Another idea that came up often was to hike the Cerro Castillo trail. There is a famous trail in southern Chile called Tores Del Piane. It is known for its beauty, but it is also quite busy. The Cerro Castillo trail is not as well known but also is quite beautiful. One needs to get permits to hike Tores Del Piane but not so for the Cerro Castillo. Another factor that we considered was that this trail is only an hour away from Coyhaique and a bus will drop us off at the trail head.

March 14 We had thought that we would walk to town, but Raul offered to drop us off. Definitely saved us some time. We needed to go to the bus station to get our tickets for the bus ride tomorrow .

The terminal was new and the inside was well organized.

We purchased our tickets and were told that the bus stop is on the other side of the NOLS driveway. Now that is convenient. We spent some time walking around the town.

We enjoyed seeing this sculpture of an arm reaching out with a cup of Mate. It is a sign of friendship and sharing.

We ate at our favorite restaurant , Basilica. And were psyched that they had some of their delicious bread for sale.Then we checked out the health food store Antigua Gravel.

One of the owners is the wife of our friend Raul. It was a great store and we were able to get most of the food that we will need for our next hike

The large grocery store here had everything else we needed. It was a successful day in town. Flagged down a taxi and made it back to the branch by mid afternoon. The rest of the day was spent packing up our packs and enjoying the bread that we had purchased.

March 15

We were up by 7 and waiting at the bus stop by 8. The bus was full except for the two seats behind the driver. We think they were saved for us. The bus driver drops us off at the Horquetas trail head and we walk a short distance to the guard station to pay a fee and have our covid vaccination app looked at.

Before arriving to the guard station, we cross a wooden bridge.

Then we see the sign welcoming us to the park.

and the sign telling us the guard station is ahead.

When we arrive to the station there are several other hikers signing in. The ranger waits till we have signed in and then gives us an orientation in Spanish. I think we got most of it. She spoke very slowly for us.

The first day of hiking is easy as we are heading up a valley. The scenery does not disappoint.

The main challenge of the day was all of the shallow stream crossings. We wanted to keep our feet dry so we used our wet shoes for water crossing, which slows one down.

We liked this sign reminding hikers to take out their trash.

We were the first ones to camp so we pitched the tent and had some time to check out the views.

This view was so special that there was a sign announcing it.

It is always nice when one can just sit and enjoy their surroundings.

Lots of cows today, but none were aggressive.

March 16

We woke up at 6 and had breakfast in the tent. We were on the trail by 7. It was just beginning to get light and we had to use our flashlights when we walked thru the forests. We started the climb up in the forest, but soon the trail led us out into the open and we saw the trail is now going to be a path of rocks.

When we got out of the forest, we were greeted by rocks.

Needless to say we worked our way thru this section carefully

There were so many rocks. Above us was lots of scree that added to the rocks on the path. It didn’t help that it was rainy and windy making the rocks slippery.

Waterfalls were pouring down the sides of the mountains. Lots of clouds today so the photo ops were difficult.

Finally reached the top of the pass and the trail continues to be made up of rocks.

There were markers on the trail that showed the general direction,

We knew that going down hill on this path was going to be as slow as going up hill. All foot placement had to be carefully selected as the rocks will roll and easily twist your ankle.

We each chose our own route as we headed down.

When the clouds lifted we could see how the area got its name as the mountains did indeed look like castles.

It was still raining when we got to camp. We were glad that we brought our tarp that we could set up and cook dinner. Somehow my sleeping bag had gotten damp during all he rain today We had brought some hand warmers and by putting them in the bottom of my bag they mostly dried it out! whew!

It is getting colder as fall is approaching.

After we had eaten we took a short walk up to the lake behind us that was glacier fed.

Back to the tent and what we hope is an opportunity to rest our knees so that they recover. We have another pass tomorrow with a lot more down hill.

March 17

We left camp around 7:30 and began working our way up to the last pass of the trail. It was a chilly morning with lots of small water crossings. Fortunately there were plenty of rocks to use so we were able to keep our feet dry.

Like yesterday, we found the path was very rocky.

The weather is cooperating today and the sky is a deep blue. The sun is out but it is below freezing when we reach the top of the pass.

Don finds a trail as he makes it up the mountain.

At the pass there is a sign telling us if there is a lot of wind one should not continue on. Fortunately the wind that is blowing is not too strong so we continue on.

The wind isn’t strong at the pass, but with the cold temps we don’t linger long before we start another steep downhill to the valley below. Looks like we are going to have another day of choosing our route and going slow.

Down we go

We are heading down to the river valley below. Slow and steady was our pace.

When we finally got to the bottom we met a younger hiker, who had come up from where we will be ending our hike.He was breathing quite hard. He said Hola and then in Spanish wanted to know how old we were. He then asked if he could take a photo of us with him. “Sure” we said. I guess he was impressed that we had just done this trail. If my Spanish was better, I probably would have given him some suggestions of how to lighten his load. Our packs were much lighter than his. We head off to the campground and set up our tent. There are several campsites filled with tents. This campsite is closer to the roadhead and has a much easier approach than the route that we took getting here. There is another campsite further up the valley, but we decided to camp here and just walk up the trail to check out the area,

And a definite feeling that fall is fast approaching

It wasn’t a long hike today, just steep and rocky. We are ready to head to bed and enjoy the fact that tomorrow we won’t be doing any long sections of trail that are mostly rocks. Our knees are going to appreciate that!

