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You are here: Home / Photo Blogging / On The Road After Dark – lashonharangue – Southern Chile Road Trip – Part 6

On The Road After Dark – lashonharangue – Southern Chile Road Trip – Part 6

by WaterGirl|  September 30, 202010:00 pm| 19 Comments

This post is in: On The Road, On The Road After Dark, Photo Blogging, Southern Chile Road Trip

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On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions. From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.

This series was created by Alain Chamot (1971-2020).

Submit Your Photos

lashonharangue in Chile

The Carretera Austral was finished in 2000 in the small town of Villa O’Higgins. Puerto Tortel, further north but on the coast, did not have a connecting road built to it from the main road until 2003. Until that point it could only be reached by boat or horseback. The port was not always accessible because of stormy winter weather.

So we turned toward the coast after leaving Puerto Río Tranquilo and stopped about halfway at a farm that had a campground according to our guide book. First we had to get there.

On The Road - lashonharangue - Southern Chile Road Trip - Part 6 7
Road to the FarmDecember 22, 2018

This bridge was built over a snow melt feed stream just upstream from the remnants of the previous bridge we could see in the stream bed.

On The Road - lashonharangue - Southern Chile Road Trip - Part 6 6
Road to the FarmDecember 22, 2018

Yes the bridge did flex slightly as the car was very slowly driven across.

On The Road - lashonharangue - Southern Chile Road Trip - Part 6 5
Farm CampgroundDecember 22, 2018

The farm was in a valley surrounded by mountains that still had a little unmelted snow. The campground was set up in a field fenced off from the cattle. It had a building for cooking and shower facilities.

On The Road - lashonharangue - Southern Chile Road Trip - Part 6 4
View from the Farm December 23, 2018

The road through the valley had a number of small farms/homesteads cut out of the forest. No utilities were visible but we saw a few satellite dishes and solar panels next to modest dwellings. The farm where we stayed appeared to be one of the larger ones. Seemed like a rugged existence but I can see how the surroundings would draw people there.

On The Road - lashonharangue - Southern Chile Road Trip - Part 6 3
Puerto TortelDecember 22, 2018

Since Tortel was originally only reached by ship, it was built up from the waterfront and expanded up the hillside without any roads. The buildings are all connected by a series of boardwalks and wooden stairs. You drive in and park at the top (edge) of town and walk down a series of stairs to see the sights.

On The Road - lashonharangue - Southern Chile Road Trip - Part 6 2
Puerto TortelDecember 22, 2018

All supplies that arrive by road have to be hand carried down from the parking lot. We saw one fellow carrying a big watermelon.

On The Road - lashonharangue - Southern Chile Road Trip - Part 6 1
Puerto TortelSeptember 22, 2018

All the buildings were constructed on wood pilings.

On The Road - lashonharangue - Southern Chile Road Trip - Part 6
Puerto TortelDecember 22, 2018

When we were done sightseeing we had to climb back up. Not a place for folks with orthopedic issues.

Next stop – a detour into Argentina.

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Reader Interactions

19Comments

  1. 1.

    JanieM

    September 30, 2020 at 10:14 pm

    I mean, wow. In every way!

    At first glance I thought it was a walking bridge…..

  2. 2.

    Lapassionara

    September 30, 2020 at 10:16 pm

    This is amazing! Wow! Thank you. I would have been tempted to walk across the bridge first, just to check.

  3. 3.

    arrieve

    September 30, 2020 at 10:18 pm

    I think driving a car across that bridge is maybe one of the bravest things I’ve ever seen.

  4. 4.

    WaterGirl

    September 30, 2020 at 10:22 pm

    @arrieve: I started to feel anxious the moment I saw that picture.

  5. 5.

    Gin & Tonic

    September 30, 2020 at 10:22 pm

    Wasn’t sure about the “detour into Argentina” since no roads cross the border down there, but then I looked on a map and saw that in O’Higgins it’s a stone’s throw. Will be interested to see how you crossed. We were in El Chalten about a year and a half ago, but crossing there would require some serious trekking. I keep meaning to put some photos together, as the difference between the Chilean side and the Argentinian is stark.

  6. 6.

    randy khan

    September 30, 2020 at 10:24 pm

    Just curious:  Did the photographer walk all the way across the bridge or get out of the car in the middle? (I’m not sure there’s enough space to do that, honestly, but it’s hard to be sure.)

  7. 7.

    lashonharangue

    September 30, 2020 at 10:26 pm

    @randy khan: The photographer crossed first. It may not be obvious from the picture but the cable supports were metal.

  8. 8.

    randy khan

    September 30, 2020 at 10:37 pm

    @lashonharangue:

    Honestly, it hadn’t occurred to me that they might not be until you mentioned that they were.  I associate that paint color with metal for some reason.

  9. 9.

    Mary G

    September 30, 2020 at 10:51 pm

    That town’s not going to make my hypothetical bucket list, but it was fascinating to see it.

  10. 10.

    frosty

    September 30, 2020 at 10:55 pm

    Amazing and beautiful. Thanks for the virtual tour of part of Chile I probably won’t get to see.

  11. 11.

    J R in WV

    September 30, 2020 at 10:59 pm

     

    We have some exotic bridges here in WV, and roads that run through abandoned RR tunnels, too.

    There’s a bridge with the roadway glued (no, not really glue, it just feels like that…)  on the side of a RR bridge, and if a train comes while you’re driving across the one lane road bridge, it bounces pretty hard. In New River National River at Thurmond. Lots of history, but no mountains like Chile. I don’t think we have anything like that this side of the Mississippi river…

    That actually looks like a pretty substantial and well built bridge. I’m sure it did move a little while you drove across!

  12. 12.

    Captain C

    September 30, 2020 at 11:06 pm

    Iashonharangue, I am really digging this series.  I imagine this part of the world doesn’t get tons of tourism, so I’m glad to see it through your eyes.

  13. 13.

    lashonharangue

    September 30, 2020 at 11:13 pm

    @Captain C: Thank you. I have tried to convey the wonders and challenges in the text and photos. Not a package tour kind of trip but we were thrilled to be able to do it.

  14. 14.

    Benw

    October 1, 2020 at 12:20 am

    Wow

    My fav is the view from the farm. Those mountains shouldering up into the sky

  15. 15.

    Amir Khalid

    October 1, 2020 at 8:54 am

    Is there a story behind a small town in Chile being named Villa O’Higgins?

    On another note: Will the daily CoviD-19 post, or failing that the Thursday morning open thread, go up any time soon?

  16. 16.

    Amir Khalid

    October 1, 2020 at 8:58 am

    @Amir Khalid:

    Please disregard my comment #15.

  17. 17.

    Origuy

    October 1, 2020 at 1:26 pm

    @Amir Khalid: As you doubtless discovered, Bernardo O’Higgins was one of the leaders of the South American independence movements.

    Carrying everything that you get up those stairs from a boat or down from the road certainly means that you don’t have a lot of possessions.

  18. 18.

    Origuy

    October 1, 2020 at 1:31 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: Did you happen to go to Y Wladfa, the Welsh settlement in Patagonia? That’s interested me ever since I learned about it.

  19. 19.

    way2blue

    October 1, 2020 at 4:40 pm

    Oh.  Driving your car across that bridge.  Eeshh.  I would have volunteered to walk across ahead.  Working years ago on tribal land—one of the bridges we had to cross was simply an upside-down railroad flatcar with a big hump down the middle.  I always had my field assistant drive us across.  And always rolled down my window in case we tipped into the stream & needed to bail…

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