This Adventure Called Life: Coyhaique and on to Villa La Tapera

La familia en Coyhaique

Coyhaique may have been a respite for us, but we were not fully resting- I've found there has to be a balance of resting with socializing. Thankfully the non-resting was also enjoyable and we got to meet and talk to multiple people who were helpful and insightful. We stayed at (you guessed it) a friend of a friend's house, and she couldn't have been a more gracious and wonderful hostess. Sandra not only shared her home, she also shared her beautiful art pieces and life's story with us, helping us learn more about the Sin Represas movement and how many people in the area are trying (with some success) to keep Patagonia's river ways flowing free and wild.

Sin Represas HQ

We integrated into the family quickly, enjoying Cassandra's cooking and Francisco's stories from work, talking about life in general. We stayed longer than planned, but in the end had to keep moving after a whopping 6 days off. We didn't say goodbye because Sandra doesn't like them, though received a heartfelt note from her instead. As we wandered out of town, I was sad to be leaving the lovely family we had come to know but happy to be moving again.

Looking back on Coyhaique

Reserva Nacional Coyhaique

Giant trees in the Reserva

We got to stretch our legs for a bit walking across town, and then pushed uphill in the direction of Reserva Nacional Coyhaique. The reserve is right outside of town, and the young woman at the entrance station was concerned with our questions about how to get out of the reserve on the other side. We talked with her for a bit and then, convincing her that we would do the loop she strongly suggested, walked a few kilometers into the park and found a lovely little area to camp alongside a small pond. We looked at some maps that evening and discussed our options. The next morning, we headed further up the trail, bushwhacked a bit across to the reserve's edge, and promptly continued north along an old dirt track that we found. It is a struggle for the people in the parks to understand what we are doing, and they always want us to go on a loop hike, so sometimes we have to deceive to be able to continue walking not on roads. It's unfortunate, though with the lack of a trail/accountability system in Chile it hasn't been too much of an issue yet. As we continue north, we came upon a police estancia, and they came out-surprised to see us coming in from their back fields. We asked them if we can go to the road, and they allowed us to pass through.

Walking along two-track

We took a break at the road to discuss our options to move on, not wanting to push our luck much further. We decided to stick to the road for a bit and then turned off onto a two track dirt road that immediately went down across a stream and back up a steep grade for a couple miles. We went up and up, then the road plateaued and we wandered across open fields to where the road ended at someone's home. After talking with the home owner, he offered us a track to a town directly east of us, not in the direction we wanted to go. We decided to back track a bit though, to another two track ending and then hop across a couple of fields to another two track which eventually led us in the direction we wanted- north! Thank goodness for GPS and some decent maps for this section. After scaring some cows, a good night's sleep, and being admonished by another local as we made our way down his driveway, we made it to another paved road. It had been a tough stretch people-wise, so we were hesitant to follow a route we had found, but decided to go for it, and were not disappointed.

Moises and Fidgit in the morning

We wandered down the driveway of yet another estancia and were greeted by a kind man who offered us a place to sleep as well as some directions the next morning. A lovely way to start a chilly morning is trying to keep up with a former track and field stand-out while carrying a pack, whew! But we made it, and Moises was very helpful in us getting over the pass without many wrong turns.

We walked into Manihuales the next day, ready for some empanadas and cleaner clothes. We found Moises' wife who runs a hospedaje, and she helped us navigate the small town, and invited us over for onces that evening. We left late the next morning filled with food for our horribly long road walk to Villa La Tapera. We usually try to avoid road walks as they have a tendency to make us grumpy, though had to road walk this stretch because it was either that, or illegally cross out of and then back into Chile. We opted to keep it legal. As we wandered along Ruta 7 for multiple days getting passed by multiple vehicles, I day dreamed about what not being on a busy road was like. As per usual in life, the hours passed slowly but soon our road walk was over and we had made it along Rio Cisnes to the lovely and small town of La Tapera.