March 18

Knowing that the hike today is going to be our shortest hiking day, we enjoy staying in bed a little longer to let the temperatures warm up. The trail down to the road is well marked and easy to follow. We appreciate that the rocks of the last two days are no more. The trail leads us down to the road taking us past several nice ranches.

We can see the ridge that we walked on from the road. Today’s hike is only about 12 km. We pass several groups of hikers as we make our way to the town of Villa Cero Castillo. We arrive to the town about 12:00 and discover that the bus comes at 12:30. There is already a line waiting for the bus and after checking at the visitor center the ability to buy a ticket does not look good. The other news that Don learned was that there is not a bus tomorrow. The good news is that when Don was talking to the man at the visitor center, he learned that this man was a friend of our friend John Hauf. And that he was going to Coyhaique tomorrow and could give us a ride. He also told us about a hostel that was near his house and that they most likely would have a room for us to rent. The hostel was close so off we went and looked forward to a shower and checking out the town,

After the shower, it was time to explore and eat some food. Most of these towns have a square which generally contains a place to meet and a place for the children of the town to play. We enjoyed the sculpture at the square that shows a man sharing Mate, the favorite Chilean drink.

Next stop was the restaurant that we had eaten at when we came thru this town a month ago with Patty. What a month it has been! We have gotten to see and learn so much about this area.

March 19

We stayed in the Matrimonial room last night. There were a lot of blankets piled on the bed and with no heat in the room, they were much appreciated. The owner of the hostel brought over a breakfast of eggs and bread and talked to us about the town. At 9 we headed outside to wait for the the man that Don had talked to yesterday. As all of our conversations have been in Spanish, we hope that we understood everything. About 10 minutes later the man who Don had met pulled up in his car and we loaded up our gear. One could tell that he was used to speaking to people with not a great grasp of the Spanish language. He spoke slowly and we were able to understand most of what he said. We learned that the reason he was going to Coyhaique today was to celebrate his Mom’s birthday. It was also my birthday today so it was neat to have that in common! He dropped us off at the NOLS driveway and we headed to our room for the night

As we grazed out the window, one could tell that the seasons are changing here.

March 20

For once there is not a lot of activity today. I made some bread, did some reading, played cribbage , took advantage of the internet to catch up on what is going on and repacked again for our travels to the town of Chillan where our friend Pilar lives.We are starting the journey to head back to the States.

The count down is on…….5 more days till we head back to the states

March 21

We had reserved an airport van ride this morning to take us to the airport. They were on time and off we went, waving good-by to our friends at the branch. It was nice to reconnect with such nice people. There were a lot of folks at the airport with quite long lines. we managed to find the correct one and then it was check in and relax. We saw John Hauf at the airport, he was dropping off some clients. We got to say good-by again and thank him for sharing his way of life with us. We are going to fly to the city of Concepcion and meet Pilar, a friend who worked with us in the 90’s in Alaska. We get a text that she is waiting outside. It is about a 90 minute drive to her house. Her family is patiently waiting for our arrival. Pilar’s husband is called Gonzalo. She has two daughters Rosario and Magdalena and one son called Nicolas. They have picked up some delicious sushi and are ready to eat. After eating, we are ready to head to bed as it has been a long day and our brains from trying to speak and understand Spanish is tired.

March 22-24

For the next three days, we get to hang out with Pilar and she shares her life on the ranch. One of her passions are horses. She has given lessons, but mostly likes to hang out with them and ride them

Pilar and her husband own a blueberry patch. In a normal year these berries would have been picked and sold to the US markets. This year with covid and problems with shipping the berries are going to rot on the plants. Sorry to hear that information, but we have no problem with eating them and turning them into blueberry crisp.

The crisp was a success and enjoyed by all.

For dinner we had tamales prepared by a local cook.

The garden was quite productive and we made apple sauce and fresh tomato spaghetti sauce.

Pilar took us to the big market. With patience and time one could almost find anything for sale. She showed us the school that her kids attend.There are no buses so she is a chauffeur for some of the day.

We had to find a service that would provide us a PCR test in order to leave tomorrow. We checked with some local clinics, but they couldn’t assure us results in 24 hours that we would need.After a couple more calls Pilar found a business that had a van that would come to her house and administer the test and guarantee the results in the time frame that we needed.

Pilar’s house.

Last night we received the results of our PCR test and they were negative so today we are on the journey to head back to the states. Our travels begin at the Concepcion airport. All our paperwork is in order and our flight on time. Next stop Santiago, after a couple hours of waiting here we board the flight to Dalles and eventually San Diego. The flights add up and we are pretty tired by the time we get to the last airport. Ryan and Beth are gone for the weekend so we will need to get a Uber to head to their house. Normally one just calls one up and heads to the Uber waiting line. There is a lot of construction going on at the airport and with it is a lot of confusion. There are a lot of people waiting to get rides. We join the crowds of people and 30 minutes later our ride appears. Our trip of visiting Antartica, Argentina and Chile has come to an end. It definitely was a trip of a life time.