Valparaiso, Chile – on a short list for my next home

I had been forewarned about this city. I was told I’d love it. After a (splurged $70) flight, taxi, 2hr bus & another taxi l, I arrived in Valparaiso, Chile, just as the sun was setting, from Puerto Varas. I’d seen photos. I was so excited. No 1 – it was a proper city but not too big. No 2 – while I loved my Patagonia time, now that it was over, I was ready for the next thing. And while I zigzagged north throughout Chile & Argentina, it wasn’t an accident I ended up here next. I carried a strong suspicion I’d love this place. But every time I told folks I was heading to Valparaiso, the first question was “no Vina Del Mar?” From what I’m told, “Vina”’ is a bourgey beach town w boulevards & palm trees just 15mins north of Valparaiso. Maybe a day trip, I’d tell them. But in 5 days, I could never draw myself away from Valparaiso to visit (I did see it as I drove out of town & I’m satisfied w my decision). The first night, over dinner & drinks, i deleted over 400 photos & it was grey skies that day. It’s so picturesque. I compare it to a weird mix of Havana & Bogota. Havana, for its lovely colors, run down charm, history & ocean views. Bogota, for its ridiculously amazing street art & mountains. But Valaparaiso is like the alternative hippy poor mans cousin to both. It’s a port city so the ocean views aren’t ideal & beach access sucks unless you get a little bit out of town. You don’t feel quite the history here but for the still 8-operating funicular elevators although I took none & walked up the steep hills & escaleras, knee be damned, bc the lines were insane (so much for the earthquake scare). No mountains but rather hills but the hills make for the beautiful views & good work for your legs. The street art doesn’t seem to be as impressive, celebrated, protected or as professional as Bogota’s IMHO based solely upon 5 days of endless wandering but Bogota is a massive city & this is on a much smaller scale. But my goodness, there is something in the water, hills, street art, colors, run down charm, etc that is just intoxicating. This is a place I could live.

All I did was wander the neighborhoods looking for drop dead gorgeous views like this one, of course taking plenty of time to stop for the occasional bite & drink

Puerto Varas, Chile – the last stop in Patagonia

What started as a roughly 2wk trip to Patagonia beginning in Punta Arenas, Chile with no real concrete plans beyond Torres del Paine, has turned into a month-long jaunt from Southern to Northern Patagonia back & forth across the Andes border between Chile & Argentina, & finally ending in the small Chilean town of Puerto Varas in its Lake District. To be frank, had the weather in the South not forced me out, I probably would still be traveling down there. Or quite possibly camped out at El Chalten. But alas, it’s time to move on to other things.
But first… Puerto Varas. It’s a small little town, more of an up & comer in the Chilean Lake District that supposedly takes a distant 2nd place to the star Pucon (which I skipped). I opted to spend too much money traveling for 12hrs from Bariloche to Puerto Varas by alternating between 7 buses, 3 boats & 1 hike to cross several lakes in between as well as the border. I could’ve taken a significantly cheaper 6hr bus but this way gets me on the water (a lot) as well as provides a front row seat to some massive Andes volcanoes. The more mountains & water, the better. Unfortunately the stunning views of 2 massive volcanoes on the other side of the lake from the town of Puerto Varas never materialized while I was there due to constant clouds & rain. Ahh well… I had the views from the boat.

But the clouds were not kind to me… best view all day atop Volcan Osorno – a great ski resort in July & August

