Lesser Patagonian Trail : Villa Amengual to Lago Verde

Kilometres this section : 125

Kilometres completed : 1,728

After doing 40km or more each day for a while, I am taking it easy for a bit, more like 35 or even less.  So a late start from Villa Amengual, on yet another gravel surfaced minor road, the X25.  It follows Río Cisnes upstream, so yes I have to climb, but it is mostly gentle enough, the river running through a steep sided, tree lined valley with the road some way up one side.  Not the most exciting walk, the most notable moment is when I am stopped for lunch and realise that large numbers of little red beetles are crawling over my stuff, and indeed me.  They seem harmless enough, looking a lot like my favourite bugs, ladybirds - these things seem unable to fly though.  Today I had planned to camp by the river, but it becomes clear that isn't happening, even when I am only a hundred metres or so from it the water is still a long way down.  Well, I get water from a little stream instead, and find a lovely grassy spot for the tent.  A large fox watches me set it up, the animal doesn't seem at all concerned by my presence - it is not getting any of my food though!  And yes, I do find numerous beetles have hitched a ride in my pack.

On a lovely sunny day, I continue to climb on the X25, the banks of the river growing less steep and the surroundings looking increasingly dry.  To yet another village, La Tapera, more bonus biscuits for me.  And for the first time in several days, I leave the public roads behind.  Obviously this means I immediately have to ford the Cisnes, well it is broad but only calf deep.  And yes, the dirt track I am on climbs steeply up to over 1,000m, and even the horseflies - tábanos they're called - are back.  For all this it's good to be back in the wild, and there is a nice view from the hill.  Of course, from there I descend again, to a lovely camp spot by a pond fed by a little waterfall.

Another river to ford, Río Cáceres - I don't see any other water on my map until maybe the end of the day, so take the opportunity to fill my bottles.  Then glorious walking, I climb slowly through terrain that is sometimes pretty arid looking, at others green with trees.  I'm making my way up to a pass, snowy mountains on one side, to the other the bare, and extremely pointy, Cerro de los Contrabandistas.  As with the Ruta de los Pioneros a few weeks back, I often pass little parches of pasture, and indeed, on reaching the pass, some 1'240m above sea level, it is an open, grassy place, complete with cows grazing.  A couple of cowboys - well, cowgirl in one case - even turn up, presumably to check on the animals, I explain where I am going and I think they are OK with it.  Honestly, I often have no idea what the people out in the countryside here are saying.  Anyway, down - very steeply from the pass, and obviously I am following a river, as I have for most of the day, including multiple fords.  There were even substantial lakes...

I've failed a bit when it comes to only averaging 35km per day, my camp next to a river is only 20km or so from the village of Lago Verde, end of this section.  Well, good to take it easy - relatively, there's some steep climbing, still on a vehicle track, then onto a horse trail which descends precipitously, I am glad of my poles.  Stopping for a break, I notice little red berries down at ground level - wild strawberries!  Apparently this species is one of two that were hybridised to create the commonly eaten variety - the original is tasty, but small.  Anyway, not far to Lago Verde, and wow, not much of a place, I am worried I won't find anywhere to stay, but no, near the pioneer monument there's an hospedaje, 25 whole dollars here.  Mind you that is with full board - yes this involves much potato, although dinner on the second night is a bit of a change, stir fried chicken with rice - plenty of carbs either way.

Lesser Patagonian Trail : Coyhaique to Villa Amengual

Kilometres this section : 161

Kilometres completed : 1,603

I am not feeling terribly enthusiastic about the next few days, as the only route I could find north from Coyhaique involves lots of road walking, much of it along the Carretera Austral highway. Had I managed to walk the trail through Cerro Castillo, this would have been a nice change and a bit of a rest, as it is I just walked on roads for three days, it could get a little boring. But in fact, a few km out of town the traffic heads off towards Puerto Aysén on route 240, and the Carretera Austral becomes another gravel track, pleasant walking through very green country, grassy meadows with abundant wild flowers, woods, with of course towering hills all around. I think it must rain reasonably often here, in fact I get a few showers, on what is a very windy day - fortunately my route is mainly sheltered from it. After lunch I turn off the 'highway' onto route X555, no traffic at all here, and the sun comes out, all good. A nice camp spot to finish too, plenty of grass growing in the woods here.

