Nord Patagonia

Bariloche, 7 Lake Route, Futaleufu, Carretera Austral and Route 40... We spent the two weeks before Christmas in North Patagonia and couldn't get enough of this beautiful landscape. It's hard to put into words the experience if you haven't seen this natural beauty with your own eyes.

After a wonderful reunion with Franziska (Carla's mom), it was time for a road trip through North Patagonia by car. We decided to rent a car for two weeks because we wanted to see so much more of Patagonia, stop everywhere, and reach places that are not accessible by bus.

The first few days were spent around Bariloche. The town reminded us a lot of Switzerland with its mountains, lake, chocolate, and yes, there was even a St. Bernard dog as a photo subject. After Bariloche, we set off on the seven lake route. The route passes by seven different lakes and also the shortest river in the world, covering about 120 km. The lakes are interspersed with views of vast mountains, endless green landscapes, or blooming spring flowers. After the seven lake route, our journey continued south on the famous Route 40 in Argentina. Near Trevelin, we crossed another feared gravel road as a border and came across one of the largest and most famous whitewater rivers in the world: Futaleufu. The color and volume of the water were very impressive. Originally, we had planned for rafting, but it was canceled due to high water levels. Of course, the two kayakers couldn't leave the region without paddling in the famous kayaking waters. So we headed to the Rio Espalon, which has much less water pressure than the Futaleufu and was wonderful for Chilean technique training. Whether the roll works differently in the Southern Hemisphere than in the Northern Hemisphere, that was a matter of disagreement.

Our road trip took us further south on the famous Carretera Austral. The Carretera Austral runs from north to south in Chile, passing by beautiful fjords and national parks, and shaking us through bumpy roads with countless potholes. It would have been really beautiful if it weren't for the lovely Patagonian weather. Unfortunately, we had bad weather for two planned highlights, so we only saw the hanging glacier in the clouds and had to cancel another hike completely. But we enjoyed it so much more when we had amazing weather at the Marble Caves and were able to take a boat trip on Lago General. The Marble Caves were formed by the waves of Lago General over the past 6000 years. It's almost too beautiful to be true and once again leaves us in awe.

After almost two weeks, our road trip took us back to Bariloche, where we did another hike in a national park along the way. Finally, we covered 3000 km and our legs that have been idle want to move again, before taking a 23-hour bus ride to El Chalten. 😉