Well, I can think of no better place to start stories from Patagonia than with five days kayaking in the incredible fjords of Chile. Enjoying the scenery, the adventure and the incredibly warm people of the countryside. Off the stress and timetable of the rest of the world. No boat following along to give us an easy out if we get a little winded. No motor drowning out the lapping of the waves on our kayaks. On our own!
Day one finds us on the road. Juan Fe, our fearless guide (and cook) at the wheel as we head down Chilean Route 7 from Puerto Montt, the beginning of the Camino Austral. Beautiful views! The road dives into a fjord and we cross on a ferry. The road winds into Hornopiren, in the shadow of the mountains of Parque Nacional Hornpiren. We continue on to the Rio Blanco where we stop for a great picnic lunch beside the rushing river. The milky color of the river, laden with glacial till, is amazing. After lunch we head on to Cholgo where we meet little Jonathan and quickly nick name him Tabonito. A neat kid, full of energy, buzzing around and about. Sort of like the pesky 'tabano' horse flies that buzz around and about and demand our attention.
In Cholgo we set up camp in the yard of local patriarch Don Lucas Maldonado. The stories he and his wife tell of their 70 plus years living in this isolated area are incredible. He ferries us across the fjord to enjoy a local hot spring then returns to a feast of amazing seafood that his wife has prepared for us. This is really dipping deeply into the local culture. A rich experience!
After supper and conversation we settle into our tents with the warm glow of a very pleasant start to this adventure.
Day two finds us in the kayaks. On the water. Enjoying Fiordo Leptepu. In a gentle drizzle that guarantees calm water and cool temperatures for very pleasant paddling. And that's good because its a full day's paddling! We experience our greatest exposure to the sea early in the day and ride the gentle swells so smoothly. As we leave Leptepu and enter Fiordo Cahuelmo we thrill at the sound of the sea lions that guard the entrance to the fjord. We pass by them, getting a close up look. The dominant male postures for us and pretends to dive toward us to chase us away. A very nice show of bravado for his harem! I hope that the women were impressed!
As we paddle the length of this fjord toward the hot springs that await us, we marvel at the towering walls on either side. And the dense and lush vegetation, heavy with moss. Upon our arrival in the gentle drizzle that has accompanied us most of the day, we tend to our first priority. Unloading! Juan Fe keeps us in line and on track. No playing in the hot spring yet! But after business is tended to, we leave Juan Fe to cook and we sneak off to enjoy the hot springs.
The hot water bubbling up at the edge of the forest runs through a series of troughs that very well may have been cut in the rock by the indigenous people who populated this area thousands of years ago. They also cut numerous pools and tubs into the rock. All of varied sizes and depths. We control the flow of water and thereby the temperature of the various pools with bunches of grass placed in the troughs and held in place by rocks. We sit, soaking up the waters and soaking up the incredible view down the fjord in the gentle drizzle. It is a marvelous relaxing time after a full day of paddling!
Day three and the gentle drizzle isn't so gentle anymore! The wind blows, driving sheets of rain across the fjord. We stay comfy under the wooden shelter that has been built over the Juan Fe's 'kitchen'. We sit in the hot springs as the wind whips the trees and grasses around us and as the rain pelts us. An incredible sensation! And we spend time talking to the two forestry students, Christian and Claudio, who are here working as rangers. They were dropped off here a few days ago and theoretically have everything they need for the summer. Their only contact with the outside world will be through kayakers like us until the boat comes to pick them up in three months! Christian was a ranger here last year also and tells us of the one storm that ended up lasting 15 days, allowing no one in or out!
So we are quite relieved when day four breaks with streaks of blue in the sky mixing with the occasional drizzle. Increasingly I am becoming aware of how this trip, just like my life back in the 'real' world, is regulated and scheduled and placed on a time line. Only here it is not some artificial, man made schedule. No, here we are controlled by rhythms that are much larger, much grander. The tides dictate our coming and going. For instance, at low tide these hot springs would not be on the edge of the water anymore. We would be carrying the loaded kayaks a long, long way. The weather controls our passing also. Those raging waters that we saw yesterday would not have been something I would ever dream of being out upon in a kayak! And the rhythms of my body also play into the picture. You cannot fight the bodily aches that are inevitable. Instead you learn to accept these natural rhythms and patterns. They are out of your control. And as you give up the illusion of control you flow into the movement of the moment. Pretty Taoist to tell the truth. Anybody every written 'Tao and the Art of Kayak Expeditions'?
We paddle out of Fiordo Cahuelmo, bidding farewell to our sea lion friends. We ride the gentle and deep ocean swells as we pass to Fiordo Quintupue. As the sun burns through more clouds, the rich, radiant hues of this fjord are spectacular. As are the waterfalls that are running extremely full, moving all that rain water out to sea. They cascade down the steep, rocky walls creating a marvelous thunder that nearly matches the beautiful spectacle. We reach the end of the fjord and snake on up the river a bit to our campsite. This time Juan Fe doesn't have to keep us in line quite so strictly for the unpacking of the kayaks. We know we've got a lot of stuff to unpack and set out in the luxurious sun to dry! While we decorate every bush and tree within 100 yards with wet clothes and such, Juan Fe works his magic for lunch. Then we all take a well deserved siesta in the relaxing warmth of the sun.
After siestas, everyone wakes up in their own good time and each of us heads out for a little hike. In different directions. For different purposes. I pullout my harmonica as I walk and enjoy listening to it echoing off the walls of the fjord.
The paddle out, back to civilization, is the most leisurely of any day's paddling. Perhaps we've come to accept those rhythms of the tides and the weather and our bodies. Perhaps we're finally at peace with them. And not ready to return to the artificial rhythms of our non-kayak life. Whatever the reason, its a relaxed paddle in the warm sun. The waterfalls did their job well yesterday. They are much smaller today after a day without rain. Much gentler.
We reluctantly nose the kayaks onto the landing and start unloading. Perhaps the only thing that keeps us on task is knowing that Juan Fe has arranged to have fresh strudel waiting for us at the Maldonado's house! Oh, and it is excellent! We trade stories over the strudel knowing that we've truly been touched by our experiences. Both our experiences on the water and with this Chilean family. My view of the world seems to have changed. And I like the change!