Trust me, there’s 2 massive volcanoes on the other side

Torres Del Paine, Chile – the W trek Muse style

During my extensive pre-trip research after reading multiple travel books & reviewing several online sources, I devised a massive list with my notes on anyplace that sounded somewhat intriguing. I still use it as a guide to this day as I discuss with fellow travelers their favorite spots & I decide where to go next. Some of those places just stuck with me for various reasons – a quirky description, a can’t-miss experience or breathtaking photos. Torres Del Paine in Chile’s Southern Patagonia region fell into the last bucket. Googled photos of the national park’s mountainous massif had been implanted in my brain & I would literally dream about this place. So there was no chance I was missing it. After only visiting Santiago in Chile & skipping some other places up north I really wanted to visit, I hopped a flight to Punta Arenas in no man’s land on the Southern most tip of SA, then a bus to Puerto Natales, & finally another bus to Torres Del Paine. I felt like I couldn’t spend any more time further north as the high summer season in Patagonia ended with March as April brings fall weather & that means 3 things: (1) fewer tourists which is great for me bc I don’t have to book in advance (this is a recurring theme) as trail access & lodging typically shut down after April; (2) colder temperatures & more unpredictable weather as you often see 4 seasons in one day although I clearly missed out on summer; & (3) leaves changing color so even prettier photos. Yes please.
Parque Nacional Torres Del Paine is famous for this great massif contained within consisting of sheer granite towers of Las Torres on one side & the multicolored Los Cuernos on the other side. And oh yeah, the famous massif is surrounded by other mountains, glaciers, lakes, pampas & the entire park is just drop dead beautiful. You see it, you want to be in it. So of course, trekking is the thing to do & there are a ton of hiking trails. The most popular backpacker trek is referred to the “W” hike – 4-5 days of hikes taking in a glacier, a steep valley & the mirador Las Torres. So most backpackers who do this come equipped with tents, sleeping bags, mattress pads, cooking stoves, all food & drink, etc & camp outside in between the hikes. Now I manage to pack a lot of shit in my relatively small Kelty backpack to take me from oceans to mountains & everyplace in between but I sure as hell do not have room for that crap & I don’t happen to own any of it anyways. However, most people I met who were camping came specifically only to TDP or spent 2 months doing the same in Patagonia or elsewhere in SA. Camping’s not really my thing. Especially in freezing temperatures & high winds as it was every night overnight while I visited for a week accompanied by periodic snow & rain. No thanks. But I love trekking & I wanted to do the trails. So with a little bit of research & a lot more money, you can do a comfy version of the W & stay in lodges at the base of the massif & in the pampas & do the exact same treks but sleep in a bed with heat & hot showers. Doing the hikes as daytrips after a good night of sleep & with only a daypack enabled me to make great time, as did hanging out at high-altitude for 6wks prior to these hikes that start at sea level (what a breeze), & I’d knock out 8-9hr hikes per day as opposed to 4-5hrs the crazy folks suffer through each day. So that’s what I did. Happily. And I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

My first view of the massif driving into the park

I sat in this valley for a lunch break on a long hike & ended up sitting for 1.5hrs as I watched 3 different avalanches from this mountain. Amazing.

Las Torres, unfortunately clouded over by the time I made it up there. It was probably the toughest hike that ended with an hour long steep scramble up boulders on the side of the mountain (in the rain). Just another reason to go back.

I stayed in this gorgeous 10-room lodge on the pampas overlooking the massif & they own a bunch of horses & offer horse riding trips. I thought that would be a different way to see the area so I inquired about doing one. Twice. Both times they “couldn’t find the horses”. I’m sorry what? There’s a stable. But the stable is only for the racehorses. Every morning the cowboys, guides & bucaneros go in search of the tour horses as soon as the sun rises (at 8:30). Sometimes it’s quick as they haven’t gone far but sometimes the horses make it across to the other side of the (deep) river bc the grass is better on the other side (isn’t it always!) & every now & then, they make it to this other place they like that’s 20km away. So sometimes it takes hours so morning rides are not possible. Umm. Why not just expand the stable so they don’t have to chase after the horses everyday? Thoughtful pause. Well part of the culture here is to chase the horses every morning. That’s the job I want. A bucanero in Chile chasing horses every morning. I’m not sure it gets any better than that.

Lollapalooza – Chile style in Santiago

Chile was my first post-Bolivia stop & specifically, Santiago, & it was no coincidence that Lollapalooza Chile was going down that very same weekend. Those who know me know I love music & live shows typically in small venues but I make the exception for outdoor music festivals as they are one of my happy places. I’ve attended Lollapalooza Chicago every year with friends who happily tag along so attending Lolla Chile felt a little bit like going home, & although I was on my own this time, it didn’t disappoint.
So I enjoyed Santiago but I’m not sure how much of that was driven by my music festival love hangover versus the city itself. I did quite a bit of touring but probably not as much as I should have as I had to take some time to research my next stop (Patagonia!!!). I found it to be a modern city with a phenomenal metro system, really great food, buzzing plazas yet quiet spots in the middle of the madness to take a quick hike up to a beautiful viewpoint.