Carretera Austral Part 2 (Chacabuco to Lago General Carrera)

Can you believe that this little stretch (the blue line) took two days?

Leaving Puerto Chacabuco, our first stop was the city of Coyhaique.  It took us by surprise as we weren't expecting much, and it turned out to be a really nice afternoon in a city with walking streets, an interesting plaza, and one of the best artisan markets we've seen in Chile.  Loaded up with good food, gas, and money, we headed for the Carretera Austral.  First stop: Cerro Castillo

The Carretera Austral of Legend...days...and days of it...

Potty break #54  in Cerro Castillo

   

 FIRST NIGHT OF CAMPING ON THE CARRETERA AUSTRAL

Our first night was spent in our tent on a farm just past Cerro Castillo, complete with (ornery) horses, llamas, sheep, and most impressive, a very hard working sheep dog who methodically spent the better part of 40 minutes, searching a vast hillside above us for one lost sheep.  Just 15 minutes before, there were 30+ sheep milling around; How did the dog know to locate THAT particular scent and find THAT particular sheep on such a huge mountainside?  After finally reaching the wayward member of the flock, she (the dog) impatiently ushered the stubborn sheep around cliffs, boulders and trees, down a steep path and through a forest before the sheep was finally close enough to sprint down to the flock in the pasture before us.  

Dogs are cool.

Classic symptoms of CTW (Chronic Toy Withdrawl).  
Often mistaken for FRS (Feral Road Syndrome).

                                                           Sometimes it's easy to over look the teeny-tiny marvels...                                                        

OUR FIRST HIKE

The following day we spent hiking above Rio Ibañez, near the town of Villa Cerro Castillo.  Can you find Kaia, Niko and Yvonne in the picture below?

in case you didn't find them, here is the hint:

                   

                                                  Could the hike get any better for an 8 year old?                                            

I guess only if you find the mother lode of quartz crystals

...a well earned lunch...

Our first view of Chile's Northern Ice Fields in the background.

The road to Puerto Rio Tranquilo ...

                                                                        ... pretty bumpy at times                                                                          

A spontaneous hike in a river bed

     

After many dusty hours and multiple rock collecting stops, we arrived at the 

electric blue waters of Lago General Carrera; truly this blue.