Into Chilean Patagonia and glaciers

Leaving Rio Gallegos in the southern part of Argentinean Patagonia, we headed for the border to cross into the Chilean side of Patagonia. Our aim was to spend some time around the famous Strait of Magellan. 

Leigh at the Magellan Strait, Patagonia

However, the border procedures took longer than anticipated. The border crossing was quick when leaving Argentina. But Chile is very like our own New Zealand when it comes to what is being taken into the country, and you cannot take in raw fruit, vegetables, or fresh meat.

We'd had a big meal the night before and dined on our remaining meat and most of our veges, but we still had fruit.

Chilean Customs building, Patagonia

We were eating our last avocado for lunch while sitting in the border queue, then all of a sudden it was our turn at customs. We declared all that we had left in the cupboard, and in the end one banana, ½ a tomato and a ¼ of a lemon were confiscated by customs – not too bad.

Eventually we made it to the Strait of Magellan in the far south of Chilean Patagonia. The Strait was discovered by Ferdinand Magellan in 1520, and is known for providing a safer passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans than sailing around the bottom of South America. 

Puerto Delgades Lighthouse, Straits of Magellan, Patagonia

Once there, we enjoyed its ruggedness, as we watched a car ferry crossing the rough waters of the Strait. We also enjoyed seeing the beautiful old Delgades Lighthouse on the shores of the Strait, which is now a naval museum.

Then we drove west, along the coast of the Strait on the road called Fin del Mundo - End of the World, before turning north to our next stop, Puerto Natales, one of Chile’s southernmost towns.

Driving to the end of the world (Fin del Mundo), Chilean Patagonia

Arriving at Puerto Natales, we found it to be smallish (less than 20,000 people) and lovely. It’s on Señoret Channel, opposite the Patagonian Andes.

We were there because it is the gateway to visiting the Torres del Paine National Park, and its famed mountains, lakes and glaciers.

But, contrary to what we had read online, there were no camp grounds open in Puerto Natales and we had originally planned to stay a while.

View from our overnight stop in Puerto Natales, Patagonia

So, we free-camped on the waterfront instead. As we settled in for the night, we admired our view of fishing boats and snow-capped mountains.

That and the following nights, were really cold and well below zero Celsius. We started using our extra blankets, and fired up the gas heater in Vdos daily. Our gas heater is an erratic little thing but when it gets going, it warms us up nicely. Daytime temperatures were around 4 to 6 degrees Celsius.

Road to Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia

After a day exploring the vibrant town of Puerto Natales, we headed out of town on a dirt road, towards the Torres del Paine National Park.

We stopped on the way at Cueva del Milodón, a 200-metre-long cave in which the remains of a gigantic and extinct Milodón – a sloth-like mammal - was discovered in 1895. The remains have been dated at more than 10,000 years.

Leigh at the Cueva del Milodón, Patagonia

There was a large statue outside the cave to show what a Milodón would have looked like. It does look a bit like a sloth, but it also reminded us of a polar bear, albeit with a long tail.

Moving on, we reached the entrance to the Torres del Paine National Park. This is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve full of mountains, glaciers, lakes, and rivers in the extreme southern region of Chilean Patagonia. We were really looking forward to spending some time there.

The roads are not paved and many were washed out, making it hard to drive. So we decided to stay at the first campground we could find, which was on the Rio (River) Serrano.

Cordillera del Paine mountain chain and rough road in Torres del Paine National Park (UNESCO), Patagonia

It was a great camp with electricity and fresh water at each site, clean toilets, and hot showers.

It was extremely cold that night. We were right up in the Southern Andes Mountains on the edge of the great Southern Patagonian Ice Field, the largest ice field in the Southern Hemisphere.

The next morning, we paid our park fees at the Park Administration Office, then bumped our way over a rough road to Lago (lake) Grey. 

Lago Grey beach and icebergs, Torres del Paine National Park (UNESCO), Patagonia

The Lake has Lago Grey Hotel at one end and Grey Glacier at the other. Lago Grey Hotel runs a boat trip to the glacier and we wanted buy tickets for it. However, no boats were going out that day because of the high wind.

Trusting that the following day would be better, we booked for the morning trip.

After that, we headed to the shingle beach of the lake for a walk along the shores. The walk led to a lookout over the Grey Glacier.

Leigh on the beach at Lago Grey, Torres del Paine National Park (UNESCO), Patagonia

The wind was so strong and so cold, and the stones on the shore so big that it was really tough going. Forty minutes later we were climbing to the lookout. However, the bad weather had washed out the trail and, disappointingly, we could not get to the top.

Heading back, we were entranced by the icebergs, but were very glad to be wearing our thermal tops, long johns, and puffer jackets in the extreme conditions.

Camping grounds for motorhomes are few and far between in the National Park so we camped for the night in the sheltered carpark at the Grey Hotel.

The lake and distant glacier from Grey Hotel, Torres del Paine National Park (UNESCO), Patagonia

It is a very lovely hotel, and that night, we decided to treat ourselves to dinner in the hotel restaurant.

We had an expensive but very delicious meal and some nice Chilean red wine, sitting by the panoramic window, with a fabulous view across the lake to the glacier.

The next morning, we and a small group of other tourists boarded a catamaran for the trip to the glacier base.

Grey Glacier from a distance

It was exciting, as it took about an hour to get steadily closer, with the giant glacier looming larger and larger as we drew near.

The boat brought us right up to the glacial wall and the ice was the most amazing blue.

It was frigidly cold out on the boat deck, so we made little forays in and out of the cabin to observe and take photos.

This glacier is about 6 kilometres wide, 30 metres high, and 28 kilometres long. It has three separate ice flows into the lake and we got a good view of them all.

Grey Glacier up close

The trip price included a drink of the local favourite, calafate sour. This is a sweet and potent little drop, distilled from the blue-black berries of the calafate bush which grows everywhere here. It certainly helped to warm us up a bit!

After the trip, we decided to head back to Camping Rio Serrano for a night, before hitting another dirt road to our next stop, El Calafate, back in Argentinean Patagonia.

The above is part of our 4-months of independent travel in South America.