More gravel road - the X45 now, through hilly, wooded country, up to a pass then down along a river valley. Seems to be quite populous around here, lots of little homesteads, and villages too, Villa Ortega yesterday, and now I am approaching the implausibly named Ñirehuao. As I decend towards the place, there's a really rather awesome view beyond it to the east, a broad, barren looking plain, with many rocky promontories sticking out of it. Maybe the tops of ancient mountains, almost drowned by the land that has somehow risen among them. It is a bit disappointing to turn back west, impressive enough though the actual snowy mountain that way is. And again, to camp, a nice spot by a river tonight.

A little way north the next morning, and another little settlement, El Gato. Not much more than a single farm here, but it does have a school, and even a shop - I get some extra biscuits, why not. From here, the road climbs steeply, this is rocky country, sheer cliff faces all around. Then down and past a substantial mine, with its own little collection of houses for the workers. Not sure what is being mined, but it looks like people have been digging for a while in these parts, I follow a river through a gorge, and on the far bank there are several dark tunnels leading into the rock. It's a wet and windy day, the rain not heavy, but less than pleasant when the wind is driving it at me, thankfully that isn't too often. And, another day of easy walking done, camping by the substantial Río Mañihuales tonight.

The last day of this section is a return to the Carretera Austral, still only a single carriageway with not much traffic, but a modern tarmac surface. As usual I wonder why most hikers apparently hate this kind of walking, for me it makes a nice change, Indeed I can really power along. So good to be able to walk with my whole foot, touch down on the heel, roll forward, push off with the toes, and at no point is there any chance of skidding on a loose stone. A lovely walk too, sheer rock faces, tall mountains and rushing rivers. It's another cloudy, damp day, though the rain is never heavy and the sun comes out often enough. Still, very green here, and wow, quite a lot of bamboo growing in these parts. And, so easy this, I finish before 5pm, hmm, Villa Amengual really is not big, I walk around the whole place, not seeing a restaurant, or an open shop... wait, here's a place with a sign saying 'supermercado'? Well, it is a minimarket at best, but, they also have rooms - 15 dollars a night! And indeed dinner, which involves much potato, and given the minimarket is right there, I get beer at shop prices. I should move in to this place!

Lesser Patagonian Trail : Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez to Coyhaique

Kilometres this section : 150

Kilometres completed : 1,443

After finding the last eight days or so of walking very hard work indeed, I decide to take things a bit easier, from Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez it is around 40km to another small town, Villa Cerro Castillo, and I am doing it in two days.  So, I don't even start until 11:30, walking north on provincial road X735.  As is often the way, the road is a lovely walk, following Río Ibáñez but without any need for steep up and down.  I stop for lunch by the astonishing Salto del Río Ibáñez, vast quantities of water gushing down the rocky hillside.  Then a gentle enough climb, onto route X723 which runs alongside Río Claro in a dramatic gorge.  Then up to a pass, the road levels off despite the rocky cliffs rising on all sides, and an early camp, not even 6pm yet.  I am so lazy.  I don't work much harder the next day of course, a little more road, then one of the best footpaths I've encountered here, passing between Lago Central and Lago Tamango, before climbing into glorious natural parkland, pine trees and grassy clearings, with a view north to the towering mountains I'll be walking through next.  The route is regularly marked by poles with red and white stripes, and the gates even have steps for walkers!  By mid-afternoon I am in Villa Cerro Castillo, another lovely campsite, and a fine dinner, a massive salmon fillet with 'mil hojas de papas' - basically pommes dauphinoise.

Right, into the mountains then, this route is supposed to be pretty special, through the Cerro Castillo national park.  Six kilometres out of town to the trailhead, I am expecting to have to pay to get in, but in fact it's much worse, the official simply won't accept my plan to walk north.  Apparently there is a rule, you see, this route can only be walked the other way - from here it would be difficult, and steeply uphill.  The horror!  Well, no help for it, I retrace my steps, then head up the Carretera Austral.  It certainly is a very scenic road, climbing via a series of switchbacks to a viewpoint looking back over Río Ibáñez.  From here, easy walking up to a high point, between dramatic walls of rock, and a gentle descent alongside a river.  Eventually I reach Las Horquetas, the other end of the oh so difficult trail - recommended pace for it is four days, I gather, although my route involved veering off north before here.  Well, an easy enough day at least, and I find a sneaky spot to camp by the river without difficulty.

