Just gave back our 4×4 to ABA rental in Bariloche. It has been our home, vehicle , storage and companion for the last 5 weeks . Hilux , we’re gonna miss you.
Chaiten volcano in the background
Posted from Neuquen, Neuquén, Argentina.
Archive for the ‘4×4’ Category
Saying goodbye to our Toyota :(
05
Dec
Bariloche , the end …
05
Dec
Over 7500 km, 5 weeks, hostels, cabanas, campsites, lakes, mountains, glaciers, whales, birds, animals, trees, flowers, people, ferries, coming to an end.
Just arrived in Bariloche, returning our faithful Toyota tomorrow, had our celebration steak and beers.
Good night to all…
Posted from Neuquen, Neuquén, Argentina.
Enchanted Valley, Cordoba Pass
05
Dec
On the last leg to Bariloche, following Carolina’s tip, we took a short cut on a dirt road for the last 100 km to Bariloche and the road trip end. A few dozen km from the Andean snow, the Patagonia desert is home to amazing sandstone cliffs and formations. After a stop by a lake we spent the night at Villa Traful, a sleepy lakeside village.
Posted from Neuquén, Argentina.
Raining
05
Dec
Decided to camp out, seemed a lovely evening. Woke up to a soaking tent. We just threw the tent in the Toyota and drove off.
It kept on raining, so we kept on driving until we reached the argentinian border 80 km away. Once thru, we drove an extra 100 km on wet dirt roads in the rain. It was very pretty until we got a flat tire. 7500 km (5000 of dirt roads and trails) and we got a flat 150 km from the trip end. And while raining.
A park guard helped us change the tire and we were all over his new puppies.
Off to a hostel in San Marting de Los Andes to dry up…
San Martin de Los Andes
Posted from San Martin de Los Andes, Neuquén, Argentina.
Reloncavi fjord cliff drive
03
Dec
Another incredible scary dirt drive, 50 km 4 meters wide dirt trail along a 300 m cliff . Ended up at a weird wooden boutique cabin with grass growing on the roof.
Chile backroads
03
Dec
From Hornopiren we drove up the coast looking for a side dirt road that appeared only on one map out of four we had. Turned out to be an amazing coastal trail, connecting fishing and clamming villages. 50 km in 4 hours, we had to stop every few minutes to take a photo look at the birds and houses, or to look for interesting sea shells.
Last part of the carraterra austral: on the ferry
02
Dec
Yael and me took the Toyota on an eight hour ferry to Hornopiren to finish the trail. On the way we saw seals, pelicans and penguins ! In the coastal waters.
We got into ‘town’ early in the evening and found a nice run down hotel across the beach. Children were playing soccer underneath the volcano and from the hotel i counted over fifteen kinds of birds in 5 minutes; swans, falcons, several kinds of gulls, egrets, ducks, geese, kingfishers and more…
Pumalin park
02
Dec
The largest private park in the world, Pumalin was bought by an american billioner and turned into a nature park. Some of it was covered in ash from Chaiten volcano in the last two years, and is now being reopened, although most is accessible only on foot or by boat. We drove thru an amazing rainforest on dirt roads and slept in a campground that’s still closed. We were the only tourists.
Bad weather on the carraterra
29
Nov
After a sunny start, we hit a couple of ‘interesting’ days here. On the morning that we were supposed to be on a boat to see caves, the weather turned and the boat owner was amazed we even bothered to show up. Back in the Toyota, we drove thru a snowstorm to our next village.
Posted from Aisén Province, Chile.