Day 295: La Carretera Austral – Day 6
According to our Google driving directions, it would take us a good 9hrs to reach the Argentinean border, which was just fine with us! We still had a day’s worth of fresh fruit and vegetables with us and there was a good chance they would be confiscated at the border, so we decided to take it slow today and camp out one last night in Chile. That way, if the rest of our food did get taken, it would be early enough in the day that we could find an open grocery store in Argentina to buy dinner.
We took our time driving north, stopping for random photos on the side of the road and a 3hr. lakeside pit stop where we had a chance for another eco-shower and “au-natural” laundromat. (Hey! We may be flattybouches, but we refuse to be stinky hippies!)
Making our way north in the morning, when Igor decides he MUST take a picture of the cows on the side of the road
A picture of cows. I guess we should frame this, or something.
Lake Esmerelda: tranquil and crystal-clear waters – perfect place to stop and freshen up!
The lake water is warm enough that Lindsay and Igor are able to fully submerge for their “baths” – we even washed our hair!
After we wash our clothes, we take a break for an hour or so while they dry in the sun
As we folded our clean clothes and started to pack up, Igor made a terrible discovery: his favorite Bolivian hat was missing! We searched all over the beach and emptied the car, but it was nowhere to be seen. We tried to remember when he had worn it last – he definitely had it on this morning – could he have dropped it on the side of the road when he was taking pictures? We turned on the camera and reviewed the photos from that morning to see if we could find a clue. Sure enough! When we zoomed in on the shot from the cow photo-shoot, *there* was his hat, lying in the road! Luckily, it was only 20min away, so we backtracked and found his hat. Sure, it had been run over by a few cars and had a little cow poop on it, but other than that it was safe and sound: IT’S A CHILEAN MIRACLE! We stopped at the lake one more time on our way north so Igor could give the hat a good washing before we continued on our way.
We review our pictures from that morning and confirm that Igor’s beloved hat fell out of the car while he was snapping shots of the stupid cows. We drive back and find the spot – luckily no farmers/bikers had picked of the hat in the meantime!
We reached the turn off for Paso Roballos in the early afternoon and soon realized that Google Map’s estimated driving time was WAY off – we were too early! Instead of taking us the expected 9hrs, we would easily finish the drive in under 5hrs. We were actually disappointed to be so far ahead of schedule, as Lindsay really didn’t want to enter Argentina and lose all our food (seriously, we had a perfectly ripe avocado – it would be such a shame to let the border agent have it!), so we decided to call it a day at 3PM and just enjoy some R&R on the scenic road.
BTW, we had that avocado for dinner and it was SO GOOD. Totally worth it.
Leaving the Carretera Austral for the narrow, barely used Paso Roballos route toward Argentina
The landscape changes dramatically into wide open grassy plains, where we finally see guanacos!
We pass a fancy hotel on the side of the road, where a huge herd of guanacos is calming munching on the lawn
The Paso Roballos route is stunning – a scenic, twisting road that stretches out into the horizon
Even though it’s early, we decide to call it an early night and camp in Chile one last night. Even though there are no trees for privacy, the road is so empty we don’t even worry about parking out in the open. Instead, we find a shoulder just big enough for our car and enjoy the expansive vista
We spend the rest of the afternoon catching up on computer work, then break for some card games & magic tricks. Lindsay even teaches Igor how to properly shuffle a deck of cards
A gorgeous view for our final night in Chile