On arriving in Coyhaique, I was expecting to catch a bus straight onward to Puerto Cisnes. Unfortunately my bus was late and I missed the connection. Unbeknownst to me there was another bus that I may have been able to catch too, but after heading into town to search for some money that bus had also left. I was now stuck in town until the next day.
The township of Coyhaique, Chile.
As I moved through Chile, I started to discover that the state of transport in the South was really designed for the casual traveller. Most things only departed once per day (or twice at most), and for many destinations it was only once or twice per week.
Another area that I was still unfamiliar was in the Chilean peso and the exchange rate. I had neglected to look at the change-over from Argentine pesos and so was trying to take a rough guess based on hearsay. During this period of ignorance, I manage to purchase an icecream for almost $6 pesos Argentino (worth about $3 pesos there), and spend thousands of Chilean pesos. It was only in arriving in Puerto Cisnes that I gained a true appreciation for how expensive Chile really is.
Before moving around too much more, I went searching for a bed. Not wanting something too expensive, the first place I tried looked like a pub with some rooms out the back. It was somewhat better than this, but the price seemed acceptable and I moved in straight away. The accommodation section was separate to the pub, and while I was there the only people in the pub were the owner and his mates, playing cards and using rocks for their bets. It reminded me of some old English pub with the men seated around the table, smoking and drinking beer and chatting as they played their card games.
The Pub/B&B that I stayed in at Coyhaique.
After a night in Coyhaique and a super cold shower (a product of not turning on the gas heater just outside the bathroom door), I headed out for the morning to look over the town. Every shop is shut and people are few and far between. It seems a little strange to me, but because it is a Sunday I figure that this is what Chile is like on these days. After all, it was my first time in Chile for quite a while and I was still reasonably unfamiliar with the place.
It turns out that today was Election day and it is illegal for there to be any public gathering anywhere. So even the churches were closed up. I never learned about this until later. Instead I wandered around the town taking photos of anything interesting. Unfortuately, except for the huge rock mountain that overlooks the township. there was not much else to see. So after wandering around for a while, I slowly worked my way back to the bus station where I jump into the front passenger's seat for the four hour journey.
The Bus Journey
The driver was a Christian who lived in Puerto Cisnes, and when he found out that I loved photography and was also a Christian, he offered me the normally reserved position in the front seat. Not only this, but he also stopped at various places along the way so that I could get a good photo, slowing down every time that I wanted to take a shot. Due to mainly to the rain, it was hard to take good photos during the journey.
One of many waterfalls along the roadside.
The drive took us through rainforest running down into wide snow-fed streams, so clear that you could see the bottom rocks. Our road hugged the edge of mountains and hills as we wound our way along the edge of these amazing streams of crystal clear water. From one valley up over a ridge and down into another we went. Half of the journey on sealed roads and the rest on dirt.
As we wound our way onward, everything I saw reminded me of New Zealand. The road hugging the rivers, the rainforest scrambling down the slopes to meet the river, the incredible green, the constant rain, the breath-taking beauty. It was amazing.
Winding alongside the rivers.
After passing rivers, lakes, forests, mountains, and farms, we finally start winding our way along a large lake until we can finally see a small town lying ahead of us. We had made it to Port Cisnes. The late sun carressed the large lake with a glistening beauty and illuminated the township with a yellow tinge. It was 8pm and there were still a couple of hours of daylight left to the day. Now that I had arrived however, I had another challenge ahead of me.
A farmhouse that reminded me of New Zealand.
Finding the Team
The town of Puerto Cisnes was a lot larger than I had first expected. This meant that the Puerto Madryn Outreach Team could be anywhere. It looked like it was going to be a bit of searching to find them. I let out a short prayer that God would at least let me see one of them walking along the road or something so we would be able to catch up.
There is no bus terminal in Puerto Cisnes, so our bus driver was dropping people off at their doors. This meant that we were zig zagging all over town. I figured that this would be good as it would give me more of an idea of where to start looking for the others. But then as we crossed over an old wooden bridge two girls jumped out in front of the bus, waving and shouting. It was the team.
The two girls waiting on the left side of the bridge. Only their heads are visible over the railing.
Well, it was two of the girls from the team. They had all gone to the Internet and only just received my email telling them that I was heading their way. So these two girls volunteered to come down and try and find me. If I had been in the back I don't know if they would have been so enthusiastic in stopping the bus. However I was in the process of taking a photo, sitting in the front seat, and wearing my YWAM North T-Shirt. I guess I could not have made it any easier for the girls to recognise me.
So it was on the bridge that I got off, having finally made it to meet up with the Outreach team.
Other photos of the journey...
Gauchos (cowboys) riding along the road near a small town.
Cattle farm about half way along the journey.
Many cycle tourists travel through this area during summer.
Our dirt road, filled with potholes, hugged the river tightly for a long time.
Passing over another ridge on the sealed section of road.