I think I am only 60km or so from Coyhaique, along the Carretera Austral - it is annoying not to be on my planned route, which has waypoints every 5km so I always know the distance pretty well.  So anyway, my thinking is, rather than walk the highway all the way there, I can detour onto minor roads, avoid the traffic, and even get back to my route this afternoon.  Well, the first detour, on route X678, works well, it is indeed traffic free, barring a couple of friendly Carabineros.  Lovely countryside here too, seems more agricultural than what I have seen prior to now, lots of cows and mown fields with bales of fresh hay.  Back to the highway, wow, lots of cars now, I can't wait to get off it, onto route X674 now.  Again charming, through green Valle Simpson, with mountains ahead.  But when, getting into late afternoon, I see a sign reading, 'Villa Frei 20km' I am not best pleased, this means I am still nearly 60km from Coyhaique.  Nothing for it but a forced march until 8pm or so before camping.  From Villa Frei I take route X648, there are signs telling me I am on the Sendero de Chile, well nice to be on a named trail, and indeed it is a pretty route, winding past numerous lakes.  I can see why this way is so much longer than the highway, the road snakes back and forth, but it's pretty flat and I make good time.  I could really do without the resurfacing work on the last 10km past the airport though.  But I make it before 6pm, time enough to check in to a hostal, and have a shower before heading out for beer and yes, a giant burger.  Coyhaique - a fun name for non-native speakers of Spanish to say - is the provincial capital, big enough to have supermarkets and a variety of restaurants.  Still not the most impressive place, but good enough for me.

Incidentally, keen readers (ha) may notice that I have changed the name of this little adventure.  It turns out that Mr. Dudeck, who came up with the name 'Greater Patagonian Trail', feels a... strong sense of ownership of the name, and the idea of a collection of routes with that name.  Out of respect for that, and given that I am walking my own route which only sometimes follows his, I am changing the name.  At time of writing, posts prior to this one still use the GPT name, but I will go back and edit them at some point, adding a note to the first post.

Greater Patagonian Trail : Cochrane to Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez

Kilometres this section : 154

Kilometres completed : 1,293

A few km of road takes me out of Cochrane, and to the entrance of Parque Nacional Tamango, I am expecting to pay a fee to get in, but the office is empty, it is New Year's Day I suppose.  There are various trails running through the park and I head off along one, Los Carpinteros, it runs alongside Rio Cochrane, then another trail, Los Coigues, skirts the western end of the huge Lago Cochrane.  Of course this means a series of near vertical ascents and descents, but here it is a lovely walk, these tracks are well maintained, there are wooden stairs and bridges, and someone has even cut back the grass!  The views over the lake to forested hills and snowy mountains are simply majestic, and I even see a huemul, a member of an endangered species of deer native to the region.  Only problem, it is slow going, I worry about getting to the next town in the four days I've planned, which would be annoying as I have a hotel booked.  So, on leaving the well maintained trails, I really need the next bit to be walkable.  Thankfully I get a well used path, even flat for a bit, then a steep climb on a track clearly used by vehicles, good enough, and from the high point, easy walking through lovely green valleys.  Still I only make 33km before camping, I will need to do better tomorrow.

My second day of the section starts with an easy, pleasant 20km on road X83, into Parque Nacional Patagonia.  Then onto Sendero Valle Avilés, following the river Avilés upstream, but this is not so bad, almost all up over many km, and not much down so the ascent is gentle enough, I make a decent pace.  The route has me wading the river just before I plan to camp, I hope it is OK, but in fact I hit a nasty crossing of a creek a few km earlier.  It's only a couple of metres across, but the middle is waist deep and the current is so strong, I can't get stable enough to take another step, I try and over I go, and end up floundering to the other side somehow.  A good thing it is a warm day, no harm done, and I cross the river itself easily enough.  I walk a couple more km to dry off, making for a rather better 41km today.  Lots of fords on the route for tomorrow, hopefully nothing that bad again.

As it turns out, the fords are OK, but there are so many of them.  It's a long walk down Valle Hermoso, it is indeed pretty, a broad gravel bed with a braided river threading through it, easy enough but with repeated crossings, I keep having to stop to empty stones out of my shoes.  Also the wretched insects are back, I think the spray helps a bit.  To Lago Verde, more blue than green, and of course, staying close to a lake means a brutal slog up to Portezuelo La Gloria, and it's just as steep going down, then it's time for more gravel and repeated wading.  It is very nice to reach Laguna Jeinimeni, which has an actual flat dirt road along the bank.  This leads to a popular campsite with various wooden shelters, and unbelievable numbers of caterpillars, I can't stop here though.  There's still 10 more km along a minor road, and I camp at 8 again.  But now, only 44km remain before that hotel room in Chile Chico.

