains with sheer cliffs rising straight up out of the water.  We boarded a funny little boat for a twenty minute ride up to the other end of the lake which is named Lake Frias.  It was very still today, hardly a breath of wind and therefore not the right conditions to see any of the condors which make their homes on these high cliff faces.  It seems that they like windy conditions for their soaring activities.  The lower forests that cling to the steep mountain slopes are evergreen, but higher up the trees are in full autumn russet colours.  At one point a river enters the lake and the sandbanks here are home to some lovely deciduous trees, all in  golden autumn glory.  Our guide explained that the green colour of the lake comes from the mineral sediments washed down from the mountains.

All aboard - Lago Frias

Emerald waters and rainforest. Lago Frias

Lago Frias - autumn leaves

On disembarking at Puerto Frias we were ushered into a building which turned out to be the exit point from Argentina so we all had our passports stamped and then it was on to another bus.  These "puertos" have nothing but a couple of buildings for officials or  the travel company.  Nobody actually lives out here. It is very isolated.

For  next hour we undertook a hair-raising ride over a 3000ft mountain pass, again through dense rain forest.  It is a narrow, unsealed road and it is probably just as well that the vegetation obscured the sight of some of the sheer drops we passed so close to on this journey.  Through gaps in the forest we could see high mountains above us in all directions.  The distance was only 27 kms but the going was slow.  At one point the bus stopped and we all piled out to photograph the actual border crossing.

Out of Argentina...

and into Chile

Finally the bus wound its way downhill and we reached a wide river valley which was typical of mountain areas.  Lots of shingle banks and rushing icy blue-green waters.  Signs of civilisation began to appear as we started to see cattle and some sheep grazing on the grasslands beside the river.  Gradually the valley widened and we arrived in Puella, Chile to undergo the stringent customs and immigration checks at this border post.  We all had our bags inspected as Chile has no agricultural pests/viruses and wants to keep things that way. A bit like Australia and NZ.  There is a small settlement at Puella and a rather imposing hotel which caters for nature lovers and people making the crossing of the Andes.  It certainly has the feel of a mountain lodge and we enjoyed a hearty lunch there.

River valley close to Chile/Argentina border

Setting sail from Puella

At 4 pm we departed Puella on a large and comfortable catamaran and sailed across Lago Todos Los Santos (All Saints Lake). This one hour and forty minute journey took us to Petrohue and our final leg, by bus to Puerto Varas.  Unfortunately the clouds were lower here and we were unable to see the tops of the two huge volcanos, Mt Puntiagudo and the Fuji-like Mt Osorno, as we sailed up the lake. Nevertheless it was again a very scenic voyage. Around the shores of this lake are houses and farms which belong to the descendants of the original German settlers.  These people were allowed to remain when the area became a national park, but their only means of access is by boat.

Farm settlement, Logo Todos Los Santos

From Petrohue it is a short journey to Lake Llanquihue which is on the western fringes of the Andes.  We followed the shoreline of the lake for about an hour and finally reached our destination, Puerto Varas which is a large town on the southern shores of this huge lake.  Pato, our local guide, introduced us to the delights of Pisco Sour - yes you guessed it - pure alcohol, lime juice and sugar as we drove along.  By now we were into farmlands with the mountains behind us.  After a long day of travelling we were delighted to discover that the Hotel Cumbres was absolutely gorgeous, a sort of high end ski resort style of decor.  We had a good dinner and then made ourselves comfortable for a nightcap before a huge log fire in the lounge.  Everyone commented that it was a pity we were only spending one night here.  Very luxurious.

Last leg - Pato organises our bags in Petrohue

Our trip over the Andes was nothing short of spectacular and very well managed considering all the changes of transport and negotiation of international borders.  The Andes are awe-inspiring and the Patagonian Lakes are beautiful.  I feel so privileged to have been able to make this journey.