Sundowner: Autumn/Winter 2019

PATAGONIA
After a five-hour drive north to the gaucho town of Coyhaique,
I stayed in an enormous room in Patagonia House, a ranch on
McKay Hill. I was the only guest. More than 230 kilometres north
again, Puyuhuapi Lodge is by far the most luxurious hotel in
the region, situated on its own island (the establishment runs a
private ferry), with both outdoor and indoor spas.
On the way up, by the way, and preferably in Chaitén, one must
eat curanto, a dish traditionally baked in the ground, prepared
with meat, potatoes, shellfish, milcao (a grated potato patty), and
vegetables. Not for the faint-hearted, but very hearty. Just outside
town, the devastation caused by an eruption of Chaitén Volcano
in 2008 remains visible in the swathes of calcified slope spiked
with bare trees. The Carretera Austral was closed for two years,
cutting off a third of the country.
At Caleta Gonzalo, the highway collapses and the visitor is
obliged to take two, or sometimes three, ferries north. From a
wharf overlooking Reñihué fjord, a ferry conveyed me and my car
through a labyrinth of channels up to Hornopirén, a four-anda-half-hour
journey. Before boarding, I enjoyed the hospitality
of Soledad Sanchez at Cabanas Caleta Gonzalo, one of the few
places in Chilean Patagonia open year-round. Outside my cabin
window huet-huet birds whooped among a flock of persimmonbreasted
chucao. The jolly Soledad, who manages the cabins and
their adjacent café, told me: “There are two seasons here, winter
and summer. Summer lasts three weeks. Coming from the desert
north, I absolutely love it.” Lauding the slow pace of local life, she
added: “If you hurry in Patagonia, you are wasting your time.”
I ended my road and water adventure at Puerto Varas, less
than an hour’s drive from the domestic airport at Puerto Montt.
Overlooking Lake Llanquihue and the smoking Osorno Volcano,
the swanky Cumbres Puerto Varas is a gateway hotel to the Lake
District of northern Patagonia. As for Puerto Montt, it has more
than doubled in size since my first trip to Chile 30 years ago,
largely thanks to the salmon industry. The fish do well in the cold
Patagonian waters and Chile has grown to become the world’s
second largest producer of farmed salmon, after Norway.
Doug Tompkins, the late American entrepreneur and founder
of the North Face outdoor clothing range (and much else), was
a major player in the rewilding of Chilean Patagonia, and his
Californian widow Kris continues the work. A keen outdoorsman,
Doug fell for Patagonia, and bought land here – lots of land.
In 2004 the Chacabuco valley, in the transition between
southern beech forest and Patagonian steppe, was at the centre
of one of the greatest land buys in history. The Tompkinses
founded an organisation, with land trusts under its umbrella
and 120 staff in Chile (more are based in Argentina), in order to
donate just over 400,000 hectares of protected land to the Chilean
government, leveraging conservation value by establishing a
private-public partnership. I don’t think the two Americans
ever thought of themselves as owners: they took on the role of
custodians. Their aim was to create national parklands, restore
biodiversity, and promote ecological agriculture, chiefly in the
parks that are now Patagonia and Pumalín. As a consequence,
Chile has become a ‘conservation destination’.
Kris buried Doug, who perished in a kayaking accident, in the
baronial stone headquarters of Patagonia Park. His is a peaceful
grave, overlooking the landscape he loved.
The Chilean government wildlife service, CONAF, is in the
process of taking over the administration of Patagonia and
Pumalín. The latest Tompkins project, launched last year, is Ruta
de los Parques, a road linking 17 national parks from Puerto
Montt to Cape Horn. My next trip!
PUERTO MONTT
CHAITÉN
PARQUE PUMALÍN
COYHAIQUE
LAGO GENERAL CARRERA
VILLA O’HIGGINS
Sara Wheeler’s latest book, Mud and Stars: Travels in Russia with Pushkin and
Other Geniuses of the Golden Age, came out in July. Her previous books
included the bestselling Travels in a Thin Country: A Journey Through Chile.
CONTACT ABERCROMBIE & KENT
CHILE
ARGENTINA
For more information on road trip holidays in Chilean
Patagonia, or to book your next tailor-made South American
adventure, call our travel specialists on 01242 547 701.
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