It's so good to walk a gravel surfaced minor road, no need to wade raging rivers or watch every step lest I trip.  I can walk and enjoy the stupendous mountain scenery, and pause by Laguna Los Flamencos, where there are indeed flamingos.  The road follows Rio Jeinimeni, which is also the border with Argentina - I think I could wade it but probably best not.  All told, a lovely walk this, people even give me things, water from one nice lady, then a car stops, three locals I met yesterday, plus German Sophia who I walked with for a while, they give me almonds!  Only a shame it is so long, honestly I screwed up here, should have taken five days for this.  Well, a forced march gets me to Chile Chico, there is beer, and carne mechada, served like a hotdog, then because I am still hungry, on top of chips.  All good.  Indeed Chile Chico is a lovely place, on the shore of Lago General Carrera, Chile's largest lake, a great place for a rest.  I paddle in the chilly water, climb up to the Mirador de las Banderas, but mostly just relax.  Then, a vehicle journey!  A decent sized ferry takes me across the lake, to Puerto Ingeniero Ibáñez - nice to see a town named for an engineer.  It is not the biggest place in the world, but the cabaña I have booked is lovely, and the site has what seems to be the only open restaurant in this tiny town.  They provide me with an enormous grilled trout fillet, oh yes.

Greater Patagonian Trail : Paso Mayer to Cochrane

Kilometres this section : 141

Kilometres completed : 1,139

Oh my god, La Ruta de los Pioneros. Barring that first few km from Cabo Froward, this is basically my first named trail in South America, and it is a recognised part of the GPT too - and wow, it is hard work. To begin with, it runs along the banks of Lago Christie, then Lago Alegre, so it should be flat, right? No, there's crazy up and down from the start, such hard work, I am barely making 2km per hour. An achievement at least, I pass the 1000 km point of my walk! Now and then the trail descends all the way down to the lake, and sometimes there's a little homestead, only accessible by this crazy trail or boat, I even meet a guy at one. Near these places there are hoofprints on the trail, I guess people ride out from the homesteads, in other parts it is badly overgrown. Not much sign of hikers, this is rather sad, clearly lots of work went into this some time ago, I walk over many log walkways over the course of a long day, some thirteen hours - but only 33km done 

Second day on the Ruta, I follow Rio Bravo upstream, of course this doesn't mean the trail is flat, but rather more more insanely steep up and down. Here and there I pass a derelict wooden hut, set in a little patch of green pasture, with fencing all made of rough-hewn wood, the former homes of the pioneers perhaps? I'm making slow progress again, although there is wildlife here to encourage me, specifically mosquitos and huge, vile flies. There always seems to be one buzzing around, sometimes more like half a dozen, if I pause they take the chance to land on me and start feeding, on sweat I think. They're easy and, I confess, satisfying to kill at least. At last a flat bit, I walk along the river, then of course have to wade the thing several times, the water is of course snowmelt, so freezing cold and the current is strong. It's a real relief to climb up towards a pass, the rocky terrain seems to mean no flies.

A cold night, then up to that pass, this is more like it, fine mountainous walking. Somewhat worryingly, my map says the pass takes me back into Argentina, well, the Chilean border guard said it would be fine, and indeed there's nobody here. A bit further, and another pass takes me back to Chile, and alas back down, into the land of flies. The ghastly things are so big that when I allow one to prepare to feed - necessary for me to successfully swat it - I can actually see the horrid proboscis spear into my flesh. I kill innumerable numbers of them, but there are always more. The walking is downhill now at least, then actually flat, it would be nice except there are so many deadfall trees, plus overgrown sections too, I lose the path several times, this would be impossible without my GPS. It is such a relief to finally finish the Ruta, coming onto a road with an awesome view of the Calluqueo Glacier and the laguna of the same name. A few more km before camping, only 40km left to Cochrane and civilization.

