CHILE 2004

Chile would be our next destination as Dick’s request was to take a horseback trek in the Andes Mountains. Being in the southern hemisphere, we planned to travel in April, which would be their Fall. It definitely turned out to be a beautiful time of year there.

Our overnight flight landed in Santiago at sunrise. Seeing the Andes Mountains from the air as the sun was rising was a sight to behold. We made our way to Puerto Varas on a short regional flight and spent our first day in Chile there, a small town in the Lakes District with a “German” feel to it. Campo Aventura, located in the Cochomo Valley, would be our base camp for our 3 day horseback trip into the mountains. We were picked up in Puerto Varas by minivan, to head to the lodge. All was well until, whoa! The road was closed due to a rock slide that happened over night. Lucky us, a path in the road was almost cleared for us to pass through. Once we arrived at Campo Aventura, we had to walk across a rickety wooden bridge across the Cochamo River to reach the Riverside Lodge. The scenery was amazing with clear rivers, beautiful mountains, and waterfalls. We thought we had seen all the beauty, until we headed up to the Mountain Lodge of Campo Aventura on horseback the next day. Our 5-6 hour horse ride took us on a truly rugged trail, with rocks, mud, river crossings, and rain at times. When the trail opened up onto the La Junta Valley we could not believe the beauty in front of us. The mountains were truly majestic, granite pinnacles with the Andes Mountains behind them. We stood there in awe, silenced by the scale and beauty of the location. The lodge was very primitive, having no electricity. Our few days here would be in complete solitude, to take in the scenery and visit with the other guests. The night before we were to ride the horses back to the Riverside Lodge, there were torrential rains causing the river to rise to a dangerous level. There was no way we would be able to cross it on horses. The only way out was to transport us across the river on a swing attached to cable. The horses were taken down river a bit where they swam across the river and picked us up on the other side. It was nerve wracking sitting on the swing with the river a few feet below. What an adventure!

​Next stop was Punta Arenas, the southernmost point in Chile, in the Patagonia region. We were warned about a hole in the ozone layer above Punta Arenas, so sunscreen was a MUST for us. All to see Torres del Paine National Park. TOTALLY WORTH IT! We felt like we were in a beautiful place at the bottom of the world. This park is totally remote, not easy to get to. The plus… less crowded. Driving through the park seeing turquoise water, glaciers, and plenty of wildlife, we finally came to the Paine mountain range. Three soaring granite summits, lined together in a row creating “Torres del Paine”. They are known as Torres d’Agostini, Torres Central, and Torres Monzino. We were so close to the beginning point of a trip to Antarctica, a trip on our bucket list, maybe in our lifetime. That would complete visiting all seven continents!

Although we could have spent so much more time in Torres del Paine, it was time to head back to Santiago to spend Easter with a little side trip to Valparaiso. We were not impressed with Valparaiso, well it is a port city. But the beach area was nice…. In Santiago there was a re-enactment of Jesus’ resurrection happening in a park which was quite interesting to say the least. We had our last Chilean food before heading back to the US on an overnight flight. While waiting at the gate, our passports “somehow” got misplaced. Dick was not too amused, his claustrophic side kicked in as there is only one flight a day back. Someone found the passports and turned them into the gate agent as the flight started boarding, whew! We were heading home…until next trip!