Feliz Año Nuevo - or: New Year's Eve with travel friends

From Coyhaique, we continue to the 100km distant Villa Cerro Castillo in 4 different cars. A small village located at the 2,675m high Cerro Castillo mountain, to whose lagoon we will hike. In the penultimate car, we once again become aware of the difference in German and Chilean serenity, because Jan spends the over 50km long drive on the pick-up truck bed (and has a lot of fun doing it), while the driver takes two breaks to enjoy a Heineken each time.

When we arrive in the village, we knock on the door of our (reserved via WhatsApp) hostel, and Greg, a Pole and one of many cyclists on the Carretera Austral, opens the door for us. Later in the hostel, we meet Steve, an Australian who is also traveling by bus or hitchhiking, even though he is actually English.

The next day, we take a beautiful hike to the lagoon and cook ourselves some delicious rice again :) We also encounter Steve on the route, as well as in the hostel in the evening.

As we walk along the road for hitchhiking the next day, we discover the fresh snow in the mountains. It seems that there has been significant snowfall overnight, even in the summer! We reach our next destination, Puerto Río Tranquilo, another small village on the Carretera, in just one car! Two Australians are on their way to a kayaking tour and kindly give us a ride for the entire 120km. The place is known for its marble caves, which can be visited by kayak or boat. Since the weather forecast for the next 2 days is not great, we sign up for a boat trip to the caves on the same evening. Just as we are on our way to the "harbor", we run into Steve. He also made it here, planning to take the bus, but when it didn't come, he also hitchhiked. We chat briefly and then head to the boat. But - surprise - the trip cannot take place because the other passengers canceled, and there is no boat for only 2 people. Well, we still have 2 days.

The next day (December 30th), it rains a lot, and we decide that the caves will not be so spectacular in the gray and wet weather. We have a cozy rainy day, writing, reading, and enjoying a crepe (!). On our way to the laundromat, we run into Greg, who is waiting for the bus due to the bad weather, hoping it will take him and his bike to the next town. In the evening, we have dinner in a restaurant, and who sits next to us: our friend Steve! He tells us that he coincidentally shares a room at the hostel with Greg, as the bus apparently did not allow cyclists. We say goodbye to Steve as he continues his journey to Cochrane the next day.

Our plan was actually to spend New Year's Eve in Río Tranquilo. But since the weather forecast continues to be poor, we decide to cancel the last night here and stand on the road again on the last day of the year. Our next destination is also Cochrane, which is 115km away. And maybe, as we joke, we will meet some familiar faces there so that we don't start the new year "alone". After 3 months of traveling together, we are looking forward to some company.

And so it goes. We stand by the road in the morning and, with a little waiting time in between, arrive in Cochrane in the afternoon! However, it is clear that the further south we go, the fewer cars there are. After friendly Argentinians let us out at an intersection, we wait for our next car for almost 1.5 hours, but only about 8 cars drive by during that time. With the second car, we also hit the jackpot again! An Italian-Chilean couple who make a stop with us halfway to hike to a spot where two different-colored rivers merge. We observe the play of colors there. They take us to the Plaza in Cochrane, and we realize that this city is much larger than the previous villages. We already give up the idea of meeting familiar faces here because how could we ever find them? Just a minute later, Greg, the Pole, appears together with a Belgian couple of cyclists. They have come here together due to the rain. Since we have not booked any accommodation yet, they tell us about their hostel, and we even get a double room! So our New Year's Eve in a sociable round is secured :) As we sit in the common room/dining room later, the doorbell rings, and we can't believe our eyes: Steve walks in! He even booked the accommodation from Australia! In our eyes, this cannot be a coincidence because there are really several accommodations here!! We are even more delighted and spend the evening as a group of six in the dining room. After midnight, we even watch Dinner for One together on the laptop, which - as we learn - nobody knows besides the Germans and certainly does not watch it every year!

The next day, we all take a hike together through the Tamango National Park and sit together in the evening as well. Then it's time for the cyclists to continue their journey, as the weather forecast is good. Together with Steve, we rent bikes and ride along the Carretera Austral to a large lake. This way, we also get a feel for the many cyclists here, but we realize that it's not for us. We only drive on gravel roads with a pretty nasty "washboard" effect. Nevertheless, it's nice to ride a bike again, and so we enjoy the day. After two days as a group of six, it feels a bit empty and quiet when we sit by the lake just the two of us. It's strange how you travel 'alone' through the country for 3 months, and as soon as you have company for a short time, you already get used to it!

Tomorrow we will continue to Caleta Tortel and then to the end of the Carretera Austral, crossing the border into Argentina. Since most of the others have the same route ahead of them, we are curious if, when, and where we will meet again!