The gravel road to Cochrane is scenic enough, mostly running alongside Rio Tranquilo, easy walking of course but I do feel a bit tired for some reason. Well, I make it to town before 6, and find a lovely little campsite, time for a rest then. In fact, I decide to spend three nights here, which also means New Year's Eve will be spent here rather than out in the wild. Wow it is good to eat proper food, and not have to walk for hours. Cochrane is a charming little town nestled among the mountains, lots of tourists here again, and as seems to be normal for such places, there are some nice bars including one with its own brewery, I approve. I buy bug spray, and new socks, four of the old pairs are in holes after the Ruta. A look at GPT guide has that route at 5/5 for difficulty, seems right, so it hopefully can't get worse - also good is that the next few stops are all only four days or so apart. Bring on the next one!

Greater Patagonian Trail : Tres Lagos to Paso Mayer

Kilometres this section : 223

Kilometres completed : 998

I was pleased to see the river running through Tres Lagos has plenty of water, a fair current too. It flows from the north, where I'm heading of course, hopefully a sign that there will be water - the next section is exciting in various ways, it would be good not to worry about being able to drink. In fact, my route follows Rio Chalía all morning, along what I guess is a glaciated valley, steep sides of bare stone and gravel, with a broad, flat bottom that is relatively lush with vegetation. It's a pleasant walk, and easy again though my pack is heavy, along provincial road 31, another gravel track with little traffic. The wind is not so bad today, although as usual it gets stronger in the afternoon, biting cold of course as I climb up to an arid high plain, no way I am camping here. It is nearly 8 by the time I start to lose height again, and find a shallow bowl where hopefully the somewhat weaker wind won't break my tent.

The tent survives, I get up and keep walking Ruta Provincial 31, the wind blows, I am approaching snow-tipped mountains, but honestly now my ambition is limited to, going somewhere that isn't windy all the time. Well, it takes until the afternoon, now on a track leading to an estancia, it follows Rio Tar upstream, and not only is there water, but a spectacular steep sided canyon, idyllic grassy terrain underfoot too. Before long I am into one of the challenges of this section, 80km or so with no path. I leave the river, and what I expected to be a gentle climb turns out to cross many arroyos - dry streams, some of them very deep, progress is slow. Thankfully after a km or two things improve, I make a good pace for an hour before camping, and, whisper it, there's not much wind. From here I am relieved to find that as I hoped, I am able to head due north over a flat plain, grass, sand and stones underfoot, it isn't too bad at all. Plenty of water too, little lakes and ponds dot the landscape, and I wade a substantial river at one point - only ankle deep, but cold and with a strong current. Sadly in the afternoon the wind returns, crazy strong as ever, I am getting a little tired of wind now. Nothing doing but to press on, following a stream for a while, also tracks made by alpacas, wild horses, or both. A circular dent in the ground near that stream is the best shelter I can find to camp in.

I am getting through the wilderness, a few ups and downs, I wade another river, climb a bit then descend to another river which I follow upstream. A lovely place this, horses and alpacas graze on the grassy banks, and the wind is... tolerable. The climb is gentle enough, though at times I need to scale the banks, and more than once wade across. As I ascend, the terrain grows bleaker, eventually the river runs between lifeless slopes of sand, gravel and stone, with patches of snow here and there. Up to a pass, 1500m is my highest point of the trail so far, has anyone ever been here? No sign of a cairn, so I make one, then descend, wow, very steep and narrow on the other side. I lose altitude fast, good as it is time to camp, a flat patch of moss will do. Continuing downstream, the surroundings grow greener, and in an awesome moment, an eagle hovers in the air mere feet away. From below I hear the bleating of sheep, and in the distance there are trees - I have missed trees, not least the way they provide shelter from the wind. Before long I am on a proper gravel track, wow, I got through the wilderness. I follow tracks all day, lovely walking through the forest, then the magnificent broad valley of Rio Mayer, high snowy mountains to either side. Not a bad place to camp.

15km along provincial road 81, lovely walking with Rio Mayer to my left, but today a few of the obstacles that make this section so exciting crop up - specifically, it is time to try to get back into Chile. I've worried about this in particular as, having failed to consider what date I was leaving Tres Lagos, I'm arriving at the border on Christmas day. Well as it turns out, jovial chaps in colourful football tops at the Argentine post are happy to stamp my passport. I then have another 15km to the border itself, and wow, this must be one of the world's most scenic border crossings, a grassy trail in and out of woods with mountains all around. With 5km to go I cross the churning Rio Carreras on a dubious pedestrian suspension bridge, from there the path vanishes, only my GPS gets me through. On the Chilean side the border guards are most hospitable, I get to charge my phone, use their WiFi, there's even orange juice and cake! Well, it is Christmas. But I also wait around for an hour... Apparently the Argentines should have given me some paper? Or maybe their head office is checking that I didn't commit any heinous crimes last month - well in the end I get another stamp, success! A few km more and... camp in the middle of nowhere. Yes, the excitement isn't over, I started with a heavy pack for a reason, it is still 140km to the next town. But that can wait until tomorrow.

Greater Patagonian Trail : El Calafate to Tres Lagos

Kilometres this section : 142

Kilometres completed : 775

I don't get off to the best start in El Calafate, after checking into my hotel and putting my phone on to charge, I attempt to find the centre of town, and fail. Lots of empty lots here... But there is in fact a centre, grown up around the kind of sheltered creek I tend to camp in, and yes, a nice bar with a variety of tasty beer. Of course I have a day off here, washing, shopping - wow, Argentina is expensive, like, three dollars for 100g of own brand chocolate. 125g of Nescafé Gold Blend is twenty dollars! Good thing I am mostly living in a tent then... Sightseeing continues, I pass the polo club, then Laguna Nimez, where there are, in the far distance, flamingos. Back to the tourist area, and indeed the same bar - lots of foreigners here, much as with Puerto Natales, there is glacier trekking here. Better bring dollars with you though - I figured out the ATM issue, apparently you are legally limited to a withdrawal of 2,000 Pesos a day here. Perhaps enough to buy a packet of crisps... In the end I find a place to change my Chilean Pesos for Argentine ones resulting in a thick, heavy stack of bills.

From El Calafate I walk back to the east, on various gravel tracks, or sometimes just gravel. To my left, Lago Argentino, and for a while the town's airport, honestly it isn't too exciting. Good then to reach the bridge over Rio Santa Cruz, the rushing blue water is most picturesque, I am surprised to see it flows out of the lake - and indeed all the way across the country to the Atlantic. My route takes me along the river for a short distance, there's a beach and I can't resist a paddle. Thankfully it also goes through my filter well enough to produce drinkable water. From here, well, I can't help but notice I am now walking across a desert, I keep stopping to empty sand from my shoes, then camp on sand. It's not one of those cold deserts either, the next day is baking, the sun blazing down, my chocolate melts in my pack, water is gone by mid afternoon. Something of a disaster then to reach a river near the end of the day and find it completely dry - my water for the remaining 70km to Tres Lagos is meant to come from here. OK, a kilometre back was an Estancia, there's a guy there, can't understand a thing he says, but he lets me fill bottles and even gives me another one...

I am rather relieved to wake up to an overcast sky, looks like it's raining not far away in fact. This makes for easy going along the dirt track I've been on for a while - actually a public road, provincial route 21, I have seen precisely one car. I pass through some rocky terrain, then leave the road for a few hours straight across the desert. Time to think about camping, but of course it is too windy, I keep going, join a road with actual tarmac running along a winding valley, and now the wind is absolutely crazy. No choice but to keep moving, until in desperation I pitch the tent in the small sheltered area leading to a channel under the road, I guess at some time water runs through here but it is dry now. And I am sure the three skeletal sheep, still with wool, huddled in the channel won't bother me...

Next day I make a coffee with my last water, and emerge from the tent, if anything the wind is even worse, thank heavens mainly from behind, but I can barely stay upright. I stagger along, using my poles held in front of me as if descending a steep slope rather than a gently inclined road. At least it isn't far now, I get through it, and in Tres Lagos people tell me the wind was up to seventy km/hr. Wow. Well, I am early enough to take in the whole town, it is not big. There's actually an albergue here, but the people there say I need to go to a nearby office which is of course shut. To the lone hostel, nobody answers the bell, OK, the campsite it is. Very nice place except for the wind. Indeed, Tres Lagos is cool, kind of a trail town in search of a trail, as well as accommodation there is a cute museum, and many little stores, most of them sell granola bars. Of course I take a day off, the wind doesn't stop, but I manage to walk a little way, to see La Piedra Clavada - an implausible, 20m high diamond shaped rock, perched on one of its points. How the thing doesn't just blow over confuses me. Back to the campsite, and a large plate of spaghetti bolognese, excellent.